No Heroes Left Behind (Book 1)

Chapter Eleven: Do I Believe In Second Chances?

I stutter. "Uh, I-I can explain." I say whilst taking my mask off my face. She drops the bag of food onto the floor and stands there, stiff as a board. I take a step closer.

"Why didn't you tell me you were Scarlett?" She asks angrily.

I super speed to her and cover her mouth with my hand. "Shh, you need to be quiet!" I whisper-yell. Her eyebrows furrow and she angrily pushes my hand off of her mouth. "My mom doesn't know." I tell her as I back away and shut the bedroom door.

"Why didn't you tell me you were Scarlett?" She repeats, in a whisper this time.

I exhale a loud sigh and lock my door just in case. "I was protecting you from the dangers of the Super world." I tell her.

She lets out a fake laugh and narrows her eyes at me. "I don't need protection." Her hands are placed firmly on her hips in defiance.

"Well, unless you plan on getting pregnant at seventeen, I suggest protection." I joke, letting out a small chuckle at my sense of humour. She slaps my shoulder.

"Stop joking around Lottie. I'm serious."

"Fine, fine." I sigh. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I was going to tell you, I swear."

She smirks. "You are forgiven... Only because you're a badass superhero." She says, and once she gets that out of the way, then comes the excitement. She frantically puts her hands to her head and starts jumping around the room, squealing like a One Direction fan.

"Erin, you gotta be quiet!" I tell her again.

She waves a hand at me dismissively. "Your mom isn't even here." She finally tells me once she is calm enough.

Now, stage two of finding out your best friend is a superhero: the never ending questions. "How'd you get your powers? Describe what it's like to fly? How cool is it to super speed and shoot fire from your hands? What's it like to fight supervillains? Are you friends with any of the other superheroes?" Erin asks in a rush, slurring her words so much I barely understand her.

I can't help but chuckle. "I was born with them but they didn't develop until later. Flying is the best. Super cool. Scary at times. Yes I am friends with other heroes but I don't know their identities." I answer just as quickly.

She continues gushing about how cool this all is and then a look of realization takes over her face. She looks at me with a serious face and I prepare myself for another slap. "I got an autograph from my best friend." She face palms and shakes her head. I let out a loud laugh as I take in her reaction.

"Yeah, do you know how weird that was for me?" I ask her, remembering how crazy she was acting.

"Gosh I'm so stupid! How could I not tell it was you?" She hits herself lightly in the head and then shoves a French fry in her mouth. I stuff a chicken nugget in my mouth and then flop backwards on my bed, landing comfortably on my pillow and I stare up at the stucco ceiling.

The cool evening breeze blows through the open window and makes my curtains dance. At this point, I'm changed out of my costume and, after letting Erin thoroughly (and by thoroughly I mean extremely thoroughly) inspect it, I tucked it away in its designated hiding spot. Now I wear comfortable grey shorts and a baggy black sweater, with my long brown hair tied up in a messy bun.

Erin flops down beside me, staring at the side of my face and I swear she does not blink once. I glance at her from the corner of my eye and she has the happiest smile on her face and there's a sparkle in her eyes that I haven't seen in years.

"Quit staring at me." I say through a smile. She props herself up on her elbow and stares down at me.

"I can't!" She yells. "I just found out that my best friend is a superhero! How can I not stare at you?" She grabs a bunch of fries and stuffs them all into her mouth without removing her eyes from mine. I chuckle at her scary stare and jump up off the bed to close the window.