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It's chilly on the rooftop when Pang arrives, hands burried deep into his pockets, feeling the Gifted pin against the pad of his fingers. Wave and Nam are already there, going over tomorrow's plans.
“Took you long enough. Drink up,” Wave says as he tosses him a cold can of beer that Pang barely manages to catch.
“You guys are not allowed to drink in my presence,” Nam says, looking up from her diary at the sound of a tab popping open to shoot them both a glare. “I don't want to be responsible for your drunk selves.”
“We're taking down an entire institution and you're worried about us drinking?” Wave asks and Pang has to stifle a laugh behind his can. He takes a step closer to where they’re huddled near the edge.
“No,” Nam huffs, arms crossed over her chest. Pang can see pink dusting her cheeks where the moonlight illuminates her face just enough. “I'm just worried you guys won't be able to hold your liquor. I don’t want to have to drag you back to your rooms alone.”
“Wanna bet on that?” Wave smirks, leaning in a little closer.
“You're gonna give her another heart attack like that,” Pang teases, finally sitting down in front of them, forming a triangle around the mess of Wave's electronics and Nam's notes. They break apart in an instant, suddenly all too aware of their proximity to each other. Nam busies herself with her notes, while Wave looks to the stars. Silence settles in the air and over them like a blanket.
Nam coughs after a while, breaking the tension. “You guys remember your escape routes, right?”
Pang nods and Wave continues to ignore her in favour of the horizon.
“Be serious. If you don’t arrive at the rendezvous point on time, Ohm and I will have to go back and look for you,” she nags, slapping Wave’s arm to get his attention.
She doesn’t have to come with Ohm as part of the rescue party, not really. Ohm might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he’s smart enough to find people on his own without getting caught.
(“I know that,” she’d said, not bothering to look up from the notebook she’s scribbling in.
“Then why?” Pang had asked. From behind him, he could hear Wave scoff. “Why don’t you just stay behind?”
Nam sighed, finally placing her pen down and looking straight into Pang’s eyes. “Ohm has a knack for losing people and you both have a knack for leaving people behind. That’s not exactly an ideal combination for a rescue mission, you know.” There’s a sternness to her features that Pang can’t quite interpret that’s gone as soon as he takes note of it. Nam breaks eye contact, shifting her attention back to her notebook. She mumbles the next sentence just loud enough for Pang to catch wind of it: “Besides, do you think I could stand to sit around and wait for you two without worrying myself to death?”)
“Pang, are you even listening?” Nam calls, waving her hand in front of him to check.
“Huh?”
“I was asking if you have any idea on what you want to do after all this,” she says, nibbling on a pretzel as she speaks. Pang can’t help but think she looks so much like a mouse like this. “You too, Wave. I don’t expect Pang to have a plan, but surely, you do.”
Wave looks up from his laptop. “Not really,” he smirks. He’s saying that just to agitate her, earning a hit from the now empty box of pretzels successfully. Wave picks it up and throws it back her way, mimicking a basketball player going for a three. “Why? Do you have a plan?”
“Of course, I do.” She says, chest huffing slightly. “I want to know about other Gifted students.”
Wave snorts. “Of course you do.”
“Oh, come on, Wave. Don’t tell me you’re not the least bit curious about them?”
“Not at all. I’m sure Pang is even less interested than I am.”
They both look at him and Pang reflexively raises his hands as if to defend himself from their imploring gazes. “I’m... actually interested too,” he answers honestly. “But not in the students from the past batches.”
“What do you mean?” Wave and Nam ask in unison.
“I mean—” Pang chews on the inside of his cheek, hesitant. “It’s not likely that we’re the only ones in the country, or even the world, who are Gifted right?”
Wave and Nam share a look as Pang bites down on his lower lip.
He snakes a hand to his nape, rubbing anxiously. “Y’know what, I’m probably just blabbing—”
“What? No, Pang, what you said—” Nam’s grip catching hold of Pang’s wrist, her hand a sobering coolness against his pulse point, bringing him back like a tether. “You’re right. I mean, if our government is already in on the Gifted program, how are we so certain that other schools don’t already have their own Gifted programs?” She lets go of Pang’s wrist, hands moving animatedly as she talks, eyes lighting up with the rush from the realization. “Or even that other states—”
“That other states aren’t doing the same,” Wave chimes in at the same time, smiling.
Nam returns the smile. “I guess we just figured out what we’re going to be doing after this.”
“We?” Wave, still smiling as he speaks. “When did I ever agree to be a part of this?”
“Oh, shut up,” Nam rolls her eyes but she’s smiling too, and Pang can’t help the way his mouth curls up into a smile too, splitting his face in half with how wide he’s grinning. “You wouldn’t miss it for the world.”