by R. J. Ross
"Six... seven... eight--how in the heck do you get eight abs?" Emily asks, making Aubrey want to turn away completely. That is something she definitely isn't going to get out of her memory any time soon, regardless of how she tries, she thinks.
The door opens to the bathroom and Jack comes out wearing a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. It's about that time that he realizes that they're there, she notices, because a shocked look crosses his face.
"Um... hi," Aubrey says, raising a hand. He just looks so cute when he's completely off guard. Like he expects to get stuck in detention or something.
"Hi," he says, starting for the table. "Um, how long have you two been here?"
"Long enough to see your six pack!" Emily says. "And your smily face boxers!"
"Jeanie got those!" Jack says, giving her a dark look. "I got no say in it!"
"You chose to wear them!"
"Boxers are boxers," Jack mutters as he drops down in a chair. Aubrey glances at him as Jeanie puts a plate of food in front of him. He barely glances at her before digging in, eating as quickly as Trent did earlier. He looks a bit surprised when he realizes his plate is empty.
"You're going to be eating more now, Jack," Jeanie says, patting him on the back before taking his plate. "So make sure you eat all of your lunch today, okay?"
"I did eat--" Jack stops and looks at Trent, who's gulping down his milk all of a sudden. "How much of my lunch did you eat, man?"
"Er..." Trent says, looking up at the clock. "Time to go!"
"How much did you eat?" Jack demands again, chasing after Trent as the other teen runs for the door.
"You know what would be fun?" Jeanie asks. "Why don't we start cooking classes, girls? I'm sure they'll come in handy with dating those two!"
"I burn things," Emily says, straight-faced. "All the things."
"I'd like to learn," Aubrey says, feeling her face get hot. "You know, since cooking is important."
"Aubrey! Are you coming?" Jack yells from the door.
"I am!" she says, jumping to her feet and chasing after him. They are absolutely dating, she decides.
***
Zoe keeps looking back at us as we walk to school. By the time we're to the laser wall, my jaw is starting to tick because I'm trying to keep my temper. It's not working. "WHAT?" I demand as she glances back at me for the tenth time.
"I heard," she says. "Are you sure about this, Aubrey? Because, seriously, you can do way better."
"Zoe," I say in a warning tone.
"I'm sure," Aubrey says, grabbing my arm. "I mean, what did you hear, exactly?"
"That you two were making out in the elevator," Adanna says from where she's been waiting for us to show up. She heads for Trent and Sunny, rolling her eyes as she tugs on Sunny's leg. "Wake up, lazy," she says. Sunny snores.
"Really, why is she dating him?" I ask the group at large. "It makes absolutely no sense."
Adanna shoots me a look that could strip flesh from bone, and suddenly I'm wondering if she's as dangerous as her dad is when mad. I've never seen her abilities. She probably turns into this massive panther like her dad does, right? It'd be awesome to see it. "I do not see how it's any of your business who I date," she says coldly.
"She doesn't like you," Emily points out.
"Yeah, I ah, picked up on that," I admit.
"You'll need to prove that you are fitting to be a super villain before I will allow you to take on the title," Adanna goes on, storming over to me and glaring at me. "It isn't a title one takes on half-heartedly. I'm from a long line of super villains, I won't allow you to tarnish their reputation!"
"How do you tarnish super villains' reputation?" I ask after a long period of trying to figure that one out.
"By being a second rate one!" she announces. "You will prove yourself!"
"Adanna was raised to be a super villain," Trent tells me as Sunny yawns and slips off of his back sleepily. "She takes it very seriously."
"But don't you NEED to be bad to be a super villain?" I ask.
"The baddest!" Adanna announces as Sunny stumbles to her side, yawning more. "You need to wake up," she adds, poking him in the chest. "At least long enough to get to your first hour."
I'm so confused. It doesn't help that she looks perfectly serious about this. Maybe that's the reason Sunny got such a babe? Because she's crazy. Yeah, that makes sense.
"Adanna just wants you to be the best you can be as a villain," Aubrey whispers in my ear.
