SuperNova: Heroes of Arcania (35 page)

“She would’ve liked you,” he said, a smile pulling at him.
 

“Her gift…was she powerful?”
 

He nodded. “It’s really no surprise that Penelope is as good as she is. Mom got her gift young, too.”
 

“I wish at least one of my parents was gifted so I could ask them more questions.”
 

“Sometimes I forget your parents aren’t gifted,” he admitted.
 

“Is it weird to, you know, not have gifted family?”
 

“Oh, you definitely have gifted family,” he said, correcting me. “Just not your parents. And no, it’s not weird. Sometimes it skips generations or goes to one sibling and not the other. It’s not that rare that Pen and I got separate gifts. Everyone is different.”
 

“Wild.” I mused over that fact.
 

“It’s amazing that your parents know about your…what do you call it?”
 

“My ‘hobbies.’”
 

Cole shot me one of his heart-stopping grins. “Right. Hobbies. That’s pretty cool that they’re okay with it.”

“I wouldn’t say ‘okay’ but they’re dealing. They’re stronger than they realize.”

“So are you.”
   

My heart thumped extra hard. Before I could think of what to say, we were in the parking lot. He jumped out and walked around the car to open my door. Extending a hand to help me out, he shut the door after me, but didn’t let go. His warm hand enveloped mine and my inner butterflies twirled. We walked hand in hand to front steps; around us, students laughed and chatted, but it was hard for me to get my mind off Cole. I glanced to him, finding he was looking right back at me. We shared a grin.
 

We followed the line into the school’s gymnasium. I gasped at the transformation; even Cole looked impressed. White lights hung from the ceiling so that it looked like a canopy of stars. There was the area off to the side for a photo booth complete with fun props. A stage had been built at the front, where a DJ now played music, his focus intent on the equipment in front of him.
 

Students were already on the floor, dancing to the beat of some popular song they played way too much on the radio. Cole and I remained on the outside of the crowd. Even with everyone milling around, my hand remained firmly in his.
 

Amber waltzed up to us and gave me a grin. “Hey, Nova! You look beautiful.”

“Thanks, Amber. That’s quite a dress you’ve got.” Understatement of the decade. The black material clung to every curve, dipping low in the back…and the front. My father would’ve had a heart attack had I tried to leave the house in that dress.
 

“Isn’t it?” Amber grinned.
 

“Oh, hey Cole,” she added as an afterthought. She gave him an approving look before turning back to me. “Can I talk to you really quick? I was hoping to catch you before anyone important showed up.”

Cole turned a hack of laughter into a cough behind his hand while I allowed myself to be whisked away into the girls’ bathroom. Once inside, Amber checked the empty stalls and nodded once satisfied we were alone.

“I wanted to let you know it’s cool with me if you date Cole,” Amber said. She leaned against the sink, her silver acrylic nails clicking on the countertop.
 

I bit my tongue to keep from laughing. Amber was a good friend, but not reason enough to keep me from dating Cole. “Oh?”

“Yeah. In fact, I thought maybe I’d ask Andy out…” her voice trailed off in a question as she looked at me.
 

Understanding came over me as I realized she was asking permission. “I thought that when we were at Brittany’s party!”
 

“Yeah?” She brightened.

“You should totally ask him out. He’s a nice guy.” At least that part was honest. Andy meant well, even if he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed.
 

We both paused as a trio of junior year girls walked in, giggling over their dates. One look from Amber sent them into their stalls without another word.
 

She turned her attention back to me with narrowed eyes. “Is there a reason you don’t want to date him?”

“Oh, that’s not how I meant it. He’s great, really, but we don’t have much in common. Plus, ya know…I kinda dig Cole.”

“And he lit up when he saw you at the party. I should’ve known then. But if Andy’s single…” Amber’s face brightened at her options. “Awesome. We’re both here alone, so that should be easy enough.”
 

She turned to face the mirror, adjusting her dress and—as usual—her cleavage. A silence came between me and Amber, until she broke through it with a blunt surprise.
 

“You know, at first I thought Henry broke up with me because he was in love with you or something,” Amber told me as she applied lipstick.
 

My heart plummeted to the ground along with my jaw.
In love with me? No! Henry is like my brother.
 

She saw my reflection and quickly shook her head. “He’s not, don’t worry. I was just really upset when we broke up and jumped to all sorts of ideas.”

A sigh of relief escaped me as Amber continued talking. “He always wants to hang out with you instead of anyone else. I realized he didn’t feel that way about you though when…it was after your sister died. I think he was just really worried about you. He kept saying he was busy with the paper, but I knew it was because he was always with you.”

I gave her a puzzled glance. “Why wouldn’t he tell you that? Why would he blame the paper?”

“Well, really, what am I supposed to tell everyone? That he broke up with me because of
you
?” Amber snapped. Gazing at her own reflection, she took a deep breath. “Sorry. It still sucks. I
really
liked him and I still think we were headed somewhere before…you know. And now we don’t hang out as much as before because it’s all awkward and stuff.”

