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Owen waggled his eyebrows. “For old time’s sake?”
Yeah, no. “Never again. Consider it an extended lapse in judgment, and one that won’t happen again.”
“You wound me.”
“I don’t know if that’s possible.” Though Nick didn’t know if he believed that anymore. He hadn’t realized Owen was actually capable of being hurt. Sure, he was human, but he’d always been so cool and aloof and— “You broke up with me.”
“I did,” Owen said, sounding bored. “Thought it was best. Right thing to do, and all that. I’m a nice guy.”
“You’re really not. Mostly.”
“Mostly. I’ll take it. So, you’re in love, or whatever. That’s great, man.”
“I don’t—it’s not—ugh.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I don’t know what I’m doing. Everything is so weird right now. I didn’t sleep very good last night. Not after what Pyro Storm told me about—”
“Pyro Storm?” Owen said, and Nick looked up in time to see Owen’s eyes narrow. “You talked with Pyro Storm?”
Nick nodded. “It was… I don’t know what it was. I thought he was supposed to be this bad guy, but he—”
Owen hopped off the counter. He was frowning. “Nick, what the hell are you doing? Pyro Storm isdangerous.You could have been hurt.”
“I know that. But that’s the thing.” Nick began to pace back and forth. “He and Shadow Star were fighting yesterday, right? And it was allka-bamandka-pow,and then I was standing in this alleyway in my underwear—”
“Wait,what?”
“—and then Pyro Storm was there, and then I punched him on the side of the head, and he held my hand to make sure I was okay, and it was so strange. Like, if he was supposed to be a villain, why didn’t he toast me right then and there? And then there’s theotherthing. He knew my name like Shadow Star did. Why do they both know my name? Am I some kind of Extraordinary catnip and they all want in on my bidness?” Nick stopped pacing, thinking hard. “I shouldn’t be having those images in my head. I mean, how would that even work, all three of us? There’d be so manyfingers—”
“I thought you were all about Shadow Star,” Owen said stiffly. “I mean, he was there first and all, right?”
“That’s just it,” Nick said. “I don’t think he was. I need to show you something. Come up to my room.”
“You don’t need to tell me twice. Should I take off my shirt now, or…?”
“Oh my god. Keep all your clothes on, or I’m going to shove you down the stairs.”
Owen held his hands up in defeat. “So violent. Have you always been like this? If so, I’m lucky I escaped with my life.”
Nick ignored him, heading for the stairs, knowing Owen would follow. He reached the top and paused outside his dad’s door, listening. He held a finger to his lips for Owen to keep his mouth shut. There was a moment of silence, then a loud snore came from the other side of the door. Nick sighed in relief before continuing to his room.
He waited until Owen followed him in before closing the door quietly. He went to his bed and lifted the mattress, reaching under to find the sheets of paper he’d shoved underneath the night before.
“We’re going to look at your porn?” Owen asked. “Gotta admit, Nicky, I don’t know if you and I have the same tastes, exactly. Guys in spandex really aren’t my thing.”
Nick groaned as he pulled the papers out and let the mattress fall back down. “It’s not porn. It’s stuff I printed out last night before Dad locked me out of the internet when he got home.”
“He was serious about the no internet thing?” Owen asked, eyes wide. “How are you going to survive?”
“I don’t know. He said whenhewas a kid, they actually had to go to the library to look things up. I can’t believe a time existed when things were so archaic. Can you imagine actually having to use a physical map for directions? If I had to do that, I’d probably get lost and die. It’s ludicrous. You should see some of the pictures of him from the eighties. I’m shocked humanity survived the decade given its propensity for mullets.” Nick spread the papers on his bed. “Okay, so look. It’s here, right? Two years ago, after… well. After. It’s…” He swallowed thickly, surprised at how hard it hit him.
He felt a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Nicky. Take your time.”
He shrugged the hand away, shaking his head. Focus. Focus. “I’m fine.” He cleared his throat and tried again. “So, two years ago, we get reports of a new Extraordinary in Nova City. There hadn’t been one in years, since Guardian disappeared. There were sightings of moving darkness, and crooks getting held down by their shadowsuntil the police arrived. It’s only a couple of weeks after that when Rebecca Firestone picks up the story and becomes the so-called official voice of the Extraordinary known as Shadow Star.”
“You really don’t like her, do you?”
Nick scoffed. “I’m absolutely convinced she’s got some kind of blackmail on Shadow Star, and he’s forced to cooperate with her, even though he knows she’s evil and will probably try and steal his soul.”
“She’s notthatbad. I mean, she’s hot. She’s got that going for her at least.”