"This school is crazy," I say bluntly. "Seriously crazy." But I think I like it. A little grin pulls at my lips as the panel comes up and we head in. At least it does until I'm at the bottom of the steps and looking at Taurus, who looks far too happy carrying a bucket of quick dry cement.
"Ready to rebuild the restroom?" he asks. "Because it's ready for you."
"Where's Justin? He can't get out of this, right?" I demand.
"He's already there, just waiting for you," Taurus says.
"You know most schools don't make you do construction work for detention, don't you?" I complain as I follow him into the building. "This is probably a crime."
"Not for super brats," Taurus says. "Super brats are built for heavy lifting, especially your type. A little bit of patch work isn't going to do a thing to you." We stop in the hallway outside the bathroom, looking at the professional singer sitting there, staring at the ceiling. "Giddup, time for work," Taurus says.
"I should sue," Justin says as he gets to his feet. "I can see making metal mouth do this, but I'm a professional musician--" He grunts as the bucket is pushed into his hands.
"Get to work," Taurus says.
I look at the big black man, wondering if I could take him out. Or maybe outrun him--straight into the laser wall. Okay, that's out. I head into the bathroom, looking at the mess that Justin's left. Yeah, it's not Taurus I should be beating on, I decide as I stare at the fallen glass. It's Justin. I reach out as the other guy passes me, grabbing his underwear and giving him a wedgie. He lets out a yelp, but I don't care. He totally deserves it.
"Enough revenge," Taurus says. "Justin, you sweep, Jack you get whatever's left of the mirrors off the wall and put up the new ones. We'll fix the wall outside next." He heads for the bench in the changing area, dropping down and crossing his arms over his chest. It looks like he's just going to sit there and watch us do the work.
"This sucks," Justin complains as he picks up the broom and dustpan, starting to clean. I head for the wall, looking at the metal screws that bolted what little glass was left to the wall. Curious, I reached up, touching them and watching as they unscrew on their own. "That... is pretty awesome," I say even as the glass crashes into the sinks below.
"Grab the glass, don't just let it fall!" Justin yells. "You're making more of a mess, you idiot!"
I roll the screw into a ball between my fingers, bringing it up and aiming it at him. He's not a tank, but he's got to be a little tough, right? Either way, he totally deserves--
The door slams open and I accidentally smash the ball I've just formed. A girl storms in, looking armed for war. She looks familiar--especially as she heads straight for me, as if she's going to beat me up.
"Morgan!" Taurus says. But it's Justin that reacts fastest, much to my surprise. He tackles her before she can get to me.
"Don't!" he says.
"What the heck?" she demands, shoving him off.
"You can't touch Jack, you moron!" Justin says.
"This has nothing to do with you, boyband boy," Morgan says, shoving him off. I back up and try to blend in with the wall. "You're messing with the wrong girl," she snarls as she turns on me. I guess I should have looked for a metal wall, huh? "How dare you try and take advantage of my Aubrey? You lunk of metal--"
"Don't touch me," I say, holding up both hands. "They'll kill me if you touch me."
"I wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole!" she announces. "You scum! Aubrey is just now getting over what the Collector did to us! And now she's right b
ack where she came from--"
"She dated the Collector?" I ask.
"She was being controlled by a bad man, now she's dating one! I'm not stupid," she tells me. "You're planning on using her somehow!"
"For what?" I have to ask.
"For--for your super villain thing!"
I look at her blankly for a long moment before admitting, "You lost me. How would I do that? I mean, I'm pretty much a walking wrecking ball, you know? And she's a healer, right? So what would I do, heal people for revenge?"
"I'm not the super villain, how should I know! All I know is that a guy like you doesn't pick a girl like Aubrey! So stop playing with her emotions!"
Now I'm getting irritated. "You don't even know me," I say. "Who are you to say who I'd pick or not pick?"
"You're just taking advantage of her crush on you!"
"I don't know what's going on, but I think--" Justin says.
"Shut up, boyband boy," I snap.
"I have never been in a boyband in my life!" he says, looking highly offended. It's almost funny, but this isn't the time for it.
