SuperNova: Heroes of Arcania (25 page)

Nice escape. Meeting him next time. Have fun, wear your seatbelt! Love you!

I had to bite back a laugh. No matter how unbreakable I might be, my mother would always remind me to wear my seatbelt. She wanted so badly for me to be normal.
 

“Hey, you like country?”

Before I could tell him I preferred pop, Andy began naming bands I’d either never heard of or tried my hardest to avoid. I had to refrain from wrinkling my nose at several of his inclusions. I feigned interest as he finished his list. Henry would laugh at some of the bands Andy listened to, but he was one of those indie hipsters. I had no idea who he listened to, either.
 

As far as music went, I could respect the craft, sure, but I didn’t want to be forced to listen to it. I felt sure they’d feel the same way about my pop music.
 

“We should listen to them right now,” he said enthusiastically.

“I don’t really know who they are.” I tried to convey my hint without sounding bossy. “We could try something on the radio.”

“Yeah, but I really love these guys. Just a couple songs. They’ll grow on you.” He switched his CD player on, then buckled up.
 

Instead of talking to me, Andy sang the lyrics almost as off-key as the singer. Out of the blue, he seemed to remember his passenger and quit singing. The awkward silence was killing me and I struggled to find a common topic.

“So what were you thinking of doing?”
 

“Brittany’s parents are out of town, so she’s having a party. It’ll be a good time.”

“I figured you might want to see the new action flick.” I’d been betting we’d go which would’ve been great. I liked action movies and he’d think I was cool for wanting to see it.
 

“I made plans with Jeff and Ty to see it tomorrow.”

“Oh, um…okay.” I stared hard at my hands, cursed myself for bending to peer pressure. I wanted this to be a fun night. I hadn’t partied with anyone in almost a year and I had little interest in getting drunk when Fortune was on the loose.
 

Andy’s inner child reared as he whined at my reaction. “I promise it’ll be fun! Sounds like everyone will be there. We can dance and I’ll teach you how to shotgun a beer. My brother taught me when I helped him move back to college last month.”

He flashed me a grin and I attempted a weak return, wondering if he barreled over all his dates this way. His good looks wouldn’t be enough to cover up the immaturity if this kept up. Whenever our eyes met, I found myself thinking about Cole’s golden pair instead.
 

We pulled up to Brittany’s house, parked behind the dozens of other cars that lined the street. Andy took my hand to lead the way and I followed him inside and through the crowd. His hand gripped tighter on me as he turned his head to give me a big, confident smile. I returned the smile, hoped to feel excitement over something I’d wanted for so long. Instead I felt nothing. This time last year, I’d daydreamed of his hand enveloping mine, of being his date to one of these parties.
Why don’t I feel all the butterflies like before?
 

Elbows nudged me as people jostled for standing room. I had to keep myself from shrinking away from them. I felt more comfortable in the shadows of downtown Arcania now. Uneasiness came over me at a disturbing thought.
 

Have I let Fortune take over every aspect of my life?
 

Surely I could try to enjoy a date, maybe party like I used to. I forced a smile on my face and made it stick.
 

We rounded the corner into the kitchen. People greeted us with enthusiasm, especially Andy; while everyone nodded or smiled at me, Andy lapped up the attention, high-fiving anyone within reach. Someone handed Andy two unopened cans of beer and we leaned against the kitchen counter to crack them open.

“Hey Andy, hi Nova,” Amber said as she walked up to us. She shot Andy an approving glance with a big knowing smile at me. She’d been on the receiving end of
way
too many “Nova likes Andy” texts last year.
 

I greeted her with a big smile, relieved I could talk with someone I knew. “You look fabulous.”
 

“Thank you,” she said, brown eyes lighting up at the compliment. Amber always had been one of the best-dressed in our class. She smoothed her hands out over her revealing top. “I bought this today, actually.”
 

“It’s great,” I promised, “the boys won’t know what hit ‘em.”
 

“Just the one, I hope,” she said with a giggle. She looked back to find her date and my good mood crashed somewhere around my knees.
 

My stomach turned when Cole walked in behind her. He stood next to her and nodded at Andy. He gave me a vague smile that I didn’t understand, but when Amber put her hand on Cole’s arm, it hit me like a truck.
 

“Oh, hey,” I said to them.
Them
, as in a
date
. I remembered his text.
Amber told me.
My hands went into fists, my fingernails cutting into my palms in anger. Between the disappointing date with Andy and now those two here together, I kinda preferred spending my nights facing danger in Arcania’s streets.
 

Give me a smelly old mugger any day over this.

Andy greeted Cole with a high-five. I didn’t miss Andy’s appreciative eyeful of Amber’s low cut top. My lip curled up in annoyance, but it wasn’t directed at Andy. Jealousy coiled in my stomach and I tried to keep it down as I looked at Cole. I felt pretty dumb, never wondering if Cole might be into someone else.
 

“Penelope here?” My tone remained neutral.
 

“Nah, said she had a migraine.” His shoulders went up once and dropped down. “They tend to lay her out for a day or two. She’s unpleasant to be around right now.”

“More so than usual?” I remained stone-faced, but he chuckled. Amber loudly cleared her throat.

“Let’s go dance, Cole,” she said. Her fingers ran up and down his arm playfully as she eyed him. I downed half my beer in one gulp and Andy discreetly took a long swallow to keep up.
 

