Invincible

Chapter Thirteen

In the past three weeks, I've been as happy as can be.

It seemed unexpected, really. Before, I used to stare at the stars, wishing mine weren't as separated as the others out there. But now, they were slowly aligning, and I didn't have to constantly look after them. Fate was now in my hands.

I looked back to the time Taylor and I were the talk of the school. It was the morning after our kiss, and it seemed perfectly normal when I arrived to school that day, but it wasn't until Taylor walked over and kissed me that everyone's attention was focused on us. I looked at Rick, who, for a moment, didn't seem the least bit angry. But it wasn't until I kissed her back that I started to notice his face harden, and his skin shading a scarlet red.

Of course, Jack was the most shocked of all.

"So, you and Taylor," he asked during English. "You two kind of a thing now or something?"

I nod. "Yeah," I said. "I guess so."

"Whoa," Jack gasped. "I'm shocked. I mean, I sensed that she liked you, but I just thought it was all in my head-"

"You knew?" I interrupted. "How?"

"Well, you both were pretty obvious. The way you guys look talking to each other, and how you look when you're apart. I mean, any person that hadn't known you could've seen that. And why else would a girl sit at an empty table, filled with only two socially awkward teenagers?"

Jack's statement had thrown me off a bit. How oblivious was I towards Taylor, and from what he explained, her feelings towards me? Was her presence really that blinding?

Even though I was spending more time with Taylor, that didn't mean I couldn't make time for my superhero duties, which I sometimes did while at school—thanks to my gullible teachers for letting me go to the bathroom at every request. While all the vigilante talks and man hunts from the police slowly died down, Ryan and I had begun to team up, putting criminals behind bars, and helping others in need.

The relationship between us was uncanny. The way we would talk to each other, following orders so willingly without question, treating each other as if we were one of the other's peers, or even superiors. It was almost as if we worked together for years.

The news still couldn't get enough of me. I wasn't a mega superstar anymore, but they would still discuss me on the TV and in the papers every now and then. Not that the citizens minded. They were in love with me as much as the media itself. Even gave me a name—Lion-Man. They gave me that name because of my courage to stand up and fight for justice against a corrupted system. I didn't mind the name. I mean, it was better than anyone I could've thought of. The only one I could come up with was Crime-Boy.

My relationship with Brad was still the same: untrustworthy. I still wasn't sure of his intentions with me, and sometimes I wished he'd just spit them out already. It felt like at any moment, he would get tired of using me as a surrogate family, and kick me to the curb. But I could never be sure, his demeanor hiding away any visible signs that it constantly kept me on my toes.

Talk about tensions at home.

Whenever I wasn't spending time saving the world, or being with Taylor or Brad, I made time to hang out with Jack. His father and I had gotten along pretty well, much to Jack's dislike. But it wasn't like I meant to do it.

Well, actually, I did, because as much as Mr. Colfer was interested in me, I was more interested in his job, and it wasn't for any of the normal reasons one would think.

I always tried to hear him when I visited his home, desperate for updates on the man he'd ordered to be captured, but lately hearing nothing of it. Maybe he's got it under control and doesn't want to speak of it, pretending as if it never happened. And who could blame him, really? I mean, discussing a disastrous secret amongst other people would be far more dreadful than just keeping it to themselves.