I Need A Hero (BxB)

Chapter Six

I had pushed that meeting out of my mind and over the next few days things were strangely... peaceful. No fires, nothing dangerous at all really. Jett came over the next few days, we did our work, and there were no incidents before he got there or after he left. Speaking of Jett, it seemed as if he was almost warming up to me. He didn't scowl so much around me, and he at least attempted to joke around. Granted, he had a dark sense of humor, but it was better than the harshness I got from him before. I was starting to think that just maybe everything was gonna be alright. Boy was I wrong.

The last day we were working together I was waiting for him to get there and I had switched on the tv to keep myself entertained. I had gotten into the habit of checking the news channel at least once, just in case. I was more than a little disappointed to find that another fire had been set. My disappointment what soon replaced with fear when I realized that I recognized the building.

I snatched up my phone and called my moms number, only to get no answer. I tried three more times before giving up. I jumped up from the couch and got my shoes on, going and throwing the door open. I was a little surprised to see Jett standing there, about to knock. He looked equally surprised, then he noticed the look on my face.

"Hey, what's the matter?" He asked.

"I-I just need to go." I said, stepping out and shutting the door.

"Where? What's wrong?" He asked as I pushed past him. He began following me as I headed down the sidewalk, going towards town.

"My mom! Her work- and- and she won't answer her phone!" I could feel myself starting to panic, I couldn't even form a full sentence. He went silent but he was still following behind me. The closer I got the more I sped up and by the time we got there I had broke into a full sprint. I stopped once we arrived and found that by then the fire had been put out. It looked as though it had done some serious damage.

I started pushing through the crowd, asking people if that had seen my mom anywhere. So far no one had seen or heard from her. I just got more freaked out the more times I was told no. At some point Jett grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the crowd.

"Winter, you have to calm down." He said seriously.

"I am calm!" I snapped, shaking and about ready to cry.

"Look, just stay here, alright?" He told me. "I'll be right back." He said before walking away. I did as he said and tried to calm down while I waited. Eventually he came back over to me. "Alright, you have nothing to worry about." He said. "They found her before we got here, she's most likely at the hospital already. She'll be fine." He said.

"I-I have to go then..." I murmured, slowly walking around him.

***

I spent a long time at the hospital, first waiting to see my mom, then sitting with her for a few hours. She was going to be fine but she had been seriously burned in countless places. She didn't say it, but I knew she was in a lot of pain.

Despite my lack of sleep I went to school the next day, mostly to keep myself occupied. It was a particularly awful day and by the time I reached chemistry I felt god awful. It didn't help that the teacher was heartless and refused to believe me when I explained we didn't finish the work because my mother almost died.

"Hey... Winter..." Jett said once the bell had rung. I looked up at him, he looked mildly uncomfortable and was nervously playing with a black choker he always wore, which I had joked was a dog collar countless times before. "I'm sorry about your mom." He said. "She was ok though, right?" I nodded slowly as I picked up my bag.

"Yeah... she's gonna be fine..." he murmured.

"That's good..."

"Yeah... hey, could you come over today? So we can finish the work..." I didn't want to tell him I just didn't want to be there alone, and I was getting used to his company.

"Yeah, sure thing. I'll see you then, ok?" He said. I nodded and mumbled a goodbye before turning and leaving the class.

That afternoon I tried to nap while I waited for him to get there but I was having no luck. I was seriously thinking of calling the number on the card I had been given. I had already talked to Amber and the rest of them about it and they all said not to. It was too dangerous, I wasn't strong enough. They weren't wrong. It felt selfish to only agree to it now because it was my mom who got hurt.

When Jett got there we only worked for a short time.

"You don't really wanna do this, do you?" He asked. I shook my head. "Are you still worried about your mom?"

"Yes but... there's something else." I sighed. "Can I ask you something?" I looked up at him and he nodded. I looked back at my lap. "Some... some people want me to stop this... stop whoever is starting these fires... and I don't know... they said they would help me but I'm not sure if I should take up the offer..."

"Do it." He said right away.

"Huh?" I looked up at him.

"Do it." He said again. "You want to help people don't you? Wouldn't it be better to end it all and stop this guy?"

"Yeah... I guess it would be..."

"Besides, its this person's fault your mom got hurt, don't you want to get back at them?"

"I'm not really a revenge person but I do want them to stop..."

"Exactly. So do it. You'll be helping a lot of people." He said. I went silent, trying to think it over. Not only did it sound like a good idea, but I also realized something. There was no way Jett was causing the fires. He was encouraging me to stop this person, which was a huge relief to me.

"Alright... yeah, I think I'll do it." I said, sitting up straight. He smiled, a real, genuine smile, almost one of relief. I turned out to be right, he was very pretty with a smile on his face.

"That's good. I'm sure you'll do great." He said.

***

Once he left later that evening I sat down on my bed, my phone in one hand and the card in the other. My cat came and laid across my lap, which was a bit comforting. I had typed the number in but I couldn't bring myself to call yet. What if I regretted it? What if I really don't get strong enough? There were too many ways for this to go wrong. Finally I took a deep breath and hit call, holding the phone to my ear. Eventually someone answered and I heard the familiar voice of Vatinia Asellio.

"I knew you would call Mr. Lee."