Bella walked through the front door feeling completely drained from the day.
"Where have you been?" Jade asked. "I was worried."
"Why? It's barely 9," Bella answered.
"You're usually home before I get home, but always before 4 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays."
"Well, I was busy today."
"What happened?" Jade asked, genuinely concerned by how her friend was speaking, her posture, and the fact that she was late. It all pointed to something being off.
"Nothing I need to worry you with yet," Bella responded.
"Bella..."
"Really, it's not a problem yet. If I don't have it solved by Friday, I'll tell you."
"That worries me more, you know."
"I doubt that," Bella mumbled as she plopped down onto the couch. "You look like crap too."
"Oh, it's nothing. Just wallowing in self-hate," Jade scoffed as she fell down onto the couch next to Bella.
"Reminiscing again?" Jade nodded as Bella sighed. "I told you to let that go."
"It's kind of hard."
"I have. Besides, your devious mind is part of the reason we're friends." Bella wiggled her eyebrows then playfully nudged Jade.
"It's just that sometimes I realize that I'm not really much of a hero is all. I mean, everyone thinks heroes are supposed to be these perfect, flawless moral compasses, but I'm not."
"Who wants to be friends with someone who thinks they're perfect? And I doubt there's a hero out there who has a perfect moral compass."
"But I'm supposed to be, like a role model as a superhero. Kids are supposed to look up to me, follow my example. I'm supposed to-"
"And I'm supposed to be heartless and consumed by hatred. Is that who I am?" Jade looked at Bella who simply had her eyes raised as she waited for an answer.
Jade laughed before finally responding. "Not completely heartless and consumed by hatred. I think I see a little bit of a heart and there's definitely some love in there."
"Exactly," Bella said with a smile. "Now stop beating yourself up and go pick a movie."
"You go pick a movie. I'm comfortable." Jade snuggled into her spot on the couch and hugged a pillow to further prove her point.
"Rock, paper, scissors?" Bella asked, holding out her hand.
"Fine. One round, winner takes all."
They went three rounds and tied each time before giving up and settling on mindlessly flipping through channels. The TV was more white noise than anything else, but they liked to have that background noise and Jade found that Bella was more likely to open up when it was present.
"So, are you going to tell me what happened today?" Jade asked again. Whatever it was that bothered her, Jade knew it was something big and if Bella didn't want to tell Jade, it must have been something she thought Jade would be judgemental of. It probably had to do with something pretty villainnous.
Bella sighed as she looked at Jade. "I told you not to worry about it yet. Watch the sitcom and be happy."
"You're my best friend, so I'm gonna worry." Jade muted the TV and looked Bella in the eyes, not breaking eye contact for anything. "Just tell me."
Bella finally gave in, falling back on the cushions with a loud, exaggerated sigh. "Promise not to freak out."
"I won't."
"Promise that after I tell you, you'll act as if I hadn't."
"I promise, now tell me."
"My headmaster... may have told me to... kill you."
"Wha-- OK." Jade sat back in her seat and sighed. "I see why you didn't want to tell me."
"Remember, you promised."
"I know. I know. It never happened, but what are you gonna do about it?"
"Well, I'm not gonna kill you."
"I appreciate that," Jade said, rolling her eyes. "What I meant was, how are you gonna avoid it? You can't just say no, can you?"
"No, but I've got a plan, which I'll tell you on Friday if it pans out."
"OK."
"You'll wait this time."
"On the off chance that the news is as bad as what you just told me, I think I can tough it out for a few days."
"Thank you," Bella said, smirking.
"Wipe that smile off your face. I'm not gonna say it."
"That's OK, I can imagine what it sounds like. I've heard it before."
Bella got up and walked into the kitchen to grab a pint of ice cream, one for herself and another for Jade. After all, there was a type of silent promise between them that if they got something the other would want, they had to share. Bella wasn't very good at sharing, so she just got a second pint.
"Thanks," Jade said as she caught the pint and spoon Bella tossed at her.
"You're welcome," Bella responded as she sat back down onto the couch.
They sat there and ate their ice cream until the pints were empty. Then, too lazy to walk the short distance to their beds, they sat there and let the TV lull them to sleep.
YOU ARE READING
Villains in Training
Fantasy"There are all types of supports for heroes," Bella said angrily. "There's schools and mentors and even government aid sometimes. We just want one thing, ONE THING, to help us reach our potential." "Potential to be villains?" Quinn asked, exaspera...