"Excuse me," Taurus says. "As interesting as this is, Morgan, you're supposed to be in self study, not the boy's bathroom. And the boys are right, you're not supposed to touch Jack. I'd suggest you remember that."
"Why can't I touch him?" she demands. "What's so special about him?"
"Because you wouldn't be able to control his powers. It'd kill you," Taurus says, walking over to push her out the door. "Now go do your self study," he adds before closing the door behind her.
The room is silent, with both of them turning to look at me. "So you and Aubrey are a thing?" Taurus asks.
"Don't we have work to do?" I demand, heading back to the mirrors.
"They're a thing," Justin says.
"Definitely."
CHAPTER SIX
Every time I turned around today I found Morgan either yelling at me or shooting me dirty looks. You'd think I stole her daughter or something, it's ridiculous. Now I've got a headache, and not from patching walls and replacing mirrors. I'm just glad that the day is over and that Morgan doesn't live in the apartments.
I look over at Aubrey, who looks worried. We're trailing along behind the others because she said she had something to talk to me about. Thing is, she hasn't said a word. It's starting to bug me.
"Look--" I start out.
"I'm sorry," she says at the exact same time. We both stop, looking at each other. "I'm really sorry. I mean, Morgan means right, it's just--"
"Forget it," I say.
"What? Do you mean--forget--"
"She's your best friend, right? I guess she's got a right to not like your boyfriend, you know?"
She looks a bit stunned for a second and I wonder if I said the wrong thing again. Was I supposed to complain? Hell if I know. I mean, I've never actually gotten this far in a relationship before... not really.
"She just doesn't know you well enough," Aubrey declares with a determined look that is definitely going to be trouble.
"Wait, wait, waaait," I say, holding up both hands. "I can't get to know her."
"Of course you can!"
"No, Aubrey, I can't. Nico told me--" Wow that sounds lame. Like I'm all about the rules. But still--
"You just need to talk to her! It's not hard, Morgan likes to talk!" she says, grabbing my hand.
I'm having a hard time trying to come up with a way to tell her that it's just not going to happen. Wait. Something in my pocket is vibrating. What the--I slip my hand into my pocket, pulling out the phone Nico made me. "Yeah, ah, I gotta get this," I say, more as an excuse to get out of this conversation than anything else. Only a handful of people should even know this number--like, two. I hit the green button, bringing it to my ear. "Yo."
"You don't call, you don't write, you know, if I didn't know better I'd think you were avoiding me."
I go still, my eyes widening as my hand tightens on the phone. It's a good thing it's specially made, because I'm pretty sure I would have broken it otherwise.
"Jack? Man, this IS you, isn't it?"
"Derrick," I say. "You ah... hey." Aubrey is listening, but seems to relax when I say Derrick's name. Think she's jealous? Wait, I got bigger issues to deal with right now.
"Of course it's me. Man, it's good to hear your voice! It's been forever."
"Yeah, yeah it has," I say, wondering why I suddenly feel worried. "What's up?"
"Nothing much, just thought we could catch up. You wouldn't believe how hard it was to get your new number."
"Yeah, I bet... but man, I can't exactly go out in public--"
"Sure you can," he says. "Or are you trying to disown me now that you're a super? Think you're too good for the old gang, huh? Next thing I know you'll be running around in tights and shouting out cheesy catch-phrases."
I look at Aubrey, then at the teachers that are all around. Those aren't typical teachers--those are full-fledged super heroes watching, and probably listening to my every word.
"Look, now's not a good time," I say. "I'll call you back, alright?"
"I wish I could believe that," he says. "But I've heard you've been out for days. That you're even going to a new school and everything. You have any idea how that looks?" he demands. "Your best friend--your blood brother--and you don't even call me up and tell me that you're alive! Are you really that sort of guy?"
"You know I'm not," I growl. "But I'm serious when I say now isn't the right time, got it? I'll call you back." I hang up, then turn the phone off entirely before sliding it back into my pocket.
"Jack?" Aubrey says, taking my hand.
