One (One Universe)

when he’s got such a huge sweatshirt on. But he’s definitely pale, and big bags carve out dark circles under his eyes. Mom comes in with the coffee, in a travel mug of course — can’t risk staining the carpet — and Elias smiles at her gratefully.
    When she walks out, he leans in toward me, lowering his voice and waggling his eyebrows like a conspirator. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”
    Michael groans. “Aw, we’re leaving. Don’t wanna be here for this.”
    “I’m not gonna kiss her, doofus,” Elias says, finding a cheese ball on the carpet and lobbing it at Michael’s head this time. “Surprise for all of you.” He pushes some buttons on his cuff, and mine beeps. “Check it,” he says, smiling.
    I push up my sleeve and read the message scrolling across my wrist. “The Biotech Symposium?” I shriek, launching myself off the couch and into Elias’s lap, throwing my arms around his neck. “How did you…”
    “Dad’s VP, remember? He got me five tickets to give to whoever I want. So that’s you, Leni and Dan, and…”
    “My brothers,” I say, shaking my head and giving him a soft smile.
    The Hub hosts a Symposium every two years where it rolls out all the new Biotech achievements. It’s for Supers only, and mostly only adult ones. Officials and insiders. The part that the press and general public gets invited to — what these tickets are for — is a two-day affair, super fancy. Even though Mom and Dad work there, us kids have never been, and me and Max are geeky enough to be really excited.
    Max fidgets where he sits, grinning. He’s got to be totally psyched for this. Michael couldn’t care less, I know, but he’s no impolite kid, not by a longshot.
    “Thanks, Elias,” he says.
    “Yeah, man. No problem,” Elias says, but he keeps his gaze fixed on me.
    I lean in to kiss Elias. Can’t help it. Retching noises fill the room in dual surround-sound, and Michael says, “Now we’re really getting out of here.”
    I wave them off behind Elias’s back, mid-kiss. After a couple minutes of that, I draw back.
    “Wanna…you know?” I make the swooping motion with my hand. “You could use one of my dad’s coats,” I say, shivering when I move my hands over his back and feel how cold his sweatshirt still is from being outside. Thinking about the Symposium energized me. I want to fly, even though I know the grass outside seizes with frost and the sun went down long ago. We’d probably get frostbite.
    “Nah,” Elias says, wrapping his fingers around my waist. “Less than an hour till I have to go. I just want to see you.”
    I peel myself off his lap and get back on the couch, pulling the blanket up and patting the space next to me. The same stupid cartoon still blares in the background, but I don’t care enough to change the channel.
    We sit there, cuddled up together, and he stretches his arm across my shoulders and plays with my hair. He presses his nose to the side of my head and breathes in deeply like always.
    Mom walks down the hallway, clears her throat way louder than normal, and says, “Just keep the lights on, kids.”
    Elias turns around, grabbing the couch back with both hands to show Mom where they are without making her ask anything embarrassing. “I’ve gotta be home by 9:30 anyway, Mrs. Grey.”
    “Good to see you here, Elias,” she says and walks up the stairs.
    I sink further down into the couch cushions and slap my palm to my forehead. “Sorry about that,” I mutter.
    Elias sinks his body down too, harder for him because he’s so tall. I pull the blanket up over our heads, and we are in a world of our own making, one I never want to leave. We talk and kiss and laugh, and Elias sneaks his hand around my waist, under my shirt this time, and I don’t shake or get nervous at all. I love it, all of it, being this warm and close to him. He kisses my eyelids, behind my ears, and my lips, lingering there for awhile.
    “You make everything else go away,” he says, and I figure school or basketball was pretty stressful today, so I just put my hand on the side of his face and look at him as sweetly as I can manage.
    We stay there so long that Elias has to speed home and call me on the way just to say “Goodnight” one more time.
    -
    Today’s session with Mr. Hoffman is different. Finally, something other than chem. Mr. Hoffman’s taking a vial of my blood so I can look at it under the microscope. He wants to talk about genes and knows me so well that