"My name is Kane."

"Is that your real name?" I ask, eying the man that I am still uncertain of.

"No, but I don't want you messing them up while we're around the others."

That's understandable so I nod. Probably best I know very little about him, if what he's saying is true then he's risking his life and this whole operation by telling me.

"You know Milton already, the one with the clover tattoo." He gestures beneath his left eye. "The blonde girl is actually his cousin, Talley, and her boyfriend is York. There's one other that you don't know about. She's meant to be the driver on the day of the heist."

"So they have been keeping one from me, was it on purpose?"

Kane hums in response. "The bunch may seem stupid and, well, they are but they're more chaotic than anything else, can't keep their heads straight all the time. Talley is wicked with any sort of blade and is talented in most hand to hand combat. York is a whizz kid, computer genius and Milton can memorize a building or city after a leisurely walk. The last girl, her name's Gena, and I'm sure you can guess that she's an excellent driver."

Finally, I'm getting some real answers. My paranoia is still high but I'm settling bit by bit. "So why are they bringing you into this? You seem to be higher up in this gang than they are."

"I got in by making friends with them first, known them for years. I'm not as chaotic as they are so moving up was easier than I thought but I've always kept in touch. They may not be that high on the food chain but it's handy keeping them around."

"Do you know why they want to do this on their own? Why didn't they just hand me over to your Boss? Who is he anyways?"

Kane frowns and leans back. "It's best if you don't know too much about them. If things go sour, the less you know the better but, Milton hates being dead last. He thinks performing this heist will get him some brownie points compared to just bringing you in."

"So why not bring more people on?"

"Doesn't wanna give them the credit."

"Do you think their plan will work?"

"I know it won't. Milton has caused a lot of shit, if anything, they'll all be killed afterwards and you taken in."

Kane certainly has no issues being honest with me, kinda reminds me of myself, which is weird. As frightening as it is to hear, I'm grateful. I rather he be blunt about the situation we're in than sugar coat it. The more serious I feel the situation is, the more serious I will take it. It's for the best.

I thought the situation was bad before but now it's proving to be worse. Of course, having Kane will make everything easier but, at the same time, he's opening up a whole new issue. Glancing at him, I wonder what he plans to do afterwards. Is he going to tell someone? Is my secret safe? It's not everyday someone meets a boy that can go invisible. I'm sure a cop would love to bring that story in.

All I can imagine is a bunch of scientists in hazmat suits breaking down my front door. I'll be dragged off to some secret lab where they'll learn about Mom too, most likely. The idea of it makes me shiver. Maybe I'm being dramatic but I have no idea what will happen should anyone else find out.

"So, let's say we work together and somehow get me out of this mess," I say causing Kane to peer at me from the corner of his eye. "What are you going to do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you plan to tell anyone, the cops, about what I can do?"

"Would they believe me?" He chuckles. "I didn't believe it myself."

"But you saw. You know it's true. You're...you're not going to sell me out to the government or something so they come to my house, abduct me and force me to live in a basement in Arizona, are you?"

"Arizona?"

"Isn't that where Area 51 is?"

"Nevada."

"Whatever, my point is, will you keep it a secret?" I ask in a trembling tone that I didn't mean to do. Seems I can't control a lot of my emotions lately. I'm going to cut myself some slack for it though, it's understandable. This shit is getting to be unbearable, actually, it always was but I'm feeling myself really start to crack.

"I won't tell anyone, Micah, I promise."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"You don't but you don't have much of a choice."

That's what I hate about this. Not being in control of a single thing, it sucks. I feel my world slipping through my fingers.

"But let me ask you something," he says, eying me with an almost confused expression. "Is it safe to assume Milton found out about your powers because you stopped him from committing a crime?"

I bite my lip so that's answer enough for him.

"Are you going to keep it up? Being the hero?" He asks while sounding honestly concerned. "It's what got you into this mess, isn't it?"

"Yeah," I hum while giving a soft nod. "I caught him trying to break into a car. He ran off but came back, saw me reappear under the stairs at my school. After that, seems he and his pals followed me...I go out to practice sometimes."

