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They stepped out of school and into the cold air.
“It’ll blow over,” Gibby said. “Give it a few days. By the end of the week, everyone will have forgotten about it. We’ll—uh-oh.”
Nick groaned. “What? No uh-oh! I amdonewith uh-oh!” He followed Gibby’s gaze and found what she was looking at. “Uh-oh.”
There, standing in front of the school next to the idling SUV, was his dad, arms crossed, his expression unreadable as he looked directly at Nick.
“Shit,” Nick muttered. “Any chance someone can create a diversion so I can escape? Seth, how do you feel about lighting something on fire? Good, I hope.”
Seth rolled his eyes fondly. He glanced around quickly beforedropping his voice barely above a whisper. “Part of being an Extraordinary is facing things, even when you don’t want to. You have the power, Nick. Now you need to figure out what to do with it.” He nodded toward Dad. “This could be a start. It’ll be hard, but the Nick I love doesn’t ever back down, even when it’d be easier to do so.”
Nick scowled at him. “That is blatant manipulation, and I’ll allow it because of the whole you-love-me-thing. But this is theonlytime, Gray. You hear me? Don’t get used to it. Also, you are the best boyfriend in the world.”
Seth laughed quietly. “Ditto.”
“You want us to go with you?” Gibby asked.
Nick sighed and shook his head. “Nah, Seth’s right. I have to deal with it at some point. Might as well be now.”
“I like Extraordinary you,” Jazz said, reaching out and squeezing his hand. “I mean, I like you no matter how you are, but this Nick? This is a good Nick. Just … go easy, okay? Listen. Don’t overreact. Use your words.”
“When have Ieveroverreacted?” Nick demanded. Then, before anyone could speak, he added, “Yeah, okay. All the time. Whatever.” He squared his shoulders as Jazz let go of his hand. “I can do this.”
“You can,” Gibby said. “Because you deserve answers, Nicky. And your dad is the only one who can give them to you. Text us later, all right?”
“Thank you,” he said. “I know I probably don’t say that enough, but I really mean it. You guys are the best, even when you’re making me go talk to my dad.” He looked away. “I’m a little scared.”
He laughed when they all hugged him at the same time, other students milling around them, a few staring. Nick glared at them, daring them to speak. They moved on without comment. His friends stepped back, and Nick nodded at them before turning back toward his father.
Each step toward him was harder than the last, but Nick felt the eyes of his friends watching his every movement and knew theywere right. It was time to deal with this, to get the answers to all his questions.
Dad dropped his arms as Nick approached.
“Father,” Nick said stiffly.
“Nicholas,” Dad said with a nod, his expression giving nothing away. He opened the passenger door for Nick. Hesitating briefly, Nick climbed inside as Dad shut the door behind him. Dad stared at him through the window for a moment before circling the front of the SUV.
Whatever happened, he wasn’t going to make this easy for his dad. He glanced out the window, seeing his friends watching him from the top of the stairs. Before he could stop himself, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, which had already synced up with the SUV, the little Bluetooth symbol bright in the top right corner. Fingers flying over the screen, he found what he was looking for. He grinned as Extraordinary porn began to blare from the speakers. He rolled down the window, letting everyone hear Boner Boy give the oil worker the dicking of his life. Seth’s face was in his hands as Jazz patted his shoulder. Gibby gave Nick a thumbs-up. Everyone else around looked mostly horrified.
The moment shattered when Dad climbed into the SUV and slammed his hand against the dash, silencing the porn. Without so much as a glance at Nick, he pulled out onto the street, leaving the school behind.
