SuperNova: Heroes of Arcania (12 page)

“Ow,” someone said.
 

We all turned to see Andy, rubbing the back of his head where he’d smacked it against pavement. He walked over to Nova, tall frame towering over hers. He looked at her in awe. Nova blushed and a few of the girls hanging around to watch the scene giggled. I guessed I could understand why someone might find Andy good looking. Though at the moment, I only cared if Nova thought that.
 

“Nova, I…I don’t even know what to say,” Andy said.
 

“I’d rather you not say anything, honestly,” she said.
 

Penelope’s bark of laughter pierced the silence. Andy looked out in what remained of the crowd.

“You heard her. Go do your homework, kids,” he shouted. He grinned and a couple kids laughed with him, albeit a little uncomfortably. Many of them still eyed Nova and I could already see a few heads bent together in whispers.
 

“Are you okay?” Andy asked her. The way he looked at her made my hands clench into fists. I suddenly wanted to hate this guy, no matter how nice he was.
 

“Are you kidding?” She let out a laugh of disbelief. “I should be asking you that. You’re not like, traumatized or anything, right?”

Andy chuckled. “No, I don’t think so. How can I ever thank you enough?”

“Um, don’t mention it,” she said. He opened his mouth to protest and she stopped him. “No, seriously,
please
don’t tell anyone. I don’t regret it, but I’d rather not have all the attention.”

“Yeah, I get that.”
 

In the instant he looked sorry for her, Nova’s posture stiffened. I knew that look because I felt the same way when anyone asked about my mother. She hated their sympathy. After a moment, Andy’s mouth quirked sideways as he went from serious to joking again.
 

“Your secret is safe with me. Pinky-swear.” He held up his little finger to her, gesturing for her to meet him halfway. My insides growled. When she hesitated, he gestured with his finger again, tweaking it at her.
 

“Nova, I promise I will never tell anyone you saved my freaking life even though it’s totally awesome and you’re my hero,” he said with a grin, leaning in.
 

Nova smiled at him and suddenly I wanted nothing more than to freeze time and clock Andy in the nose. Jealousy seared through me, hot and bright in my veins. She hooked her pinky with his, but made a show of rolling her eyes at him.
 

Henry stuffed his cell phone in his pocket. “C’mon Nova, we’ve got that paper for Spanish tomorrow.”

“I’m also quite ready to go,” Penelope added pointedly in my direction. I ignored her, stuck in place.
 

“See you later, Andy.” Nova snatched up her backpack from the ground, shrugging it on a shoulder. She motioned her head for us to walk.
 

“I still want to thank you properly. Maybe we could get ice cream or something,” Andy called out behind us.
 

Henry snickered, while something darker flashed through my stomach. Did Nova like Andy? Maybe they already had something going on; I’d only just showed up, after all.
Crap
. Maybe that’s why she saved him. I dismissed that thought as quickly as it came. Nova hadn’t saved him because of who he was; she’d saved Andy because that’s who
she
was.
 

“You just hit your head, I can’t take you seriously with that!” Nova shouted back to him.
 

Andy laughed and waved goodbye to us before splitting off to another street.

“C’mon, Nova, take him up on it,” Henry chided.
 

I might’ve mistaken it, but I could’ve sworn Nova stiffened, her eyes flicking to me before answering. She shrugged, clearly unruffled. “Andy’s always joking around. Besides, I don’t have a lot of time for that right now.”
 

Henry went on to ask about their homework, but I tuned him out while considering her response. She didn’t have time for dating? Maybe that meant me, too.
Double crap.
 

Penelope and I didn’t say much, but I knew I was in for an earful the moment we got into the house. When I failed to acknowledge her glares, she sighed loudly every few steps. Each loud exhalation grated my nerves.
 

Two streets later, Henry and Nova turned to her house. He jabbered on about some cute sophomore girl he’d met between classes. I didn’t miss Nova turning back to look at me, suspicion all over her.
 

Something told me Nova would not be the type to let this go.
 

“So, are we going to talk about it?” Penelope asked the moment they were out of earshot.
 

I grimaced. “At least wait until we’re back in the house.”
 

Pen guffawed. “Why, so Dad can hear us? Please, then we’ll just get the speech. I’m going to jab a pen in my neck if we have to sit through that one more time.”
 

I laughed in spite of my thoughts, because sometimes Pen and I were too much alike. We shared a grin, the tension between us relaxing. At least we would always be on the same side where Dad was concerned.
 

“All right, let’s talk about it. I used my gift, in public, where people might catch me.”
 

“And I couldn’t be prouder, big brother,” Penelope said, her smile turning devious, “but I have the right to know why.”
 

“Why?” I asked incredulously. “You know why! Nova was about to get smashed!”
 

“So?”
 

I gaped at her and she huffed, adjusting her bag on her shoulder.
 

“Fine,” she said, relenting. “I guess I get it.”
 

“Do you?” I asked. “You would’ve let our friend get hurt?”
 

“I think our definition of ‘friend’ is different here,” she said with a snort. She rolled her eyes at the look on my face. “Yes, I would’ve, because that’s what you and Dad have always told me, remember? Dad would
freak out
if he knew I whipped out my gift in front of everyone. We just got here, he’d kill me if we had to move again.”
 

“My gift is different.” I realized I’d said the wrong thing the moment it came out.
 

Penelope stiffened, quickly marching up our front porch steps. She jabbed her key into the lock, twisting unnecessarily hard on the knob. She flung the front door open, not bothering to keep it from swinging wide into the wall. I winced at the bang, hurrying to close it. Lucky for us - and as was per usual - Dad was at work.
 

