Lysander
Iwantedtocallmy mom more than ever. I was in a horrible situation. A kid had tried to kill me, and now I was being forced to sit with him in a class I clearly couldn’t withdraw from. I thought about going to Dr. Aynesworth, but damn, he would probably go along with Dr. Bisbee, considering she was his second-in-command.
After talking to the twins, I decided against calling my parents. As Nosupes, slang I’d learned since being here that meant people without powers, they had little power against the Supes, those of us who had powers.
Clearly, Dr. Bisbee was powerful, and making enemies of my parents was not the way to go. I needed to make friends with some of the upperclassmen and figure things out, or I needed to get a handle on things differently.
Whatever happened, I wasn’t sitting with the darkling. Since I’d met him, his aura had gotten stronger. I wondered why others weren’t disturbed by it. It seemed to occupy the entire classroom. Maybe if I hadn’t stayed in the back, I wouldn’t have seen it as much, but I could feel it regardless.
Unfortunately, Dr. Bisbee must’ve scared the rest of my classmates because they ignored me like I wasn’t there. Oh well, I’d been a wallflower all through my sophomore year of high school. I was used to disappearing. At least now I had the twins who liked me enough to hang out.
Back in high school, when that asshole Jeff Jones had exposed my powers, my friends quickly disappeared. I had to finish school as a pariah. Nosupes were afraid of Supes. That made my days in high school lonely. At least with the twins, I wasn’t alone, but I was definitely in trouble. And I hadn’t a clue how I was going to get out!
“You could run away,” Kyle said.
“And go where?” Kaylee quickly rebutted. “We’re literally on the top of the country, and there’s a foot of snow in every direction.” She glanced at me and waved her hand in my direction. “It’s not like he has the powers to stay warm.”
That hit me hard. I knew she didn’t mean anything by it, but it stung anyway.
“Why is it the woman always has to be the one to figure things out?” she said with a huff.
“Please, when has the woman ever been the one to figure things out?” Kyle asked. I’m sure just a year or two earlier, he’d have finished that statement by sticking his tongue out at her.
“Hermione Granger,” Kaylee said, as if that justified her “always” statement from before.
“But it’s not always the woman,” Kyle said, pouting. For the most part, I sat back and let the two go at it. I knew they’d resolve the argument soon enough without my interference.
“Anyway, the woman is solving this one,” Kaylee said, and turned her laptop toward us. “Kaden Pierce was found standing guard over thirty kids who’d been part of a sex trafficking ring. From what the article says, he used his superpowers to destroy the men and the building that housed them. There is no definite count of how many people he killed.”
“Wow,” I said, staring at the article. “So, I’m not the first person he’s gone after.”
“But those were bad guys. Why did he attack you?” Kyle asked.
“No idea. He may be a bad guy, and he sure gives off creepy vibes. The way he glows with that dark-energy light.”
Both twins looked at me strangely. “What do you mean dark-energy light?”
“What, you don’t see it?”
They both shook their heads.
“Okay, well, that explains why no one seems as weirded out by him as me. I can see his aura or whatever you call it. It’s like this black light. I don’t know, it’s hard to explain.”
“Can you see our auras?” Kyle asked.
“Um, no!” I laughed. “His is the only one I’ve ever seen.”
“Yours would probably be hot pink!” Kaylee teased her brother.
He elbowed her, but smiled. “I do like hot pink.”
“You are such a princess,” she continued to tease.
Kyle hadn’t come out as gay, but my gaydar had pinged when I’d first gotten to know him. He was insanely handsome, tall, blond, with high cheekbones, but not my type. As the twins got back into one of their typical arguments, I reflected on the darkling. Unfortunately, it was him I was attracted to.
Self-destructive much?I chastised myself. I needed to keep reminding myself the sociopath had tried to kill me.
Chapter thirteen
