by TJ Klune
“Does this have to do with what happened yesterday?” Jazz asked. “You know, the whole Nick being scared and needing to be rescued by Gibby and then by Shadow Star.”
Nick turned slowly to glare at Gibby.
She shrugged. “Needed to sound heroic for my lady.”
“By throwing me under the bus?”
She patted his shoulder. “Your contribution was noted. And that’s exactly how it happened, so shut up.”
Jazz nodded. “You screamed at the muggers in a high-pitched voice that you were going to tell your dad.”
“Literally none of that happened,” Nick said. “And frankly, I don’t have time to tell you what really happened because I’m busy. And not with what you think! It’s time for school.”
Jazz looked at his notepad again. “Mr. Nicholas Shadow Star. Nicky, I don’t think that’s how last names work. Like, at all. If anything, you’d be Mr. Nicholas Star.” She smiled. “That sounds like it should be your porn name. I approve.”
Nick needed new friends.
* * *
“—and furthermore,” Nick said as he sat at the lunch table, apropos of nothing, “I feel as if I’m being judged for wanting to be something different than I already am. Gibby, when you shaved your head and asked that we call you Gibby instead of Lola, did we argue with you about that?”
“Is he still on this?” Gibby asked Jazz. “It’s like he resumed a conversation we were having hours ago as if no time had passed.”
“He finds the little things important,” Jazz told her. “I like that about him.”
“You would,” Gibby muttered. Then, “No. Nick, you asked if you could be the one to shave my head after it grew out again, and then decided I should have racing stripes on the side to see if it would make me go faster.”
“Exactly,” Nick said fiercely. “And as a side note, I’m still upset you didn’t let me do any of that. It would have been awesome. And, Jazz, when you decided you wanted to take self-defense classes because men can sometimes be disgusting and not know the meaning of the words back off, you sumbitch, did I not support you in that regard?”
Jazz smiled at him. “You did. You even went with me to the first class and got your butt kicked by a sixty-three-year-old grandmother.”
“She felt really bad after and made me pie,” Nick agreed. “But it was a purple plum pie, and that’s disgusting, so I had to throw it away. But it was the thought that counted. And Seth.”
They all turned to look at him.
His ascot was slightly askew. Nick didn’t know how to handle that.
Jazz sighed.
Seth blushed.
Gibby coughed pointedly.
Nick shook his head. He couldn’t get distracted. “What were we talking about?”
“How you threw away pie from an old lady,” Gibby said.
“That’s right. Seth, when you decided you wanted to wear ties to school for reasons that no one quite understands, who was the one who helped you look up how to tie a Windsor knot on the internet and then let you practice on him for an entire month until you got it right?”
“You were,” Seth said, looking down at the table.
“With minimal complaint!”
“For the first twenty minutes.”
“Which was twenty minutes more than it should have been!” Nick exclaimed. “You know I can’t sit still for that long without going out of my mind. Why on earth did you need to learn how to do a full Windsor? The only thing that made it bearable was when you found the one called the Nicky knot and insisted on wearing that one more than all the others.”
Gibby and Jazz turned slowly to look at Seth.
Seth didn’t acknowledge them, finding something extremely interesting to pick at on the table. It looked like dried ketchup.
“The Nicky knot,” Gibby said. “Seriously.”
“Yeah,” Jazz said. “Seriously.”
“I liked the way it looked,” Seth muttered.
Gibby snorted. “I bet you did.”
Nick didn’t have time for their vagueness. “And now that I’ve given you all examples of specific times I’ve been a good friend and supported you with something, I’m asking that you do the same for me and respect my decision to become an Extraordinary.”
Jazz opened up her Tupperware. She pulled out what looked like quinoa tabbouleh with sliced avocados. Nick couldn’t be sure how he knew what quinoa tabbouleh even was. “How are you going to do that?” she asked. “Not everyone can be an Extraordinary. If they could, there’d be millions of them. I’d be one.”
“What would your superpower be?” Gibby asked.
Jazz shrugged. “Flying. Or maybe growing orange trees. You know I like the way orange trees look.”
