SuperNova: Heroes of Arcania (28 page)

Oh no.

“Hey guys,” Amber said cheerfully, having no idea at the thoughts in my head.
 

Henry managed a garbled hello. Nova’s wide eyes said it all. Her hand went up in a weak wave and then jerked back down to her side as though she’d thought better. She turned to Henry and whispered something to him, then disappeared to the other side of the small shop. I could make out the top of her reddish head peeking out from their booth.

Henry moved to get their s’mores sundae, pulling out his wallet to pay. He glared at me the entire time, slapping his money on the counter. Grabbing their ice cream, he turned his back on me and didn’t look back as he slid into the side opposite Nova.
 

“Well, I better go,” Amber said, pulling me back to our table. Still completely unaware of what had happened, she smiled and scooted out.
 

I nodded and said my goodbyes, wondering if I should hang around and try to talk to Nova and Henry.
She might punch me.
I grimaced at how much that would hurt. Maybe a quick text would be better.
 

My fingers flew over the keys as I sent a text to Nova.
Not what u think.
 

None of my biz
, she texted back. There was a clatter somewhere from her side, probably dropping her phone on the table in anger.
 

I sent another text, desperate to make her understand.
Pen left. Amber took seat as I was leaving.

There was a long pause, too long for my liking. My stomach tightened as I thought about all the things
she
could be thinking. After how I’d run out on her last night and now sitting here with Amber, I’d probably blown my shot with her. My phone finally vibrated with her reply, but my heart sank at the flat tone.

OK. No need to explain.

Finally I slunk out the door, knowing she didn’t want to talk to me right now. I shuffled home, angry at myself for not being honest with Nova. If I could just work up the courage to tell her how I felt, maybe things would change. Instead, I turned yellow anytime I considered the idea.
 

About an hour later, someone pounded on my front door. I glanced to Penelope, who had her headphones on while she worked on an essay. Getting to my feet, I went to the door and was surprised to see Henry on the other side. I grimaced, knowing this probably wasn’t a friendly social call.
 

“Hey man, what’s up?” I greeted him.
 

He didn’t bother with formalities, instead giving me an angry look. His shaggy brown hair fell into his eyes; he brushed it off impatiently and shoved his glasses up on his nose. His finger snapped up to point at me. “If you’re going to jerk Nova around, we have a problem.”
 

I sighed, opening the door to allow him inside. He didn’t move, confused at my reaction. Finally, I let the truth blurt out.
 

“I like her, okay?”
 

A whoosh of breath left Henry. “You do?”
 

I nodded. “Yeah, of course I do. That thing with Amber today, that wasn’t what it looked like, but Nova wouldn’t listen.”
 

Henry came inside, allowing the screen door to shut behind him. He came closer to me, though he didn’t take a threatening tone. “Look, Nova is like my sister, okay? She’s been through a lot. Too much, and now that she’s finally getting back to feeling like herself, I’m not going to let anyone hurt her.”
 

“I get it, I really do. She’s awesome. I’d be blind not to see it. And I want to tell her, I just can’t seem to find the right time.”
And thanks to you or my sister or bad guys, we’re never alone.

“Especially when Amber’s involved, the girl never stops talking,” he said with a roll of his eyes.
 

My hand went up to rub the back of my neck. “I hate to even ask this and get you involved, but do I stand a chance with Nova?”
 

Henry’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “Dude. Ask her out. It’ll be better for everyone.”
 

Relief flooded through me. “It’s less scary now that I know she’ll say yes.”
 

“She’s still healing from…ya know,” Henry trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. His own face showed remorse; surely he’d been close to the little girl, too. “But I know she wants things to be normal.”
 

Normal
. The wish Nova had expressed to me last night. Henry knew more than he realized. I nodded solemnly. “Trust me, I’m all in.”
 

“She’s pretty mad. I doubt she’ll text you back tonight.” Henry brushed a lock of hair out of his face.
 

“I’ll let her cool off and try to explain to her in person tomorrow. If she’ll let me,” I added.
 

“She will, just be honest with her.” Henry hesitated and shoved his hands in his front pockets. He glanced to me before looking down at his shoes. “Hey, I hope it’s okay I asked your sister out. I don’t want to be a dick or anything—”

I held up a hand. “Trust me, Penelope knows how to take care of herself. I don’t tell her who to date.”
 

His posture relaxed. “Cool.”

We stood there for a moment, an awkward silence drifting over us. Henry cleared his throat, gesturing to the door. “Well, I better go, I have to write my personal essay for a college application.”
 

We shared a fist bump and he left. I stared after him for a moment, thinking about what he’d said. My lips pulled back into a grin.
I’m telling Nova how I feel tomorrow.
 

“I guess I’m done dating him.”
 

I jumped, turning around to see Penelope at the bottom of the stairs. “How long have you been standing there?”
 

“Right about the time Henry practically asked for your permission to date me. Too bad, I thought he’d be a little more reckless about kissing his friend’s sister.” A grin dashed across her face.
 

