When Heroes Fall

Chapter 14

Matt walked into school, backpack lighter on his shoulders as he rolled in. The florescent bulbs illuminated the rush of students collecting at lockers, making their way to the cafeteria for breakfast, the library to work on homework, or lurking around their lockers. Slipping through the crowds, Matt made his way to his locker. Turning the combination lock, Matt opened the locker and shoved his jacket in the back before putting his homework in his backpack to work on in first period homeroom. Glancing at the little mirror inside the locker door, Matt ran a hand through his hair. The extra sleep the last two and half weeks helped immensely in clearing the bags under his eyes, the pallor of his face shifting from ghostly to a cool cream.

Running a hand through his hair, Matt practiced his smile. Today was the day, he told himself. He was going to ask Andres out. Taking a few fingers, he combed through the fringe of his hair. Checking for any zits and seeing all was clear, Matt took a step back, ready to close his locker door when it slammed shut in front of him. Barley having time to jump back with his nose intact, Matt yelped. Shifting, Matt looked over to see who closed the door on his face. Lowing his gaze a few inches, Matt glared. Standing in front of him with her arms crossed, Lien glared back.

Matt opened his mouth to ask what the heck she thought she was doing, but Lien snapped back before he could speak, "We need to talk."

"What?" Matt raised a brow.

"We. Need. To. Talk," Lien spoke slower, enunciating each work. Matt scrunched his forehead.

"I'm not dumb."

Lien rolled her eyes, "You could've fooled me." Before Matt could interrupt, Lien grabbed his forearm with a surprising grip. Matt looked down at her hand as she dragged him away from his locker.

Marching down the hall, she maneuvered them both to the alcove under the stairs, shoving him into the relatively quiet corner. Stumbling out of her grip, Matt caught his balance, twisting around to face her. "Hey!"

"Shut up," Lien hissed, fists at her hips as she scowled up at him.

Matt crossed his arms, matching her expression. "Do you want to tell me what this about?" He was not in the mood for the angry-best-friend-talk out of all things.

Lien considered him for a moment, glancing down the hall to make sure they were alone. "Look," Lien breathed through her nose, "I know who you are."

Matt quirked his brow, "Yeah? And who am I?"

Lien frowned. "Come on, Matt. It wasn't hard. Are you going to make me spell it out for you?"

"Spell out what?" Matt shot back, stepping back. Lien couldn't know anything, and even if she was making a wild guess, she had no proof. Matt bit the inside of his cheek, studying Lien's expression. The gravity in her expression surprised him. There was no laughter in her face, no joking smirk or twinkle in her eye.

"You. Are. Nightstar," the words left Lien's mouth, slow and drawn out. Matt watched as her mouth formed each syllable.

The warmth drained from his face, his mouth immediately becoming dry. "Nightstar?" he croaked, voice trembling. Lien stepped in closer, backing Matt into the wall. The cool cement wall sent a shiver through his back.

"Yes, Nightstar. The city's golden boy," Lien chuckled dryly, "honestly, I can't believe I didn't put it together before."

Matt sucked in a large breath of air, "You don't know anything." Pushing himself off the wall, Matt shoved his way past Lien, knocking against her shoulder.

Lien swiveled around. "So what? You're just gonna runaway? That doesn't sound like a hero to me," she snapped.

Matt stopped in his tracks. Something deep inside of him tugged. Hard. He felt it in his gut as it rolled over. He pursed his lips, biting back the words he couldn't form.

"Axiomville needs Nightstar. It doesn't have anyone else anymore," Lien spoke up. Matt clenched his fists around his backpack straps. "You have to fight back."

"I don't have to do anything," Matt snapped, voice snarling as he twisted around. He marched toward Lien, "I don't need to do anything, I deserve to live my life," Matt stopped, exhaling as he shook his head and forced the tension out of his body, "Even if I was Nightstar, I don't have to do anything. This city? This city has made perfectly clear it doesn't want any more heroes."

Lien reached out, grabbing Matt's wrist, "You're right. We're dumb kids," her hushed words shouted, "But if we don't do anything, who will?"

Matt shook out of her grip, backing up again, "I'm just some guy—a guy who makes YouTube videos and tries to ask out cute guys in his homeroom class."

Lien looked up at him, her face scrunched up in annoyance, but her eyes didn't carry that same anger as they watched him, questioning him. Biting the inside of his cheek, he turned around. He didn't like the way her gaze burned into him and left him cold. Rolling his shoulders, he attempted to assuage the building hollowness. He couldn't do anything as Nightstar. He saw that—the cities rising crime and brutality—he couldn't stop more than a few petty criminals. The Coalition of Heroes weren't going to back him up either. Lien was right—they were dumb kids.

"It's not my problem," Matt called back to Lien gruffly as he marched back into the busy hallways. He ignored the lump growing in the back of his throat as he distanced himself from Lien, refusing to look back.

Homeroom started in ten minutes, and Matt had plans. Today was the day. He was going to ask Andres out for coffee after school. Finally, after years of being a sidekick, he would start to live his life as just Matt. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

No matter what Lien thought, today would be agood day. Nothing could stop him.