Nick frowned. “That’s not a—”
Gibby shook her head in warning. “You do that, babe. I bet they’d be the best orange trees.”
“Of course they would,” Jazz said. “And then I’d harvest the oranges and make orange juice with so much pulp, it would be like chewing rather than drinking. And then I’d donate it to people who can’t afford orange juice.”
Nick wanted to protest—because what?—but he had to stay on their good side so he could have their complete support in his new endeavor. “That sounds … so great. Good for you.”
“Thanks,” Jazz said, beaming at him.
“I’d want to be able to make my hands turn into swords,” Gibby said, stealing an avocado slice from Jazz. “And then I’d stab everyone who pissed me off.”
“Very effective,” Nick said. “Bloody and violent, but I can dig it. Sword Hands, they’d call you. Look out, bad guys! Here comes Sword Hands, and she’s gonna stab your throat.”
They turned to Seth, who didn’t seem like he wanted to take part in the conversation, if the look on his face meant anything. He just needed a little motivation, and in another life where Extraordinaries didn’t exist, Nick could have been a motivational speaker.
“Your turn,” Nick said, bumping Seth’s shoulder. “You got this, man.”
Seth sighed. “I dunno. Maybe I don’t want to be an Extraordinary.”
Nick was scandalized. He said, “But—” and “Are you—” and “How could—” before deciding on “Why?”
Seth shrugged, but didn’t look up from his lunch box in front of him. “It sounds like it’d be hard work, you know? More than you think it ever could be.”
Nick didn’t understand. “But—it’s about being brave. It’s about helping people!”
Seth jerked his head up, and his jaw was clenched, his eyes narrowed. Nick had never seen that expression on his face before. A chill ran down his spine.
“Helping people,” Seth said, laughing quietly, though it didn’t sound like he found anything funny about it. “Sure. There’s that. Once you decide to go public and help people, you always have to continue helping them, no matter what. You can’t help one person and not another, right? And what happens when there are multiple people who need help, but you can’t get to all of them at once? Who do you choose? And when you do choose, how can you live with that choice if one of the people you didn’t help gets hurt? Or worse.”
Seth was getting upset. Nick didn’t like that at all. When Seth got upset, it made Nick twitchy and want to maim whatever had caused it. “Is this about what Owen said? Don’t listen to him, man. It’s just a game. You don’t need to—”
“It’s not a game,” Seth snapped, slamming his hands on the table. Nick struggled not to move away. “And even when you try your hardest to do good, there are always going to be people suspicious of your motives. Wondering what you’re really trying to do. And it doesn’t help that there’s going to be some jerk who appears out of nowhere and thinks he’s your archnemesis, and does his best to make everything worse.”
“But—”
Seth shook his head. “And it’s lonely. That’s the one thing you don’t expect. How lonely it is. Because you can’t tell anyone about it. You can’t tell your famil
y because they wouldn’t understand. You can’t tell your friends because they could become targets, and you don’t want them to get hurt. So you keep on going by yourself, hoping one day it will get better, and the only thing that’s in your head is why you started to begin with. Why you put on that stupid costume in the first place. The promise you made to yourself. And some days, that’s almost not enough.”
Silence fell over the table.
Gibby was staring at Seth strangely, and looked like she was going to open her mouth and say something, but Nick got there first. “Whoa. That … was … amazing.”
Seth’s eyes widened. “What?”
“No, seriously. That was perfect. Holy crap, Seth. Did you think of that off the top of your head? Oh my god, we need to collaborate on a fic together. Why didn’t you tell me you had an imagination?”
Seth groaned, putting his face in his hands.
“Did you guys hear that?” Nick demanded, looking at Gibby and Jazz.
“I think so,” Jazz said, squinting at Nick. “We’re sitting right here.”
Gibby didn’t say anything. She continued to stare at Seth, brow furrowed.
Seth groaned again.