“I’m not, uh…I don’t really dance,” Cole said apologetically. He took a sip of his beer. Looking down at his feet, he shifted from side to side.
 

Amber pouted, curving her shoulders in slightly to accentuate her cleavage. I was now sick to death of seeing her boobs and wished she’d put them away. A huff escaped me and Andy glanced down at me.
 

“Want a tour of the house?” A rakish grin spread across his face and I knew right away I did not want to see any upstairs bedrooms or naked appendages. Instead, I decided to see if my instincts were right.
 

“Actually,” I said, lowering my eyes and looking up at Andy through my lashes, “I thought you could teach me that shotgun thing you mentioned earlier in the car.”

I mimicked Amber, putting my hand on Andy’s arm. He lit up, immediately going to the fridge for two more cans, but my satisfaction came from the look on Cole’s face. I couldn’t tell if he was jealous or annoyed, but either way, it wasn’t indifferent. That said enough for me.

Amber attempted to whisper god-knows-what in Cole’s ear, but he only had eyes for me and Andy, who now tried to teach me his new college drinking game.

“Hey Andy,” he said, still eyeing me, “grab me one too. I could learn a new party trick.”

“Ooh, me too!” Amber squealed. “It’s been a long week. I plan on getting
wasted
tonight!”

I didn’t miss the suggestive look she sent Cole but I couldn’t help but snort into my beer. I’d seen Amber wasted and would be impressed if she didn’t throw up, much less have alone time with Cole afterward. I loved the girl, but she was impossible to move once she hit her limit and passed out.
 

After two rounds, Cole called it quits. Amber egged me on and after another round, she and Andy both feigned boredom and quit, too. Amber tried to hide her swaying by leaning on the counter; I hid a grin and turned to Andy.
 

“Nice of your brother to teach you.”

“His frat throws the best parties.” Andy gave me an amazed look. “You can really drink. I can’t believe you’re still standing.”

“Didn’t develop a problem over the summer, did you?” Amber asked, her speech slurred. Despite being well on her way to drunk, she immediately looked regretful. “Sorry, Nova, that joke wasn’t funny.”

“It’s okay. I’m actually going to use the restroom if you’d point me in the right direction?”

“Down the hall. You’ll see the line of girls,” Amber said. “Cole, please let’s dance?”

I turned on my heel and headed for the bathroom before he could reply. I stood in line for over five minutes, listening to two juniors gossip. One of them got brave enough to talk to me.
 

“You’re Nova, right? Are you here with Andy?” When I nodded, she looked at me in awe. “You’re lucky, he is
so
hot. You really saved his life?”

“Um, I guess.” If that included a giant shove in the road. I took another large drink from my can.
 

The girl’s friend spoke up. “That was so brave. He was lucky you were there.”

“She means we’re lucky you saved Andy so she can keep looking at him from a distance,” the first girl said. She giggled as her friend playfully swatted at her.

To my relief, they turned back to their conversation and left me to my own thoughts. After I slipped into the bathroom, I had to convince myself I couldn’t hide in there forever. I found Andy in a beer-chugging contest with some of the football players. Before he saw me, I headed outside for fresh air.

Walking through the house, several people said hello to me, though they looked surprise at my appearance. I sipped my can of beer, grimacing at the taste. I still preferred the sugary drinks. How was I still sober after all that beer I chugged?
 

I made it to the back of the house and stepped onto the back patio by the pool. Brittany might not have much for brains, but she’d had a privileged existence for sure. Tiki torches emitted a soft glow of flames that played off the water’s surface so that light seem to jump everywhere. Several couples or small groups chatted and splashed their legs in the pool. Andy would only come out here if he wanted to get away from the shaking and grinding on the dance floor. I could enjoy the quiet for a moment; Andy was fun, but his party boy personality turned me off. I’d liked him for so long, I thought it was what I still wanted.
 

Guess I’m just not that girl anymore.
Surprisingly enough, that fact didn’t bother me.
 

I stole a furtive look around the backyard as I sipped on my beer, taking in my surroundings as if I were on patrol. I stepped off the patio, out of the bright back porch light, into a shadowy spot. I could stand here for a while and scope out the crowd.
 

“You can’t get drunk, you know. At least, that’s the rumor with your kind,” a voice said. I turned to the patio to find Cole smiling at me. I gave him a surprised look.
 

“I got drunk last summer off hard lemonade. Henry can vouch for me.”

“You weren’t fully gifted yet. Unbreakables can’t get drunk, at least not until they’re way older and their metabolism starts breaking down. That’s why you’re so impressively sober right now. You should start taking bets and win some money.”

I laughed, but now I felt like I was wasting my time. If I couldn’t even really party, what was the point of being here?
I could be hunting criminals right now.
Cole didn’t notice my abrupt silence and talked again.
 

“An Unbreakable’s metabolism works faster than a regular human. It affects all of you differently. I think you’ve only recently come into your full strength. So you can’t get drunk now even if you did before.”

“What do you mean? I thought I’m in my prime.”

He watched the azure pool, the tiki torch lights dancing off his pale hair. Then those gorgeous eyes, shimmering with the fire’s reflection, came back to survey me as he spoke. “No one really considers themselves gifted until they have access to all their power. It happens to most of us when we’re in our teens.”