My eyes went to the floor then back to her apologetic face. I nodded, wanting her to continue. “I’m sorry if I had anything to do with it. I liked you two together.”

A brief smile flitted across her face and she spoke again. “He didn’t want people to talk. You guys are more family than a couple, but he didn’t want anyone to know how bad off you really were.” She shifted uncomfortably in her heels. “I mean…what happened to you, it killed Henry. He didn’t know how to help you. He even quit the paper, but right before school started back, he told McGee he could write again. A friend on staff told me that he seemed ready to get back into it because you were better.”

“He quit the paper?” I echoed. Henry had been ready to sacrifice everything for me, for my sanity. I’d fed him so many lies these last few weeks. Guilt sat like a boulder in my gut.
 

“Yeah. We were all worried.”

“I guess it was weird for everyone.” I could see her side of things. Who wanted to talk to a depressed girl about homework?

“Yeah, but now you’re like, back to normal or whatever, right?”

I almost snorted at her question. “Something like that.”

Amber shifted over to let one of the juniors get to the sink. “For what it’s worth, you and Cole are really cute together.”

She smirked at the blush on my cheeks and for a moment, it felt like old times, giggling over boys.

“Besides, he’s too much of a gentleman for me. What good is my secret weapon if he refuses to look down?” She laughed as she pointed to her chest. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have prey to catch.”
 

She gave me a ferocious look before we cracked up laughing. As we left the restroom, fondness came over me. We might not be as close anymore, but she was still my friend and I was glad for it.
 

I followed Amber back through the side entrance of the gym, unconsciously searching for Cole. He hadn’t strayed far, however, waiting for me. He talked with another student who was in my English class. I took a moment to admire my handsome date.

Cole’s gray suit fit him well, with a skinny tie that matched the blue of my dress. He’d used gel to slick back his normally loose blond hair. He stuck a hand in his pocket, cocking his head to hear what his friend said. I giggled to myself thinking about how he should be on the cover of a magazine.
 

As though he could feel my eyes on him, he looked up, searching until he found me. I felt drawn to him, an invisible cord pulling me to him. My feet moved without thinking and I couldn’t look away from him. He held his hand out for mine before I’d reached him, a tiny smile on his face. My heart might’ve done a backflip from sheer joy. The rhythm shifted when the song slowed and our classmate nodded at us before walking away.
 

Cole’s thumb tapped my hand. “Want to dance?”
 

“I recall you telling Amber about how you don’t dance,” I teased.
 

He shrugged, lips tugging upward as he answered. “I’m more than willing to make the exception for you.”
 

My stupid grin broke out again; there was no way he could say things like that to me and not make me all giddy. I nodded and Cole whisked me off to the floor, taking our place in the sea of students. His arms circled my waist and he pulled me into him, until our faces were only inches apart. I couldn’t look away from his golden eyes if I wanted to; everyone else melted away.
 

“I forgot to ask you something.” His minty breath made my lashes flutter.
 

“What?”
 

“If you’d be my girlfriend?” A crooked grin appeared and I laughed.
 

“Definitely.”
 

Cole kissed me, his arms wrapping tighter around me.
 

“I meant to tell you,” I whispered. “You look great.”
 

“Thanks,” he said sincerely, “but I’m pretty sure it’s you everyone’s staring at.”
 

“They are not.”
 

“You’re a beautiful superhero who saves peoples’ lives, why wouldn’t they?”
 

I rolled my eyes. “Who cares what they think.”
 

He laughed, those pearly whites shining in the spotlights. “I love that about you; how you don’t care what anyone else thinks of you. You know how hard it is to find people like that?”
 

“I never used to be this way,” I admitted. “Before Star died, I always worried what people thought about me.”
 

“And now?”
 

“Now it doesn’t matter,” I said with a shrug. “I like who I am, so I guess it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks.”
 

“It helps we have bigger things to consider.” His voice got low and conspiratorial.
 

I put a forefinger to his lips to stop him. “I like our little secret, but we’re not going to talk about that tonight. No missions, no Fortune…it’s just you and me.”
 

Cole kissed my finger and nodded, a sparkle in his eye. “No arguments here.”
 

He kissed me again and I lost track of everything. The conversation, the people around us, the possibility of adults coming to tear us apart…all I could think about was Cole. I didn’t care if anyone rolled their eyes at us. I was head over heels for this guy and sort of wanted everyone to know it.
 

The song ended, couples breaking apart. Some left the dance floor, maybe to find a dark hallway somewhere, while others picked up the pace to the new song. Cole and I split; I fanned myself, breathless.
 

“Want something to drink?” he asked.
 

“Yes, please.”
 

We made our way to the refreshments, where he got us each a sparkling cider. While he scanned the room, I sipped on the bubbly drink.
 

“You’re eyeing those cookies awful hard,” a voice teased me. I turned around to see Henry, dressed in a navy blue suit. His brightly patterned socks cracked me up, but I had to admit they went well with his outfit and personality.
 

“You look great!” I said, adding, “and yes, I want to eat at least half of them.”