“Yes, I know,” Nick said, reaching over and putting his arm around Seth’s shoulders, pulling him close. Seth came willingly enough, and Nick was pleased. “It’s shocking when you discover the depths of your creativity. Believe me, I would know. It happens to me on a daily basis.” He smacked a kiss on the top of Seth’s head. “By the way, I’m stealing everything you said as my backstory when I become an Extraordinary if I want to be the brooding kind. I haven’t decided if I’m going to do that, or go the happy, sarcastic, kick-ass way.”
“You don’t know how to brood,” Seth mumbled.
“Aw, isn’t this cozy,” Owen said, tossing his bag on the table, almost knocking Jazz’s quinoa tabbouleh into her lap. She glared up at him, and Nick wondered if Owen was about to go through the rest of his life without his fingers. Thankfully, Gibby put a hand over Jazz’s and squeezed, keeping her from getting up. Owen was too busy staring at Nick and Seth to see how close it’d been. “You two are so adorable, I can’t even stand it. Seriously. Stop. It’s disgusting.” He sat down, the bench creaking beneath him.
Seth pulled away, even though Nick was loath to let him go. It felt … nice, sitting like that with Seth. “You just missed Seth being so badass,” Nick told Owen.
Owen rolled his eyes. “First time for everything, I suppose.”
That didn’t sit well with Nick. It never did when someone talked badly about Seth. “That’s not fair. He’s badass all the time. More than you could ever be.”
Owen winked at Nick. “I highly doubt that.”
“You have sunglasses on top of your head.”
“And?”
“You just came from class. Which means you’re inside. Which means you look like an idiot.”
Seth snorted.
Owen shrugged. “Or I look good no matter what I’m doing.”
“Men are terrible,” Jazz told Gibby.
“I’m glad you think that way,” Gibby replied. “Means more of you for me.”
Owen reached over and stole one of Seth’s sugar snap peas. Seth looked like he was going to say something but swallowed it down instead as Owen continued with his nonsense. “Why are the dorks being all touchy-feely with each other? Not that I care.”
“Right,” Gibby said. “You don’t care so much that you asked anyway.”
Owen grinned at her, razor sharp. “I’m pretending to be interested. It’s what friends do.” He glanced at Nick. “And exes, I suppose.”
“Where did you come from?” Jazz asked suddenly.
For a moment, Owen’s facade morphed into a look of surprise, before it cooled again. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You weren’t friends with us. With any of us. And then all of a sudden, you were here. Why?”
Owen bit into the sugar snap pea, teeth crunching it cleanly. “You knew me before they did. My parents are donors to the same charities your parents are. We saw each other all the time.”
“Rich people stuff,” Gibby whispered to Seth and Nick.
“Right,” Jazz said, gnawing on her bottom lip. “And I remember seeing you at our country club, but we never talked. Well, except for that one time when you asked if I wanted to go back to your house and see your bed.”
Gibby’s eyes narrowed.
For the first time since Nick had known him, Owen almost looked scared. “Yeah,” he said hastily. “That wasn’t one of my better ideas. But if you could tell your guard dyke that it was before her, that would be great.”
“It was,” Jazz said, putting her hand on Gibby’s arm, much to Nick’s consternation. He wanted to see what Gibby would have done. He thought it would have been gory. “And I wasn’t the only one he tried to get with.”
Owen shrugged. “What can I say? I’ve got a big … heart. Ain’t that right, Nicky?”
“Ugh,” Nick said. “You know, you’ve got the whole attractive thing going for you, but what most people don’t know is that you’re also terrible. It’s really not the best combination.”
Seth laughed.
Owen narrowed his eyes at Nick. “You didn’t seem to think I was terrible when I put my tongue down your—”
“Gibby, no,” Jazz said.
“Gibby, yes,” Nick muttered, but Gibby let Jazz pull her back down to her seat.
“Look,” Owen said. “I don’t know what you want me to say. You guys are losers, and I happen to like losers.” He looked at Seth. “Everyone at this school is so … fake. You guys keep things interesting. Isn’t that right, Seth?”
“Right,” Seth said through gritted teeth.