“Yes, we’re all keenly aware of
your
gift and
my
gift. How could anyone ever forget?” Her snarl echoed down the hallway. She dropped her backpack in a chair in the living room.
 

I chased after her into the kitchen. “Pen, I’m sorry, you know I don’t mean it that way.”
 

“No,” she said coldly, not looking at me as she grabbed a bottled water from the fridge, “you never do.”
 

There was only one way to get her back in conversation and I winced as I played the one card that would distract her. “You said the bumper was jacked after it hit Nova. If it bent against her, it’s entirely possible she could be one of us.”
 

Penelope ceased all movement, her lips curving upward at the thought. “Another gifted being. Looks like the move here isn’t all bad, after all.”
 

I bit my tongue, not wanting to get into
that
argument. It was a surefire way to make Penelope mad at me for the next week.
 

“So what now?” Penelope asked, looking thoughtful. “Do we talk to her?”
 

“I’m not sure,” I admitted.
 

“She was eyeballing you pretty hard and I don’t think it’s because she was checking you out,” Penelope said.
 

I rolled my eyes. “Thanks. My ego needed that.”
 

Her blond hair ruffled as she shrugged. “In any case, that talk’s coming sooner or later. Might want to have your script ready.”
 

My stomach flipped. “What if she didn’t need the script?”
 

Penelope’s eyebrows shot up as she took a gulp of water. She gave a little cough. “Are you seriously considering telling her the truth? What if we’re wrong?”
 

“We’re not wrong.”
 

She conceded. “Yeah okay, we’re not wrong. But still, what makes you think we should tell her anything?”

“Because I’m not sure she knows what she is,” I said without hesitation. I wasn’t exactly sure why I thought that, but the curious look on Nova’s face after I put time back in motion said she wasn’t sure what she suspected.
 

My little sister eyed me hard, her light eyes burning with intensity. I kept a straight face, used to her intimidation tactics.
 

“You like her. There are ulterior motives at play.”
 

“I think she deserves the truth,” I argued, not wanting to go anywhere near that angle. “You heard what Dad said the other night, he thinks Fortune is gifted. Nova should know what kind of monster killed her sister. Especially if it could hurt her.”
 

“But that could push her over the edge, make her go crazy about who we are.” Her arms went up and back down, hands slapping against her sides. “How do you even know she
wants
the truth?”
 

“Because it’s how I’d feel if some animal took my sister away from me.” I ran a hand through my hair and glanced at my shoes.
 

Pen softened, halting her aggressive arm swings. She was quiet and I knew she was thinking it over. “Okay, I guess that’s fair. But what if she wants to
do
something with that information?”
 

“She wouldn’t tell anyone about us, not when her gift is at stake, too,” I said.
 

Penelope shook her head. “I don’t mean her telling people. I mean, what if she tries to go after Fortune like, for real?”
 

“Then maybe we help her.”
 

Penelope let out a bark of laughter, her eyes wide with shock. “Oh my god, you’re serious! Who are you and what have you done with my brother? Cole Warner, our father would be so disappointed in you right now.”
 

I swallowed hard, not wanting to know if her joke held any truth. “Dad helps people with his gift; why can’t we? If Nova wants to try and take out Fortune, why shouldn’t we try to help her?”
 

“Because he’ll kill all of us?” Penelope said bluntly. “Or maybe because we just moved here and I barely know the girl. Or maybe because it’s just a terrible idea!”
 

“Ya know, I’m surprised at you.”
 

At that, she halted the rest of her argument. “What?”
 

“I’d have thought you would have my back on this one. That you’d love to get mixed up in this kind of…adventure.”
 

I honestly wasn’t trying to play my sister, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t know what buttons to push. She was never one to back down from a challenge. Penelope had always liked pushing the boundaries and I was honest in thinking she’d immediately jump on board. I hadn’t expected this kind of logical thinking from her. That was usually my job.
 

Penelope laughed, her bossy, worrying facade dropping in an instant. “Okay, got me there, big brother. This town doesn’t exactly have much going for it; at least this might be fun.”
 

I practically had whiplash from the one-eighty attitude. “Really?”
 

Her gold eyes, just a shade lighter than mine, stared me down. “I’m making sure
you
think it through. Nova’s pretty, but is she worth getting killed?”

“You’re in?” I ignored her question, but didn’t bother squelching the tiny little leap in my stomach at the thought that maybe Nova
was
worth it.

Penelope thankfully stopped pushing the issue. Her thin shoulders shrugged. “Of course. Does it look like my calendar’s booked up? I’m mostly surprised you actually want to go against Dad’s rules.”
 

“I’m not as amped about it as you are,” I said with a grimace. “But it’s the right thing to do. We should be using our gifts to help people. I think he’d understand, once he saw our side of things.”
 

“Yeah right,” she said, rolling her eyes again. “Like Dad ever sees our side of things. Well, not mine anyway. I’ll let you do all the explaining.”
 

“I’ll take the heat,” I promised.
 

“You’re not exactly twisting my arm into anything. He’ll probably think it was my idea.” Her white teeth shone as she grinned. “It’s a little exciting, don’t you think, that we might take out some bad guys?”
 

“We don’t know any of that yet,” I said in a warning tone. I didn’t like where she was headed. “Let’s just see what happens after we talk to Nova.”
 

“When do you suppose we do that?”
 

“Tomorrow night, when Dad’s on night shift.” I grinned at her, already looking forward to telling Nova everything. “And if she isn’t home, I have a pretty good idea of where to find her.”