To Be a Hero | MLB

40: The Triumph

"What, did you miss me? Because you just can't seem to stay away," I add, rolling my eyes.

Antoine glances between Ladybug and me, a crease forming between his brows. "Tori..."

Ladybug straightens and shoots a glance in the direction she came from, then turns back to me. "Listen, Tori. I'm kind of in the middle of something here, and I actually had no clue you were over here—"

"Oh, I'm flattered."

"—so why don't I just go back and finish my fight, and we can pretend like we never saw each other?"

"I'm sure you wish you could. I'd rather not."

Tired of being left out, Antoine steps in front of me again, and I have to split my attention between him and the red-and-black pest behind him. "Tori, she needs to focus on fighting, okay? We can wait until the battle's over to—"

We hear a shout resound from the fight, and the remaining civilians around us scatter to find shelter in the buildings around us. I can tell Ladybug's itching to get back to her job, which only makes me more determined to keep her distracted.

I take another step away from Antoine and toward her, and Antoine reaches out a desperate hand to stop me.

"Antoine, just let me do this one thing, okay?" I whisper, and he pulls me back, shaking his head.

"I—"

"You keep her safe, all right?" Ladybug tells him. "Keep her away from danger." She casts a pointed glare toward me. "And away from me." Then she swings off to go finish her fight, and Antoine practically drags me into the nearest shop—a flower shop, it turns out.

The shop owners don't even bother greeting us; their eyes are glued to the television behind the counter, which is broadcasting Ladybug's fight.

"What was that?" Antoine and I ask each other, then frown and glance away.

"I just wanted to keep you safe," he adds after a few seconds. "And I wanted to let Ladybug do her job. Why were you so upset with her?"

I turn and busy myself with plucking the petals off a nearby flower, an unsettling wave of resentment washing over me. "I... You wouldn't understand." How could he? I know for a fact he's never felt a fraction of the pain Ladybug's caused me. To be betrayed by someone I once trusted, even respected...

Hurt flashes across Antoine's features once before vanishing, and he swallows. "Okay, then." He moves my hand away from the now-decimated flower and laces his fingers through mine. "I should probably bring you home now. I can see you are not feeling well."

I turn toward him in time to see a giant swarm of ladybugs streak across the sky. She won, I think. Again. "No, I'm fine. We can't let Ladybug mess up our date." I pull Antoine out of the store before the shopowners can realize I've destroyed one of their products.

"She did not mess it up. She just... interrupted it."

"Right, right. She also just interrupted my happiness, too, didn't she?"

Antoine steps onto the sidewalk behind me and swallows. I instantly realize I've upset him and start to force a smile, reaching for his hand. "Then again, I'm with you, so..."

He brightens and squeezes my fingers. "And I am with you." He grins. "Okay, fine. We can stay out for a little while longer, if you wish."

We set off down the road together, a triumphant smirk lighting my face.

Take that, Ladybug. I glance up at Antoine. Not even you can ruin my new happiness.

I loop my arm through Antoine's. No one can.

* * *

Later that night, I'm sitting in my kitchen, texting Antoine and trying not to wake Jaxon up with my giggles, when a floorboard creaks to my left. My head snaps up at the sound, and Jakob stares back at me, his eyes wide like a deer in headlights.

I notice he has one hand on the apartment door's knob, like he's about to leave.

"Where are you sneaking off to?" I ask, rising from my seat.

"I... it's none of your business, Tori," he snaps, then sighs. "And shouldn't you be in bed? It's almost eleven."

I cross my arms. "I could ask you the same."

"Unlike you, I'm an adult," he replies slowly, easing his hand off the knob. "I don't have a bedtime."

"And yet we both answer to the same mom." I grin as his face falls. "And I can easily tell her that her oldest son snuck out of the house at around eleven o'clock, setting a bad example for his five younger siblings." He glances away, and I finish, "How do you think she'd feel about that?"

Jakob runs a hand over his face. "You're evil."

My smile falters. "Just tell me where you're going," I bargain, my voice low, "and mom will never know."

He stares at the wall behind me for a long while, long enough to make me think he'd rather just take his chances with our overworked mother. But finally, he sighs and relents.

"There's just... there's this guy I met, while I was exploring the city our second day here." I lift an eyebrow, and he continues, "He seemed really nice, and we've been meeting up... every day since then. And today, he told me he wants to see me tonight."

My other brow rises. "Like..."

He nods, rubbing a self-conscious hand over the back of his neck. "Like a date," he confirms. I feel a smile grows across my features, and Jakob hastily adds, "Don't tell Jaxon or mom, though, okay? I... I'm not ready to tell them yet."

I nod and sink back into my chair, taking my phone from the table's cold surface. Glancing to make sure Jaxon's still asleep on the couch, I whisper back, "Your secret's safe with me."

Jakob slips out of the apartment, and silence descends, the only sound left the occasional ping of my phone with incoming messages from Antoine.