No Ordinary Nerd

Chapter 4

Clay sighed as he paused for a few seconds to think. "Can we meet somewhere? It's better if I tell you in person." Clay said, slight guilt seeping through his voice. "Sure, Clay." Hannah agreed. "Everything ok?" She asked after a few seconds of silence, having heard the slight guilt in his voice. Clay sighed again. "Honestly, no." Clay said. "Ok. How about we meet at the park? We can talk there." Hannah suggested, getting an urge to want to see her upset friend and comfort him. "Yeah, ok. See you there." Clay said. After getting an "ok" from Hannah, Clay hung up and grabbed a jacket before leaving his room and going downstairs. "I'm gonna go out for a little." Clay said as he passed his mom, not even waiting for a reply as he left through the front door, closing it behind him. Mrs. Jensen stared after her son, knowing exactly what he was going out to do.

Peddling down the almost vacant street on his bike, Clay watched as street sign after street sign passed by him, making sure he didn't pass the road that lead to the park where he would meet Hannah. Once there, Clay parked his bike and securely locked it to a streetlight before walking over and taking a seat on one of the two empty swings. Clay stared at his lap, wondering just what he was going to say to his closest friend. Asking himself how he was just supposed to come clean and tell her that he had basically been lying about everything. "Hey, Helmet." A gentle voice said, pulling Clay out of his thoughts as he glanced up to see a worried Hannah standing a few feet in front of him. "Hey." Clay said with a small sigh. "You ok?" Hannah asked, not being able to think of anything else to ask her friend. "Yeah, I guess. I just have something really important I need to come clean about." Clay confessed. "Hey, you know you can tell me anything. Whatever it is, it won't change anything between us." Hannah assured. "I'm not so sure about that. For all I know, you could very well hate me after I say it." Clay said, sounding defeated. "What could you possibly say that would make me hate you, Clay?" Hannah asked as she sat down in the swing next to him. Clay mulled it over in his mind before coming to a decision. "Well, for starters, Clay isn't my real name. That's just a cover, or a fake identity to protect me." Clay confessed. Not expecting this, Hannah didn't know how to respond to her friend's confession. "My real name is Donnie Gill." Clay, now Donnie, confessed. He stayed quiet, giving Hannah a chance to say something, if she were to say anything at all. "Ok, Donnie?" Hannah said, sounding like she was testing the waters with the new information about his real name. Donnie nodded, giving her a sign to go on. "Wait, you said you were using Clay as a cover to protect you. Why?" Hannah asked, remembering what he had said. Donnie glanced at the ground in thought. "Because people, bad people, are after me. I was able to lose them before I moved here to Crestmont, about a month before you moved here." Donnie explained. "Also, my parents aren't my real parents." Donnie added. "They aren't?" Hannah asked. "No. My real parents died in a car wreck almost 7 months ago. I just live with them now, because they're part of this secret agency called S.H.I.E.L.D. They were instructed to keep an eye on me to make sure the bad guys, who are part of an evil group called Hydra, don't get a hold of me again." Donnie explained. "I know it's all a lot to take in." Donnie said after noticing the unreadable expression on Hannah's face. "And you can walk away, hate me, and never talk to me again, if that's what you want. The only thing I need is for you to promise me you won't tell anyone about this at any cost. I'm telling you all of this because I trust you with my secrets." Donnie said, gently placing a hand on Hannah's knee, causing her to look at him.

"I don't hate you, Donnie." Hannah said after a minute or so of silence as she thought about everything he had told her. "You don't? Even if I lied to you about who I really am the entire time we've known each other?" Donnie asked. Hannah sighed contently. "No, I don't. I'm glad you told me the truth." Hannah said with a small smile. "About that." Donnie started. "What? Is there more?" Hannah asked him curiously. "Just a minor detail." Donnie said. "What is it? You can tell me. I promise I won't tell a soul, no matter what it is." Hannah said. "Do you promise to believe me and not think I'm crazy or a freak?" Donnie asked. "Of course." Hannah said, sounding a little confused because of his question. "Ok." Donnie said, going silent for a few seconds, thinking of how to tell her. "You remember what I said about how I injured my hand?" Donnie asked, motioning to his right hand. Hannah nodded as she saw the burn wound, remembering back to their earlier conversation at school. "Was that a lie too?" Hannah asked, Donnie nodding his head in response. "Yeah. It was. The real story behind it is kinda long, so I'll just give you the short version of it. Long story short, I was fixing this device that could freeze things with a friend. When it got hit by lightning, my hand happened to be in contact with it. I still don't fully understand it myself, but when that happened, I guess the machine's power somehow transferred to me, because I have the ability to freeze things or make things out of ice." Donnie explained. He glanced over to Hannah, seeing her with a somewhat shocked expression. "Wait, so you're telling me that you have the power to freeze stuff?" She questioned him. Donnie simply nodded. "I know it sounds a bit crazy and out there, but yes. I do." He told her. "Who all knows about this? Outside of the agency you mentioned?" Hannah asked. Donnie thought for a second. "Just you. You're the first person I've told the truth to." Donnie said, flashing Hannah a small smile. "And you really trusted me to tell me all this?" Hannah asked. "Yes. You and I are the closest out of our friends, and I trust you more than anyone. So you're the first person I've told all this to." Donnie explained. "I'll eventually tell the others, but I just wanted to start small first." He added. "Well, for the record, I won't tell anyone about any of this. And I don't hate you, Donnie. Despite you lying to me, you did come clean about it. And besides, you're still my Helmet?" Hannah said, phrasing the last statement as a question when she called him by the nickname she gave him. "Of course. Clay Jensen may not be my real name, but you can still call me Helmet. My liking to that nickname was not a lie." Donnie said, smiling brightly. "Oh, and anytime you use my actual name, call me Clay when others are around. But you can call me Donnie when it's just you and me, and eventually around the others too." Donnie explained. Hannah nodded in understanding. "Ok, I can do that." She said in agreement to his instructions. "So, after learning about all this, we're still friends? Nothing changes between us?" Donnie questioned as the two stood up from the swings. "Of course, Donnie. It's just like I said. Even though I didn't expect you to tell me all that to begin with, it still wasn't enough to change anything between us or make me hate you." Hannah told him with a warm, gentle smile. Donnie smiled back in reply, feeling relieved that someone now knew his secret. "I do want to see this power of yours, though." Hannah said, still smiling. "I mean, you can't just say you have a power and not expect me to not ask to see it." Hannah added jokingly. "Ok, Baker. Deal." Donnie said with a smile. He then walked over to a nearby picnic table with Hannah following close behind. Once at the table, Donnie sat down, still facing Hannah, and raised his right hand so it was a little ways above the flat table. Hannah watched in awe as Donnie slightly moved his hand, causing a small tower of ice to form on the table below his hand. "Whoa. That's actually really cool!" Hannah said when Donnie glanced up at her, moving his arm back down so his hand rested in his lap. Donnie smiled to himself as he and Hannah admired the small ice structure he had made.

"Hey, it's getting kinda late. How about I walk you home?" Donnie suggested as he checked his phone, noticing the time. "Sure. That would be great." Hannah said with a smile. Donnie smiled back as he stood up and walked over to Hannah. "Great. Let's go." He said as the two walked over to where his bike was.