“All I’m saying is this,” Nico began. “For some reason the rest of the world can’t figure out, you’re the guy for Gert. She looks at that shaggy head and the goofy grin and those skinny arms, and she sees the man of her dreams.”
“Are you trying to be abusive, or does it just come naturally?”
Nico smiled. “Hush. I’m sharing my wisdom.”
“Oh, is that what this is?”
“It’s an honor to have somebody love you, Chase. Gert’s honoring you. If you’re worried about hanging on to her, just remember that honor. Live up to it. Be the guy she sees when she gets all dopey-eyed over you. As long as you’re that guy, you’ll never have to worry about some better-looking dude coming along and charming her pants off.”
Chase rolled his eyes and threw up his hands. “Come on, Nico. Nobody, I mean, seriously, nobody can live up to other people’s ideal image of them.”
He’d barely finished the sentence when somebody shouted “Heads up!” and a bright pink Frisbee thunked into the back of his head.
“Ow!” Chase moaned. “Damn, that hurt.” He bent to pick up the Frisbee and flipped it back to the ponytailed mom who’d come to fetch it. She apologized for her husband, who’d made the bad throw but was too embarrassed to own up to it.
Nico couldn’t help laughing as Chase walked back over to their beach blanket.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“No. It was funny. I recognize the funny.”
“It’s just the sound it made,” Nico explained. “The thunk sound.” She snickered, then started laughing out loud. “Like your skull…” She had to catch her breath. “Like your skull was hollow.”
“Now you’re just being hurtful.”
Nico caught her breath. When she looked up, she realized she’d come farther from the shade of her umbrella than she’d intended. Down at the water, Gert and Molly were body-surfing in the waves. Karolina sat just at the edge of the surf, letting it foam and roll over her legs.
“Go,” Nico said. “Go and tell her all of it. What she means to you.”
Chase glanced over at the water. At Gert.
“You up for a swim?” he asked.
Nico shook her head. “This is all you.” She turned back toward her umbrella, but she hesitated.
“Hey, Chase?”
He paused.
“You don’t have to be anyone’s ideal,” Nico said. “Nobody does. All you have to do is try your best, and you already do that. It’s why she loves you. Keep it up and you’ll be fine.”
“Thanks, Nico,” Chase said. “That’s sweet, actually.”
“Just don’t tell anyone,” she replied. “You’ll ruin my image.”
She watched him walk down to the surf and pull Gert aside. In the sunshine, he spoke urgently, and soon they were both smiling. Gert kissed him, and then shoved him into the water. Chase stumbled and fell into the waves, and then Gert and Molly were both jumping on him, wrestling with him and laughing as they dunked him. When he came up, sputtering, Chase grinned as he picked Gert up on one shoulder and then hurled her into the water.
Nico took off her hat and sunglasses and put them on the towel beneath her umbrella.
She took off running. Sand kicking up behind her, she sprinted for the waves, where the rest of her friends—the rest of her family—were already laughing together.
When Nico reached the surf Chase started splashing her. She punched him and promised to turn him into a newt, but he picked her up, staggered deeper, and dumped her into the water, much to everyone’s amusement. The Pacific was colder than she expected and that dark chill enveloped her, soothing her, easing the remaining tension in her.
Grinning, she rose from the ocean, intent upon her revenge, only to discover that the other girls had risen to defend her. Gert and Molly were once again forcibly dunking Chase while Karolina finally waded deeper into the water to join them.
As she splashed Karolina, Nico thought that perhaps the sun wasn’t her enemy after all. There would always be shadows. The Runaways needed them. Though the shadows could sometimes hide terrible danger, they also offered quiet sanctuary. The Runaways had thrived in the shadows because they had each other. They made it through together. And no matter what threats they faced, they’d keep going, and they would help others do the same.
Today, though—just for today—they would enjoy the sun.
Christopher Golden is the New York Times best-selling author of Snowblind, Ararat, Tin Men, and many other novels. His young adult novels have appeared on YALSA’s Best Books for Reluctant Readers list and been honored by the New York Public Library. With Mike Mignola, he cocreated two cult favorite comic book series, Baltimore and Joe Golem: Occult Detective. Golden has also written numerous media tie-in novels, including the first ever original novels featuring the X-Men, Hellboy, Daredevil, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sons of Anarchy, and more. He cohosts two podcasts, Three Guys with Beards and Defenders Dialogue. He can be found online at www.christophergolden.com as well as on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Runaways Page 23