AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I know they do,” Seth said quietly.
Nick sighed. “I think if they were the same kind Burke gave Owen, we’d know it by now.” He swiveled in his chair, raising his hand toward the prom banner. “Explosive Destruction!”
The cafeteria quieted as everyone turned to stare at them.
Nick glared right back. “Eavesdropping is rude. This has nothing to do with you. Return to your silly, inconsequential lives.” He turned toward the table once more. “See? Normal, like always.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Gibby mumbled.
“It’s weird, though,” Jazz said, spearing a piece of chicken. “Burke comes out of nowhere, and then a couple of days later, Rebecca Firestone shows up in front of our school?”
A thought struck Nick—one he should’ve had sooner. “Oh, crap. Can she use the footage she took today? I need to tell my dad before he sees it on TV and grounds me forever, even though I was the victim.” He typed a text:Daddio, no cause for panic, but RF showed up b4 school asking questions re: our fire friend. Don’t know what she wanted but can she use footage of me without ur permission?
He was about to set his phone down when it immediately started vibrating. Nick sighed. “Such a drama queen, I swear to god.” He connected the call. “Hey, pops. How’s your day going?”
“Shewhat?” Dad snarled.
Nick had the best dad, no contest. “She was asking about me and Pyro Storm. She had a photo of me and Seth and kept sayingI knew more than I was saying. Said NCPD was covering for me, which is pretty much bullshit.”
“Language,” Dad said. “She recorded you?”
“She did, but then Jazz threatened to stab the cameraman with her heels, and that was pretty much that.”
Jazz preened as Dad groaned. “Kid, I’m not even going to touch that one. Jazz is terrifying when she needs to be. And no, she can’t use footage of you without the permission of a guard—parent.” Weird. Dad’s voice caught on the wordguardian. “And if she tries, we’re going to sue the hell out of her,Action News, and anyone else I can think of.”
“I respect that and you,” Nick said seriously. “Thanks, Dad.”
“You let me know if you see her again,” Dad said. “If anything, I’ll get a restraining order filed against her. She’s pushing her luck as it is.”
“Will do. Lunch is almost over, so I gotta go. See you tonight?”
“Tonight,” Dad said, already sounding distracted. “Love you.”
“Love you t—and you’re already gone.” He set his phone down on the table. “Dad’s on it. Whatever Rebecca Firestone and Simon Burke are cooking up, they won’t get far. He’ll make sure of it.”
“It could be a coincidence,” Seth said, though he didn’t sound convinced. “We need to proceed carefully, just in case it’s not. Nicky, if something ever seems off about your meds, you need to let us know. We can’t take any chances, not with Burke.”
“I will,” Nick said.
“How did he know you take Concentra at all?” Gibby asked.
That gave Nick pause. “I don’t know. That’s gotta be a HIPAA violation. Maybe they have a list of everyone who takes the pills the company makes. And that’s some kind of Orwellian nightmare I don’t even want to consider.”
“I’ll look into it,” Seth said. “Dig around, see what I can find. But as much as I hate to say it, we have other things that need our attention.” He dug his phone out of his pocket and began to type. When he found what he was looking for, he set the phone on the table in front of Nick. “Explain.”
Nick looked down. The screen displayed the official Pyro Storm website, complete with shifting flames that rose off the letters, the smoke curling into little hearts. Nick was proud of it. He admired his handiwork until he realized everyone was waiting on him. Showtime. “Now, I know what you’re thinking.”
“I really doubt that,” Gibby said.
Nick ignored her. “It’s a central hub for all things Pyro Storm. Want to know what Nova City’s premier hero is up to? Want to find the links to Pyro Storm’s favorite eateries? Need to find links to all of Pyro Storm’s social media? Well, have I got good news for you! There’s even a FAQ section where the most important questions are answered, likewhat is Pyro Storm’s favorite kind of dog, andcan Pyro Storm shoot fire out of his junk?Huskies, and no. No, he cannot.” He frowned. “That last one is courtesy of my father, which I won’t ever forgive him for.”
Gibby’s eyes bulged. “He askedwhat?”
“So,” Jazz said, “I really want to know why you thought that was necessary for your FAQ section, but I can see you’re on a roll, so we’ll come back to that. Becausewhat.”
“We’re not here to talk about it!” Nick said loudly as Seth groaned into his hands. “We’re here to talk about how I’ve launched the new branding initiative for our favorite superhero. Everyone will now finally be able to support Pyro Storm and all his hard work by buying officially licensed merch, with twenty-five percent of the proceeds going to Pyro Storm, fifteen percent for the three of us, fifteen percent to the artist, and the remainder going to a queer nonprofit, because Pyro Storm is giving and kind.”
Gibby grabbed Seth’s phone and pulled it across the table so she and Jazz could look at it. She scrolled down the page. Nick waited for feedback.