"Practice?"

"Yeah, see what I'm capable of. Whatever, the point is that, yes, he caught me because I caught him."

"Ok, so, answer the question, do you plan to continue?" Kane isn't asking in a tone of annoyance or even concern. He sounds curious and, honestly, so am I. That's an excellent question.

Am I?

He's right. It's what got me into this mess. I was playing the hero, acting all half cocked because I'm "invisible." The "no one can see me anyway" excuse has been disproven because someone did see me and now here I am. Mom was right, I got myself into trouble. I'm just a kid with no idea what I'm doing but, at the same time, it feels so wrong to say I'll stop.

"All my life I've had this gift, you even called it that yourself, a gift."

Kane nods while I hold my hands out before me. I flex my fingers as I remember all the times I've grabbed a thief before he got away, returned a purse or stopped a scared girl from being stabbed. It would be a lie to say I wasn't scared in those moments. There was always a chance I'd get hurt but I was always more scared for them; those people that really couldn't do much of anything. I wanted to help. I did it because I could but, the thing is, I could have done the exact opposite.

What I'm being forced to do, steal, I could have gone down that path. I can go freaking invisible. I could rob banks, break into houses, really do whatever I want and get away with it but that isn't the path I chose. I went the complete opposite, helping people because I can, because I want to, because it's something I feel is right. Mom, she never did anything with hers, nor did any of our other ancestors. I'm the one that got up and did something so, if that isn't a sign then I don't know what else is.

With a deep breath, I say, "I really have no idea why it's me or what I am meant do with this but, the one thing I can do is make the world a little better, even if no one knows about it."

For the first time, Kane smiles. "You're a good guy, Micah. I seriously hope that we can get you out of this because the world certainly needs someone like you."

I'm not sure how to respond to that so I nervously clear my throat. Kane doesn't ask me anything more, instead, he goes into talking about a plan that he seems to have already come up with.

"I'm meant to keep watch on your mom Saturday, so, this is when we have to make a move. You all have to meet up at the warehouse before going to the bank and that is where you stop this."

"What move? Call the cops and hope they get there before we leave?" I ask but Kane shakes his head. I scratch mine in hopes to come up with an idea. "Is there any way you could call them, tell them my mom went missing? I won't show up either, they'll think I ran off."

"They'll go straight for your friends."

"I have to stop them before they get the chance, stall them. I'll obviously be at the warehouse so I'll call the cops when I get there then let you know that I've done it. Wait a few minutes, call them up to let them know what happened so they won't think you're in on it then I keep them at the warehouse until the cops arrive, what do you think?" I ask nervously. It's a spur of the moment plan but the only one I can think of. Kane doesn't seem so keen with the idea.

"Also risky," he answers immediately. "You honestly think you can keep all four of them there? If one gets out, your friends could be killed."

"Do we have any other options? We can't risk just calling the cops on them now, it'll clue them in that you might be involved. At least this way they'll just think I told my mom what happened so she ran off while I stayed behind to get them."

Kane doesn't look so convinced. I can't blame him. "If this is our plan then you need to have your friends be someplace other than their homes come Saturday morning. If one gets out, you need to be able to get to your friends before they do."

"One is already taken care of. We're meant to meet at the zoo on Saturday but I'll make sure the others aren't home."

"I suggest you work out a way to make sure you keep the four of them inside that warehouse as long as possible. You have two days, Micah. I'll try to help but I'm not always gonna be here and I can't risk giving you my contact yet."

"I know, I appreciate that you're willing to do even this much."

Kane nods and we agree to meet up again Friday evening. He's supposed to watch the house that evening so, like he said, I have to find a way to guarantee this plan will work. I've got two days, feels like the clock is ticking faster than ever. My nerves are eating away at me and I know that this is the extent of what I can do tonight. Rather than continue uselessly wracking my brain, I decide the best option is to take a breather so, I head to Leo's house instead.