"It's just an old pal," I say, trying to blow it off. "Nothing big." I'm so freaking torn right now, it's unbelievable. I mean... I shouldn't be, right? All he asked was to meet me, it's not like he's asking me to come back to the gang. I mean, I miss hanging out with the guys, don't get me wrong, but it's pretty obvious that I can't go back to it, not looking the way I do. I...
I got a girlfriend now! I got a future! One that I'm sure I'll screw up, sure, but I... I also got a past. And it's really hard to think when Aubrey's staring up at me like she is. Especially when she hugs me for no reason.
"Don't call him," she says against my chest.
"It's just a phone call," I say. "Seriously, he's a guy, it's not even a reason to get jealous about!"
"I just don't feel right about this, Jack," she says, pulling away and looking up at me. "Please... you've got new friends, right? Do you really need--"
"So I should just dump all the guys I knew before this?" I ask, getting irritated. "They were my friends for a long time, Aubrey. Derrick got me out of a lot of stuff--" after getting me into it in the first place, but I can't say that part. "I owe him," I finish. "At least a phone call."
She looks like she wants to argue. I hope she doesn't. This would be the shortest relationship ever recorded if we break up the day after getting together. Possibly. "I--I guess," she says. "But I just have a bad feeling about this," she repeats.
"Hurry it up, guys!" Nico calls back to us.
"Come on, let's go home," Aubrey says, grabbing my hand and tugging. I follow her silently, my mind going back to the conversation with Derrick. What exactly does he want from me? It's not like I'm going to be escaping the apartment anytime soon, right?
But... you know, if I could get out, I could get Aubrey a new violin...
***
I was preoccupied through dinner, which I think the family picked up on, because Ken calls out my name as I start for my room. "Jack? Can I talk to you for a bit?"
I hesitate. I'd spent the entire dinner time trying to work up the nerve to call Derrick, and if I wait too long I'll just wind up pushing it off to later, then get called at another awkward moment--I've got no choice, though, because everyone is looking at me expectantly. "Um, yeah," I say, following him.
He leads me to a room in the back of the apartment, which looks like an office. I'd forgotten that Ken was a prea
cher, but it comes back to me as I see all the thick leather bound books lined up on shelves. "Take a seat," Ken says, motioning to a chair. He drops down in the other chair as I sit down. We're facing one another.
"Did I do something?" I ask. "If it's about the bathroom thing, that was Justin--"
"Not entirely Justin, from what Nico tells me," he says with a hint of amusement. "Look," he says before I can reply, "I know this isn't easy on you. You've gone through a lot of changes in a really short amount of time. So I figured you might want to talk about it with someone."
I stare at him. "This is the part where you pretend to be my friend, right?" I say dryly. "Try and be the father figure I ain't had, step up to the plate. It never works, you know."
"Have it happen pretty often, huh?" he says.
"Way too many times for me to fall for it," I say. "I figure you were stuck taking me, anyway, so we can stop pretending to be happy about it now."
"Why?" he asks.
"Why what?"
"Why would we be pretending?"
"Because you got stuck with a juvenile delinquent living in your spare bedroom just because I come with metal coating?" I say dryly. "Look, I get dumped on people all the time, nobody likes it, least of all me."
"You don't think anyone could be happy to have you?" he asks quietly.
"No one ever has."
"From what Nico tells me, Marge was. I went out and introduced myself to her when Nico asked us to take you in, you know. She was so happy that you were going to survive that she was crying," he tells me. There's a little smile on his lips that I can't help but wonder at. "You know," he goes on. "She loves you. I think she'd have taken you back if you didn't come with metal coating. Honestly, she would have taken you with the metal coating if she could have. But you're a super now, you need to be raised by your own kind."
"Whatever," I mutter, looking away. "Marge's just blind."
"To what?" he asks. "Nico told you I was a Christian, didn't he?"
"He said you were a preacher," I admit. "But there's more than just Christian preachers, right?"
"It's usually a Christian term," he says. "Do you know what Christians believe? What I believe?"