My mouth parts slightly as I take in El's revelation. My breathing hitches and I reach a hand up and place it over my heart, trying to calm the rapid beating. My eyes flutter for a moment and I look up at her, squinting and tilting my head. It couldn't be- could it? El, beautiful El. To say I was shocked didn't begin to describe it and I sat there, shaking for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, I found the courage to say something.

"Does.....does Louis know?" I struggled to get out.

"No. I only found out last week. It doesn't really involve him anyway." El looks down, her brown curls falling over her face. "Besides, it would only stress him out."

"El! This does involve him! Hun, this is huge and yes, it would stress him out. But do you know what? He'd be there for you, through thick and thin." I clasp her hands in mine and squeeze them gently.

"Kayleigh, I get that but...I think...I can't tell him. Not yet anyway." She sobs, tears streaming down her peach cheeks.

"It's okay, alright? Have you at least told your parents? Surely I'm not the only one who knows about it?"

"I haven't told them- they live miles away! They couldn't do anything anyway so what's the point of telling them?"

"They're your parents, El. They would go to hell and back for you so I'm fairly certain they need to know about this."

"No. I'm not telling anybody else about this. I just...I had to get it off my chest. Please don't tell anyone, Kay. I mean it. Nobody else can know- this stays between you and me okay?"

"Deal." I say gently. "Listen, when's your first appointment? And where is it? I'll come with you if you like- you shouldn't be doing it alone."

"Next Tuesday. I was planning on telling the guys I was popping out to the shops to pick up some food but I guess we could just say we were going out somewhere together. Thank you, Kayleigh. That means a lot that you care."

"It's alright, El. Have you thought about the implications of this? The boys and Louis are bound to notice at some point and you can't keep it hidden forever. What are you planning on doing about it?" I frown, concerned.

El licks her lips. "Honestly? I have no idea. But it could cost me everything. I was planning on just trying to hide it for as long as possible because there's people out there that make custom supports. But this could be deadly, Kayleigh. And it'll have the biggest impact on Louis. He always wanted kids and this could potentially mean I can't give him that." She looks so lost, so small, that I stand up from my seat and drag it round so that I'm right next to her.

"Louis will love you no matter what, El. Okay, so it won't be easy for him but, if worst comes to worst, you could always adopt. And anyway, you don't even know what's going to happen in the future so don't do anything rash." I comfort her, rubbing her arm.

She blinked, letting the tears drop from her thick lashes. "Just promise me one thing yeah Kayleigh?" She nibbles her lip. "No matter what happens, always be there for me?"

"Always, El." I smile. "Never in my wildest dreams would I ever give up on you Eleanor Jane Calder. But you have to promise me one thing in return okay."

"Anything. What is it?" She looks up, meeting my gaze.

"Never stop fighting and never lose hope."

"Never." She grins and we laugh because, despite our separate, absurd situations, we have each other. And that's all you need in life.

---

El and I wandered down the pavement, throwing stories about our lives back and forth at each other as we passed the church graveyard. I paused and raked my hand through my messy hair, staring at the wrought iron gate swinging on its rusted hinges and the unkept, unruly grass surrounding the graves. The church wall was derelict and crumbly but, despite everything, it hadn't changed at all since my last visit.

El realised I'd stopped and backtracked to where I was stood with my hands supporting my weight in the stones built up to form the wall. She placed a hand on my back and I shivered involuntarily at her touch due to the fact that, where her fingers lay, was where my tattoo was located.

"What's up?" She frowns, glancing at the graves and back at me.

"Erm.....this is where my adoptive mum's parents are. I was quite close to them." I shrug, casting my eyes downward.

"Oh. Did you want to go in.....?" El asked, trailing as she removed a hand and transferred it so that she was leaning on the wall too.

"No. I just like standing here because you can see their graves from here, look." I point them out to El who looks and smiles and turns to carry on down the pathway. I follow her and wait for El to say something.

"As morbid as it sounds," she begins "that's what I'd like to happen to me someday. I'd like to be buried beside my lover so that we'd be together for eternity and never have to leave one another. I don't suppose you'd get it but...." El shrugged.

"No, you're right. I don't get it because I've never been in love but, honestly, it's really sweet. Whoever I end up being with, I hope we're together for eternity too. Gosh, this has been a day of revelations hasn't it?" I laugh, trying to lighten the mood.

"Totally!" El agrees, a large smile on her face. "Is there anywhere specific you'd like to go now?" She asks.

"Well, I'd like to go and see Marissa but I'm fairly certain she doesn't want to see me." I shrug, trying to remain optimistic.