Nick was almost positive they weren’t flirting, but that didn’t explain the tension. He knew Seth hadn’t been thrilled when Owen announced that he and Nick were an item, but he’d said as long as Nick was happy, nothing else mattered. Nick hadn’t seen much of Seth during the Great Romance of Nick and Owen, but he figured that was because Seth was busy. And Nick had also been busy, but it’d been the type of busy that made his lips chapped.
Looking back, it was obviously temporary insanity; that was the only thing that made sense.
“So, that’s why I’m here,” Owen said. “Because gosh darn it, I just like you all so much.” He reached across the table and pinched Nick on the cheek. “Doesn’t hurt that you’re all so cute.”
Nick smacked his hand away. “I hate it when you do that.”
“I know,” Owen said, eyes glinting. “But I like it when you’re flustered. Now that that’s all settled, would someone fill me in on what was going on before I got here? Something about Seth being cool, or whatever. Which, honestly, doesn’t seem possible.”
For a moment, Nick thought about changing the subject entirely. He knew his ideas were … well. Sometimes they were out there. And he was going to soldier on even if he had to go it alone, but he didn’t want someone like Owen making fun of him. Because Owen could be all right sometimes, but he could also be mean. Nick had never had it directed toward him, not really, but he’d seen Owen be vicious before, and it’d made him uncomfortable. And while he didn’t think Owen would give him crap for wanting to be an Extraordinary, he didn’t want to risk it.
But it was taken out of Nick’s hands when Jazz said, “Gibby and Nick were almost mugged yesterday, but then they were saved by Shadow Star. And now Nick wants to be an Extraordinary because he thinks it’ll get Shadow Star’s attention.” She frowned. “I still don’t know how that’s going to work.”
Owen leaned forward on the table, and that sharp smile was back as he stared at Nick. “Really? You don’t say. Shadow Star. How fortuitous that he happened to be there at that exact moment.”
“It wasn’t a big deal,” Nick said, glancing away. “Just, you know. I got his autograph, or whatever.”
Owen threw his head back and laughed. “Oh, Nicky. Never ch
ange. I’m sure it was painfully awkward and so, so sweet. But why in the hell would you want to be an Extraordinary? It seems like such a big responsibility.” He reached out and traced his finger along the back of Nick’s hand. “Think you could handle it?”
Nick pulled his hand away. “I’d be good at it.”
Owen sighed. “Right. I bet you would. But still. Being an Extraordinary is so yesterday. I can’t imagine anything more boring. Oooh, superpowers. People expecting you to do something for them all the time. It’d be aggravating.”
“Not everyone is a jerk like you,” Seth said coldly.
“Eh,” Owen said. “I can think of about a billion things to do with my time that would be better.” He glanced at Nick. “But that’s what you want, huh?”
“Well … um. Yes?”
Owen reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. On anyone else, Nick would think it a nervous gesture. But on Owen, it seemed practiced, as if he knew how it was supposed to look, bicep flexing, looking up at Nick from under his eyelashes. He wondered how many people had fallen for it. Hell, he’d fallen for it. And sometimes, maybe he still did. He was a teenage boy, after all, and Owen had big arms and at least three abdominal muscles. Of course he fell for it. “If that’s what you want, I suppose I can do what I can to help you—”
“No,” Seth said suddenly, making Nick jump. “You don’t need to do that. Because I already decided I’m going to help him.”
“And me,” Gibby said.
Everyone looked at Jazz.
She had a mouthful of quinoa tabbouleh.
Gibby elbowed her in the side.
“Oh,” Jazz said, a piece of avocado falling from her mouth. “And me.”
“So, you see,” Seth said smugly, “Nick doesn’t need your help. We’ve got it covered.”
“Wow,” Nick breathed. “My heart is so full. It’s like my birthday except better.”
Owen rolled his eyes. “Right, well. Good luck with that. Nicky, if you really want to find out how to become an Extraordinary, you come find me. I’ll show you things these guys won’t even begin to tell you.”
And with that, he got up and walked away. Nick had to admit it was a pretty epic exit.