Superheroes, Super Problems

*6* Talk

The next morning, I needed to see Declan. My heart was aching for it more than anything else in the world. Especially after Leighton and I watched the news all morning and got to a broadcast of Emma's father, the police commissioner, holding a press conference that didn't confirm nor deny the identity of Cavalier belonging to Declan Thorne. Commissioner Prokop was eaten alive by the press. Did he want to deny Declan for his daughter's safety? Or did he want to confirm it to progress the city's justice for metahuman involvement and get people out of the threat of Dagger?

Leighton and I were so enthralled in the conference that we were almost late to school. When we got to homeroom, the one person I needed there wasn't. But Sutter was.

"Where is he?" I asked, taking a seat by him. I noticed that Steele looked over to our conversation.

"Where is who?" Sutter rolled his eyes to me.

"Declan," I hissed and then he narrowed his eyes just a fraction before someone entering the room distracted his gaze and he got up from his desk in order to approach them.

"Are you happy!?" Sutter roared at Emma who entered the room at the bell with Nicole. "Just because he broke up with you doesn't mean you run to daddy and tell him."

"I didn't tell him," Emma denied. "The city has social media tracking anything they can and who's to say Dagger even saw one stupid tweet, especially when other people were making claims about the Cavalier too."

"Emma, your tweet went viral," Leighton suddenly commented.

"And I'm pretty sure Dagger would be smart enough to find information he's so dead set on finding," Steele commented before sitting back into his seat. "Who really cares though?"

"I do," Sutter and I immediately said, but Steele only glared at me in response

"Maybe that's the problem," he muttered. What? "Look. If he isn't Cavalier, Dagger will let him go. If he is, then I see no reason why he can't handle himself."

"Shut up," Sutter sneered. "You don't even know what you're talking about."

"Seems to me like I do or else you all are making such a big deal out of nothing," Steele said. His crystal blue eyes flashed to mine. "But then again when I have gut feelings about stuff, people always tell me I'm wrong."

"Look, punk—" Sutter began to charge at Steele, but I grabbed his wrist to pull him back. He rebounded and looked back at me after glancing down at my hold on him. I immediately let go.

"That's enough," our teacher's voice boomed while entering the room. Suddenly, Leighton looked up at her phone and asked for the teacher to turn on the TV. Instantly, we saw Emma's dad speaking at a podium again.

"At seven o'clock this morning, Declan Thorne was apprehended by Dagger and at this moment we're trying to figure out all we can and we'll be taking no questions. Thank you."

"Look what you did!" I yelled at Emma and attempted to leap across the room to smack her, but then Sutter pulled me back and the teacher tried settling us down. My blood was boiling in rage and anxiety. Dagger had Declan. And it was all Emma's fault.

***

"We have to save him," I suddenly proclaimed at lunch. Suddenly, Leighton pressed the back of her cold hand to my forehead.

"Are you sick? Crazed?" she wondered. "We can't just go up against a villain to save your secret boyfriend."

I glared at her. "No one else is going to do it," I reasoned and then looked to see Sutter at his usual table joking around and acting as if his best friend wasn't abducted this morning. I sighed and looked at Leighton. "But you're right. We can't just go up against Dagger by ourselves."