Jackson Humes is Not a Superhero

CHAPTER FOUR

Tanner was still dressed in his blue and gold football costume and appeared particularly cranky. "So, Aunt Margie, along with half of the school, blew up my phone while I was at football practice. Why the hell would you go into the woods?"

As brothers we shared certain similarities that were hard to escape; we both had the same dark wavy hair, hazel eyes, and sloping noses that ended in sharp points, but one thing we didn't share was a love for the gym or the sun. While he had spent the entire summer bulking up and cultivating a perfect golden tan, I had spent it indoors reading and avoiding natural light at all costs—several of our relatives had died of skin cancer and I took the possible threat of melanoma very seriously.

"I forgot," I said lamely. Telling him the truth would surely end up with him confronting Alex, and my drama meter was maxed out at the moment.

Tanner's size was menacing enough when he was in a good mood, but he was downright scary when he was mad. "How could you be so stupid?" His cheeks turned a fiery red. "You could have gotten hurt."

"It won't happen again, I promise." I had spent my whole life trying not to disappoint my brother. My biggest fear once I came to terms with being gay was letting him down in some way. I knew it wasn't something I could change, but I didn't want him to look at me any differently or like me any less because of it. Fortunately, he'd been really supportive.

He crossed his bulky arms over his even bulkier chest and glared at me. "Mom and dad would be really disappointed with you if they were still alive." His comment made me feel as if I'd just been punched in the gut. He rarely spoke about our parents, and using them to reprimand me was beyond a low blow.

"Get out." It came out as a low whisper. When he didn't move I screamed it at the top of my lungs. "GET OUT!" My sudden outburst caught him off guard; he might have even left my room had it not been for Marv, who chose that exact moment to sneeze.

Tanner headed straight to the source of the noise. "Is someone in there?" I jumped in front of him with my arms outstretched, trying to block him from getting any closer. "Jackson, get out of the way."

My voice climbed several octaves as I tried my best to shoo him away. "I don't want you going through my stuff." When I saw he wasn't going to be deterred, I jumped on his back and tried to wrestle him to the ground.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked, whipping his body back and forth until he finally swatted me off. As soon as he saw his opening he ran to the closet in three strides.

"WAIT! I can explain." I held out one arm like a distressed damsel in one of those old black and white movies my aunt was so fond of watching, but it was too late. He was already sliding the door open and peering inside.

"Who's there?" he demanded in an authoritative tone. I watched the scene unfold in slow motion horror as Tanner leaned in and yanked the comforter out of the closet. All the stuff I had piled on top of Marv came tumbling out and crashed to the floor. I couldn't see Marv from where I was, but the shock on my brother's face was unmistakable. Before I could explain, Tanner said, "Get out here right now."

I experienced a moment of deep confusion when Tanner didn't run out of the room screaming in terror. In fact, he appeared angrier than I had ever seen him. I heard Marv shuffling in the closet and caught a quick glimpse of a human foot.

Moments later, human Marv stumbled out on two unsteady feet. Given that the amount of legs at his disposal had just been reduced by half I couldn't really blame his lack of balance. He'd thrown on a pair of dirty sweat shorts of mine, but other than that he was totally naked. His hair was sticking out in all directions, and there were dark circles under his clear blue eyes, but not even his visible fatigue and general sense of disarray had diminished his overall gorgeousness. His sudden return to human form had solved one major problem, but now several others had sprouted in its wake.