My upper lip curled back. “Please refrain from details. Besides, if you’re looking for wild, I doubt he’s it. Henry’s a good guy.”
 

I clomped back downstairs and took my seat at the other end of the couch. She flopped down onto her side, pulling a textbook back into her lap.
 

Her nose wrinkled. “I don’t know if I want to date someone that you approve of.”
 

I laughed, turning back to my homework. I could hardly concentrate, instead thinking up scenarios to prepare for tomorrow at school. I would suck it up and tell Nova how I felt. I only hoped it wouldn’t scare her off instead.
 

After the embarrassment at my house
and
at the ice cream shop, I locked myself in to do homework for the rest of the weekend. Henry was the only one to text me. Cole had been wise to let me steam it off last night rather than try to go out.
 

I felt like an idiot.
A confused idiot.
Did Cole like me or not? I finally wanted to let someone in, but it was hard not to be offended by him practically running off the other night. The memory made my face burn with embarrassment.
 

I managed to avoid Cole on Monday up until our class. I even considered skipping, which would be a first for me, but decided that would look immature. My stomach dropped when I entered the room and saw him already waiting for me at our table. I slunk into my seat, letting my red-blond hair fall like a curtain between us. I made a show of setting up my things, not looking at him. Before he could open his mouth, our teacher started class.
 

Not a minute later, he scribbled onto his notebook and turned it my way.
I’m sorry.
 

After a glance at the teacher, who droned on by the whiteboard, I wrote back on my page:
??

Leaving your house like that.
 

It’s fine.

I left it at that, hoping he’d take the hint. No luck, however, as he continued on.
I don’t like Amber.
 

OK
, I replied in big letters. I retraced them, blue ink marring the corner of my page.
 

Still I didn’t glance at him, but I felt him growing frustrated next to me. He sighed, sitting there for a few minutes. I refused to give him the satisfaction of reacting. Despite my initial anger at him, I started to wonder if I was being too hard on him. I mean, I couldn’t very well be the bigger person if I at least didn’t hear him out, right? Right before I turned to scrawl on my paper, his pen moved to his own notebook again.
 

I like YOU. There, I said it!!

My cheeks flushed, a smile creeping over my face with no hope of hiding it. Cole must’ve noticed the cracking tension, and underlined the first three words a couple times. I giggled, quickly shoving it back when Mrs. Slater shot a glance our way. I stared at the words again, at him finally coming out and saying it.
 

Technically, you wrote it.
My pen moved fast across the line.
 

This time, his hand came over to my page. His hand brushed against mine just so as he scribbled. My stomach did a little flip as I waited for him to finish. He wrote out, just like in an elementary school love letter, one basic multiple choice question.

Do you like me? Yes - No

Without hesitation, I circled yes, darkening the ink several times. Cole shot me one of those heart-stopping smiles that crinkled the corners of his eyes. We didn’t write anything else, but for the next half hour, we’d shoot little glances at each other. Each time we met the other’s gaze, we broke out into ridiculous smiles. Butterflies swooped around in my belly each time I caught him looking at me.
 

When the bell rang, we couldn’t get out of there fast enough. I slung my messenger bag over my head, slowing when we got out into the hallway.
 

“Maybe I’ll see you after school?” I said, hoping I didn’t sound desperate.
 

Cole looked to either end of the hall, taking in the sea of students and teachers. He bit his lip, drawing my attention to it. My cheeks blushed at the immediate thoughts that ran through my head and I focused back on him. To my surprise, he closed the distance between us, lowering his voice so only I could hear him. I could barely pay attention with his face so close to mine. His bright teeth shone in a smile that I knew would be trouble.
 

“Skip class with me,” he said, his eyes shining with excitement. His hand reached for my arm, warm fingers on my skin.
 

“What?” I asked, my mouth falling open at the suggestion. I’d never cut class in my life. I glanced around, sure the principal would somehow overhear—like some kind of Listener would—and reprimand us for such talk.
 

“C’mon,” Cole said, his hands soft on my skin. His thumb rubbed across my wrist and my heartbeat thumped in my ears. He tugged me gently towards the exit, his bright smile nearly blinding me. “I want to show you something.”
 

His enthusiasm was contagious, the reply spilling from my mouth while I laughed in disbelief. “I can’t believe I’m even considering it.”
 

The words were barely out of my mouth when he pulled me away from the lockers. Before I knew it, we were practically running down the hallway, dodging students. Bag slapping against my hip, I was too busy thinking about my hand in Cole’s. He looked back over his shoulder at me and grinned.
 

“Gotta run now before you change your mind!” he said.
 

We burst through the side exit of the school, doors banging on the outer walls. Laughing like maniacs, we ran all the way to our neighborhood. We slowed by his house and he fished car keys out of his bag.
 

“Hop in,” he said.
 

We got in the car and buckled up. I shot him a curious look while he started the car and proceeded to head east of the city.
 

“Where are we going?” I asked.