I'm not sure what Kane thinks about that, if anything, but he doesn't flash the lights at me so I take that as a good sign. I really just need some sense of normalcy right now. Feels like my life has suddenly become a comic, everything is happening too fast for me to grab it. The momentum is pushing me ever forward although all I want to do is push it into reverse. I never thought a time like this would come, suddenly, the boring days of high school seem like such a dream.

After knocking, the front door swings open to show Mrs. Halton smiling at me. She's quick to invite me in before shouting up to Leo that I've come over. There's a loud sound upstairs that has me and Mrs. Halton raising a brow.

"Are you dead?" She laughs causing me to shake my head when Leo shouts a rather panicked 'no' in response. "Go on up, Sweetie. I don't know what he's up to."

I'm more than happy to oblige, ascending the stairs two at a time before getting to Leo's door. My stomach is twisted for a plethora of reasons. I want to see Leo. I don't want to see him. It's very confusing because I want this normalcy while, at the same time, I know everything is anything but normal. My head feels like it's going to explode.

I'm tempted to knock but, honestly, I want to know what he's up to so I swing the door open. I am pleased with what I see, a panicked Leo trying to shimmy his way into a pair of basketball shorts while his shirt is only halfway pulled on. Already I'm feeling better.

"Did I interrupt something?" I ask teasingly.

"No," he answers immediately, finally pulling on his pants and fixing his shirt. Damn, I liked it better before. "I just...I only had boxers on."

"So?"

"So, I wasn't decent."

"You weren't...decent...what century are you from?"

"You know what I mean!"

"Obviously, I don't. Why are you so nervous about it? I know what's under there." I point to his pants that has him taking a step back. "Well, I have an idea but, if you'd like to properly educate me on it I wouldn't mind."

"M-Micah," he hisses with wide eyes. "Were you always a pervert?"

"Yeah, why? Are you disappointed?"

Judging by his smile and blushing cheeks, I take that as a no. Laughing, he gestures for me to come on over and have a seat on the bed. It's about the only option for us both to sit so I take it while examining his room again. Looks the same as before but now I see two printed out tickets to the zoo on his desk.

"We could have gotten those at the gates," I say while pointing to them.

"Ah, I just...got over excited I guess," Leo laughs nervously then gets up to grab them. He swings the tickets around like he's going to show me but ends up sitting them back down.

"How much were they?"

"Secret."

"I can just ask when we get there."

"Doesn't matter. I already bought them."

"You know, Beckett told me it's definitely a date if they pay."

Leo laughs at that, looking to me with a wide grin. "I was unaware that is the rule."

"Same."

Leo sits beside me on the bed. Our arms brush and I take note of that amount of space on the bed. He could have sat farther away but didn't, so could I but that's not the point.

"Want to watch a movie?" Leo asks almost nervously.

"Sure." I shrug and watch Leo get up to grab his remote.

He flicks on the TV while I text Mom to let her know I'm next door and won't be back till later. While Leo is pulling up Netflix, I swing my legs onto the bed and make myself comfortable. There's nowhere else to really sit in his room and, well, I am excited to see the look on his face.

Leo does not disappoint. When he turns back around to find me comfortably sitting on his bed, his face takes on it's favorite shade of red. He hesitates to move, remaining a few steps from the bed for at least five minutes with his eyes on everything but me. I watch in amusement until, finally, he walks over and sits beside me.

"What do you want to watch?" He asks, mindlessly scrolling through his recommended.

"Whatever, it's up to you."

"That doesn't help."

"Fine, something funny."

"I can do that!" Leo announces happily and is quick to put on a movie I've never seen.

Typically, I'm not a lover of comedy movies but, considering all the shit that's going down, I need a good laugh. It's odd how normal it feels to be laying here in Leo's room with him laughing next to me considering that only a few days ago we barely said more than a "hi" to each other, which was my fault. However, I'm not complaining. The only good thing that has come out of this week is Leo. I can't imagine how I'd be reacting without him.

Wow. I think I pulled a Grinch and my heart has grown three sizes. Someone send help but, in all honesty, I am content in this moment. Although there's a nagging fear at the back of my mind, this is giving me some hope that, come Saturday, everything will go back to as it should be, with possibly one new happy addition.