"Why can't you go and see her? I think it would be best to hash everything out with her, find out her point of view. She can't actually do anything to hurt you so I can't see what's stopping you." El suggests, eyebrows raised.

"What, just turn up on her doorstep and say 'what's your problem?'. I'm fairly certain she'd love me for that." I emphasise love sarcastically and slow down as El matches my pace.

"Yep."

"Fine. Let's go and see Marissa." I concede. "But if I'm arrested again, I swear I will blame you."

"You won't get arrested again. Marissa is a really lovely person and you two couldn't possibly have been any closer- she'll talk to you."

We cross the road and turn right instead of left at the T junction and turn onto Marissa's road. I clenched my fists at my sides and gritted my teeth. I was really not looking forward to this and it was going to be extremely hard to let Marissa tell me what she truly thought of me without me hitting her but I was going to attempt it. It also didn't help that El had spilled a massive secret to me that morning, that I had the stress of figuring out what gave Niall and I these abilities and also working out who really killed Paul.
Needless to say, this was not an activity I would have chosen had I been given a list of options.

El walked confidently up to Marissa's door and knocked before shoving me towards the steps and causing me to trip. Marissa had lived in this house for as long as I had known her and yet she had never once bragged. It was quite possibly the nicest house in Kingsdale and was very expensive- but clearly her dad had been able to afford it. It was a grand, Victorian house with beams left, right and centre with about two acres of garden and an extravagant garage. The main part of the house was in the shape of a triangle but the extension was a very modern building, pure white and connected with a long, glass corridor that could just be seen from the outside if you were tall enough to look over the gate. I wasn't tall enough and neither was El but Marissa (who towered over both of us even when we were in heels) could.

The front door swung open with a jovial Marissa standing behind it as I brushed the dust off my skinny jeans.

"Hi!" She exclaimed but her happy tone quickly vanished and the grin slipped from her lips when she recognised me standing there. "What do you want?" She snapped.

"Well that's unnecessary." I cocked an eyebrow and hip as I fixed my eyes on her pessimistic face. "And there I was thinking you'd be excited to see me."

"Why would I be excited about seeing a murderer?" Marissa spat, narrowing her cat like green eyes and wrinkling her nose.

"See El!" I threw my hands into the air. "I told you this was utterly impossible."

"Just go away, Kayleigh. I know it was you that killed my uncle. You've got guilty written all over your face."

"A, okay, I didn't know he was your uncle until about a week ago and b- WHY THE HELL WOULD I KILL HIM?" I yell, glaring angrily at my once best friend.

"Because," she smirked "you couldn't take the fact that you were just a sad, little orphan with no parents and that someone had found out your dirty secret."

"Aargh!" I rushed at her, ready to hit her over and over again. How dare she? How could she be such a bitch? I had my arm pulled back ready to smash her face in when I felt El's arms grip me tightly and I let myself be dragged away, still fuming.

"Woah! You really don't need to be done for assault Kayleigh." El shakes her head at me. "And you," she turns to Marissa, disgust written all over her features "how could you be such a bitch? To your best friend of all people? You two are friends!"

"No, we're friends, El," Marissa motions between herself and El "but I'm certainly not friends with a murderer."

"Like hell." El scoffs in reply as we back away down the path. "I'm not friends with anybody that behaves like that towards Kayleigh. I certainly don't want to be your friend if that's how you're going to act."

We get to the gate at the end of the driveway and turn to leave as Marissa slams the door shut viciously. El grabs my hand and we sprint away, not stopping until we reach an area populated with a few witnesses. When we stop, we double over, trying to get our breath back. El's the first one to stand up straight again and she sighs ruefully.

"I'm sorry to have put you through all of that Kayleigh." She apologises. "However you shouldn't have attempted to attack her."

"I know. But you shouldn't have been running- El, what if it's worsened it?" I worry, running my eyes over her.

"Psh, as if. Look, let's just go back to your place and get these bags sorted out. I really don't want to ruin this jacket!"

"You're right, we should go. But let's not tell mum and dad about this yeah?"

"Agreed. Monica and Jeff never need to know."

We make our way home, stopping every so often to duck into shops or try on hats and sunglasses. Not that they're that necessary in this weather. El and I walk in silence, no longer content with just talking because we both know it'll just end up with us venting our anger and taking it out in each other. And nobody wants to do that.

It gives me plenty of time to run over facts in my head and try to sift through all the information we've gathered about the killer and my abilities. So we know that it had something to do with Tessa and that Angelica Walters also played a part in it somewhere. But she was dead. And who was Anni? Apparently she was well known as lots of people had heard about her and, possibly, worked for her.

