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TK. He’s… like me.
He? Who is he?
Don’t know. Never seen him outside of his costume.
“He’s like me,” Nick whispered, gooseflesh prickling along his arms, defiant against the summer heat. “He’s… like. Me.”
“Nicky?” Mom said, and held out her other hand toward him. He went to her, moving as if in a dream, practically floating. He took her hand, and calm washed over him. He was tired. That’s all it was. He was tired and remembering things that hadn’t happened. TK wasn’t a man. She was his mother. She’d always been his mother.
“I need you to listen,” she told him. “This is important. Can you do that?”
Nick nodded slowly, blinking, trying to clear his head.He looked away from her at the others, taking them in. Bob frowning, Martha’s hand at her throat. Miles and Jo standing near the edge of the pool, arms wrapped around each other, flutes of sparkling cider clasped in their hands. Trey and Aysha, Gibby standing between them, eyes questioning. Mateo taking a step toward Nick and his parents, Chris stopping him, fingers around his wrist, brow furrowed. Jazz near the food table, a large steak knife gripped in her hand as if she thought she was going to stab the shit out of someone for interrupting her party.
And Seth, moving slowly toward them, head cocked in question. Nick knew his mind was whirring, trying to figure out what had changed, more than a little Pyro Storm in his narrowed gaze.
Seth, who spoke for all of them. “What’s wrong?”
Jennifer Bell said, “Owen Burke has returned to Nova City.”
An explosion of noise, chaotic, loud as the adults began to speak over each other furiously. Jazz’s eyes narrowed, and Gibby scowled ferociously. Seth barely moved, face blank, though his hands curled into fists at his sides.
Nick’s knees betrayed him, weak, loose, and he almost sagged to the ground. “What?” he whispered. He knew this was inevitable, that it was only a matter of time, but hearing his mother say it aloud showed him how much he’d hoped Owen would just… disappear.
“How do you know that?” Seth asked.
Gibby pushed through her parents, shaking them off when they tried to stop her. “How can you be sure?”
Jazz huffed out an irritated breath, bringing up the knife and, somehow, flipping it expertly in her hands. Nick didn’t know when she’d learned that trick, but he took a moment to be suitably impressed by it. “Let me at him. I’ll take care of him myself.”
“Uh, Jasmine,” Miles said. “Let’s hold off on that for just a moment, if you don’t mind. I don’t think we need to commit felonies quite yet. You haven’t even opened your presents.”
Mom wasn’t put off by Jazz’s display, or the questions from Seth and Gibby. If anything, she looked almost… pleased?There and gone in a flash, but Nick saw it. He knew he did. Gravely, she said, “Because I’ve seen him.”
Seth stared at her for a long moment. “You’re sure.”
“Of course I am,” Mom said. “If I’d been suited up, I’d have been able to get photographic evidence. I saw him in a crowd on the street this morning. And before you ask again if I’m sure, I was there when he and Nick were dating.”
“We weren’tdating,” Nick mumbled, aghast, mind reeling. “It was just two people who happened to find each other attractive.” He glared at his people. “And before anyone questions my tastes, I will remind you that I traded up to the most perfect specimen that has ever existed. Seth, I’m talking about you.”
“Noted,” Seth said dryly. He sobered as he looked back at Nick’s mom. “Why didn’t you tell us right away?”
“We didn’t want to ruin Jazz’s party,” Dad said. “We wanted her and the rest of you to have one night without thinking about anything but being here.”
“She’s right,” Chris said, stepping forward. Mateo looked stunned, but he covered it up quickly, face carefully blank. “Aaron, you need to tell him the rest.”
Nick leaned forward to look past his mom to Dad. “Tell mewhat?”
Dad hung his head, mouth a thin, bloodless line before he exhaled sharply. “The day you got Mateo’s gift. The costume.”
“Uh,” Mateo said. “I don’t know what you’re implying, but if you think I’m working with that asshole, you’d better have evidence to back it up. I already have enough twinks to deal with, I don’t need another one.”
“It’s not that,” Mom reassured him. “When you came to me and said you wanted to build Nick a costume, I knew Nick was in good hands. You’re a good friend, Mateo.”
“Right,” Mateo said slowly. He blinked once. Twice. “You helped me with the costume.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Since it was your mantle he was taking on and all. I don’t know why I forgot that.”
“What’s Chris talking about?” Nick demanded. “Another secret? I thought we were done with that. You promised me.” He stepped around his mother, stopping in front of his father. Dad’s shoulders were hunched near his ears. “Youpromisedme.”
Dad scrubbed a hand over his face. “I did. And I wasn’t keeping this from you, not like you think. We couldn’t be sure it…” He shook his head. “We needed to be sure before we said anything.”
