15 Duke

"Thats a wrap!" Michelle clapped her hands, giving her teammates a pseudo applause.

"I'm gonna die. I'm seriously gonna die." Waze gulped down water as she stumbled over to her bag.

"When are you not?" Marco leaned against the wall, looking as handsome as ever. Seriously, does that guy ever look bad?

"Waze, hold me up. I might not make it." Duke slouched onto Waze's shoulder with a pained expression.

"Dude, I'm no better. If you lean on me right now, I might really die."

"Ha! Weaklings."

"Cassidy you're no one to talk, you look like you just ran a marathon and then got hit by a train," Michelle said, glancing down at the small girl on the ground.

"That's what it feels like." Cassidy muttered, letting her eyes flutter shut. Today had been especially rough. They had done a special conditioning routine Norris had drafted, and it had practically destroyed them.

"I don't think I can do another sit-up in my life," Waze groaned as she threw her water bottle in her backpack.

"Get some rest tonight. You're not getting a break tomorrow, you can wait until Sunday," Norris said with a cold smile. There was a collective groan from the teens. Sunday was break day, but it was only Thursday. And Friday and Saturday were the most intense days of the week. They all dragged themselves through the tea shop and out the door. One look outside and Waze let out something close to a scream. Not like anyone would hear over the pouring rain drumming down outside.

"Waze you have to walk, huh? Sucks for you, I guess. See you tomorrow." Marco waved goodbye to her as he rushed to his car. That rude bastard. Cassidy hurried behind, giving them a similar wave as she climbed into the passenger seat of his car. Cassidy was only 15, like Waze, so she couldn't drive yet. Sable was also 15, and though she had her permit she was still picked up by a driver every day. Her family was pretty damn rich.

"See you tomorrow, Sable!" Waze waved to her with a smile as Sable climbed into the back of the sleek black car. Sable seemed surprised for a moment before she gave Waze a small wave.

"See you." And with that, Sable was gone.

"Bye bye, loves! Let's die again together tomorrow, shall we?" Michelle blew Waze and Duke a kiss over her shoulder before she climbed into her car and drove away. She wasn't wrong, though. Norris's workouts were truly lethal. Duke and Waze were the only ones left standing under the shelter of the building as the rain poured down.

"Whelp, guess I'll see you tomorrow." Waze pulled her hood over her head and started to walk out from the overhang before a strong hand on her shoulder pulled her back.

"Oh no you don't. If you go out in that storm you won't make it home alive. You might have stood a chance on a normal day, but after that workout? You'd be dead in a ditch by morning." Duke had a point, and if he was offering her a ride she would definitely take it.

"Come one, I'll drive you home." Duke gestured towards his car with a nod of his head and jogged over to it. Waze mentally pumped her fist. Thank god.

Once in the warmth of Duke's SUV, Waze relaxed into the seat. Finally, she could rest. Duke started the car and the head lights flickered on. He paused for a moment to check his phone. Waze watched him, and saw as his expression changed from worn out to downright annoyed. He sighed and tilted his head back before looking at Waze. Oops, he caught her staring. He didn't seem to care, though.

"You wanna get ice cream?" Waze was slightly surprised by his offer but didn't question it.

"You paying?"

"Of course, it's not like you could."

"Yeah, yeah I'm broke. No need to rub it in." Duke laughed but it was empty and hollow. He pulled out of the lot as Waze gazed out the window. She liked to watch the raindrops drip down the glass, as they collided and connected with one another. Despite the fact it was hell to walk home in, Waze really did love the rain. She glanced back at Duke. He still looked pretty depressed.

They walked into the shop and ordered their ice cream. Waze got a mango sherbet and Duke got cookies and cream. The shop was large but empty. They sat in the far corner by the window.

"Ok, spill. What's wrong?" Waze looked at Duke expectantly. She couldn't stand seeing him like this.

"What? Nothing. Nothings wrong. All good here." Duke pounded on his chest a couple times with a laugh before his expression dropped. Waze flicked him on the forehead and he flinched back.

"Don't give me that. If you don't want to talk about it, say you don't want to talk about. Don't just tell me nothings wrong. Anyway, if you bottle your feelings up too much then they'll explode when you least want them to. Trust me." Waze had had her fair share of mental breakdowns. Duke sighed and tilted his head back, leaning it against the wall with a thump.

"My dad's drunk texting me again. I just really don't want to go home and deal with that."

"Drunk parents? I feel you. My mom's a pretty heavy drinker herself, though I usually just hide in my room."

Duke laughed.

"Well that's one solution."

"Yeah, I'm lucky though. My mom's a happy drunk. Your dad...?"

"Not so much."

"Though so."

They ate their ice cream in silence. It was starting to melt.

"If you don't mind me asking," Waze started, "how'd you come to Norris?" It was a question she had always wanted to ask the others. She could guess they each had their own unique stories.

"I guess I'll start from the beginning." Duke sighed as if getting ready for a long story. If he wanted to talk, Waze would listen. That's what friends are for, right? Besides, she couldn't say she wasn't curious.

"My parents are always away for work. When they're home, my mom sleeps and my dad gets drunk. Because of this, I was pretty much raised by my sister. She's great, but she's got a pretty weak ability. So she always taught me to fight with my fists. No one ever taught me how to use my ability, or told me it was important. All my life, I've acted out and picked fights with others. I guess it's in my nature. One day, I picked a fight with the wrong guys. They didn't look strong, but their abilities were really overpowered. After I got my ass beat, I was pretty depressed. I was moping around for a while, and while looking for something to keep myself busy, I stumbled upon Norris's shop. She was easy to talk to, and I ended up ranting everything to her. She told me about her cultivation center, and introduced me to the others. Sable wasn't there yet, so it was just Marco, Cassidy, and Michelle. I wanted to get stronger, so that I wouldn't get hurt like that again. And I yearned for the support that the team would give me. Aside from my sister, they're all I really care about." Duke looked at her with a slightly concerned expression. "Sorry for ranting. You probably don't care and it's probably annoying to listen to..."

"Stop it. You don't need to apologize for talking, after all I'm the one who asked in the first place. I'm just glad you can open up to me." Waze gave him a smile. It was genuine and soft, a smile she usually didn't show. Duke was slightly surprised by her kind expression. "I do care. I consider you one of my only friends. I can't say I understand all of your pain, and I don't think you want me to. All I can say is: that really sucks, man. But I'm glad you're with Norris now. And I'm glad I'm here too."

"Shit, now we're getting all gooey and cheesy." Duke laughed a bit.

"Damn, you're right. You got me monologuing."

They finished their ice cream over playful banter. Eventually, it came time for Waze to go home.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Get some sleep." Waze paused before she fully got out of the car. "Good luck hiding from your dad," she said with a wink. It was a shared pain, therefore something they could laugh over. Something they could try to make light of.

"See you tomorrow. Let's try to survive," Duke said. Waze laughed and hurried inside. She stood on the porch and watched Duke drive off. She was almost thankful for the rain. It had brought her and Duke together like this. She finally felt like she was really connecting with her teammates. Well, one of them at least. She couldn't wait to get closer to the rest.