We had so many questions and so few answers that it was driving me insane. What if Angelica Walters hadn't died? Maybe she was this elusive Anni person. Maybe she knew what was up with Tessa. She might even know what made her shoot at Niall and me. That's when it clicked. My abilities had something to do with that bullet.

The voice in my head had said I had a healing ability and that that was what had kept me alive after I was shot. But up until that point, I had never possessed nor heard of this healing ability. So the fact that I was shot must have something to do with it. Maybe the bullet contained a serum that was injected into me? Or maybe that's what put the live strands of DNA inside of me. Either way, that bullet had given me these abilities.

So if Tessa's gun had belonged to Anni, which I assumed it had because Tessa didn't have a licence to fire or buy guns in the UK, that meant that whatever had caused Niall's abilities and my own had been developed by Anni and her workers. That meant there must be others like Niall and I but to have those then that must mean......

The realisation had hit me like a ton of bricks and I stumbled forwards as the knowledge hit me hard. El reached out and grabbed me before I came into contact with the pavement and yanked me back to an upright position. She looked very concerned.

"Are you alright?" El frowned, creasing her brow.

"Yes, yes I'm fine. I just worked something out, that's all." I shake my head trying to avoid telling her the truth.

"About the case?" El lowers her head and widens her eyes.

"Yes. But we can't talk here. We can talk when we get home." I nod and quicken my pace hoping El would take the hint. She did and we arrived back at my house in double quick time. My parents weren't there, probably due to work, so we were able to talk freely in the living room while nursing a cup of coffee, for El, and tea for me.

"Spill it." She insists, sitting down on the sofa next to me and crossing her legs to imitate my position.

"Did Louis tell you about somebody called Anni?" I slowly began, watching for El's reaction.

"Yeah, he did. He said you lot reckoned she was some big leader of a large group of people." El shrugs. "What about her?"

"I don't think she's a person." I purse my lips worriedly.

"How so?"

"I mean, I think........I think it's a company."

YOU

I raised my head off the pillow to light coming in at the window. It illuminated the only other bed in the room, that of my roommate Katie.

I sat up and yawned, stretching and getting out of the bed, ready to begin the day. I padded down the two flights of stairs and walked into the brand new kitchen Jamille had had installed and began to toast some bread on setting 2. Just how I liked it.

When the toaster pinged, Katie walked into the room. Fully dressed and ready to go, she glared at my pyjamas and instructed me to hurry up. Today was the first of three training runs for figuring out who Kayleigh's match was and we all had to be present for it.

I sighed and changed, heading back downstairs ten minutes later in my exercise gear. Katie nodded approvingly and we headed outside and into the woods backing onto the house.

We were metres in when I spotted Tim dashing towards us.

"Ladies." He acknowledged us, bopping his head. "Today we have also made time to rehearse fighting skills so an area will be cordoned off later if you wish to partake. I assume you'll want to know the way our team works." He smiles at me.

Katie and I follow Tim as we delve deeper into a part of the wood that I never knew existed. We trudge across wet leaves coated in sticky layers of tree sap, make our way through dark alcoves that were caused by over hanging trees and wade across an ankle deep lake until Tim finally brings us into a massive clearing at least a quarter of a mile wide and a mile long.

"Welcome to The Zone. Katie, you've obviously been here before but you......." Tim trails "have not. So. What do you think?"

At first glance, the clearing looked like any other meadow you might happen to chance upon during a stroll but, looking more closely, I could begin to pick out the various stations marked out and, in the distance, two figures.

"So you've seen them then?" Tim smirks.

"Who are they?" I question curiously.

"They are models of Kayleigh Michaels and her Match."

"You worked out who he was?"

"No. Why the heck would we be having this training session if we had?"

"Sorry. May I please take a look?"

"Of course."

I snatch my knife from my belt and sprint towards the models, coming to a stop in front of them.

I was going to enjoy this.

Notes

Hiya!

So this is a slightly shorter chapter today, about six pages. Since I didn't receive any feedback about how long I should make my chapters, I'm only going to shorten them slightly by about a quarter of a page.

Also, Id like to ask you all a favour. I do my best to edit my chapters but I'm not the most observant of people so, if you see a mistake, let me know because I don't always pick up on them!

Since my half term has finally come to an end, I will be returning to my usual updates every four days instead of the more frequent ones I've been putting up this past week. Thank you all for sticking with me through this!

So, now I'm going to be an annoying author and say:
What do you think is up with El? If anyone can work it out, I've got a surprise lined up for them in future chapters :)
Who is the YOU?
And what are your predictions for the next chapter?

Comment, rate, subscribe and tell all your friends!
Love y'all and have a happy Saturday! :)