(I meant to publish this chapter way sooner, whoops!)

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Friday morning, I woke up with sore neck, assuredly from sleeping in a bad position. Good start to the day.

I threw my comforter off of me, and got up to follow my morning routine. I thoughtlessly grabbed some clothes and headed towards my bathroom for a shower, and 30 minutes later, I went downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast. My neck didn't feel so bad now, so my mood was a tiny bit better.

I passed Dad, who was sitting on a couch in the den, with a suitcase in front of him on the coffee table. He was flipping through files of some sort, but I wasn't interested in finding out what they were.

I wasn't paying that much attention to him, but when he saw me, he quickly closed his case. I quirked a brow.

"Y/N, something came up. I need to go out of town on a small business trip for a few days." He spoke to me, and I paused.

"Ok..." I faced him, recalling something.

"Is...it related to Mom's trip? Did something bad happen?"

"Yes, and no." He answered, clicking the locks of suitcase to hold it closed.

"...When's Mom coming home?"

"Soon."

He looked up at me, leaving it at that. He grabbed his suitcase, stood up and walked out of the den, passing me.

"I'll be gone before you get out of school. Should be back next Friday."

"Next Friday?" I echoed with a frown, wondering if I heard him right.

"Yes. You've lasted a week by yourself before, you'll be fine."

And he left, opening the door to the garage and closing it, just as the sound of the garage door opening rumbled through the house.

Most teens would probably be excited to have their house all to themselves for a week, but...I felt nothing. If not a little apprehensive. I hated being by myself.

Which was funny, because at the same time, I didn't like being around many people. I can't seem to find a stable ground.

But, whatever. Our neighborhood wasn't bad; nothing really happened around here. I didn't have to worry about someone trying to break in that much. It's not like Dad, or even Mom when she was here, cooked that often...things would basically be the same. I would just be actually alone.

I sighed through my nose, grabbing a bowl and spoon for some cereal. On the way back to my room, I passed by a picture frame on a shelf, one displaying a family photo. I looked at my mom's face in it.

She looked like she didn't want to be in it. Her eyes and frown said that much. Dad at least looked more cheerful, but not by much.

And then, there was 2 year old me, in my mom's arms. I was the only one who was genuinely smiling.

I snorted, and shoveled more cereal into my mouth before walking away.

~~~

"Honestly, I kinda like history. There's some stuff about it that's interesting." Cam grinned, grabbing her lunch try. I was less enthusiastic, and picked mine up silently.

"Hm." I hummed to let her know I was listening, falling in line with her to go into the main cafeteria area. We headed towards an empty table, as Cam continued talking.

"But yeah. Too bad most of it's boring, and the same things we've been learning since 1st grade..."

I zoned out. I don't know how or when exactly, but the next thing I knew, I was staring at the apple of my eye. I couldn't help but avoid him a little in the morning, out of fear of what he could say about my gloomy attitude in science, but he hasn't gone out of his way to talk to me yet.

And I was glad. Talking about my emotions was something I hated with a passion.

Right now, Dash appeared peaceful. He was wearing a red t-shirt with a long-sleeved white undershirt, with denim jeans today. He was leaning back, listening to something a friend to his left was saying. In the white cafeteria lights, his hair somehow seemed more bright than usual.

It was styled a little differently, not as brushed. It was kind of like bedhead, and for all I knew, it was bedhead and he didn't feel like fixing it before coming to school. Either way, it was cute. And, to my horror...kind of hot.

"Y/N?"

I nearly choked on my food. Cam was eyeing me from across the table, an eyebrow raised in confusion.

"Have you been listening?"

"Uh...." 

The girl's eyes narrowed.

"What were you staring at?" She faced the direction I was gawking in previously, moving her head around. Shame made my skin burn.

"I-"

"Oooh." Cam glanced back at me with a smile. "Were you staring at those guys over there?"

"Uhhh-"

"I don't blame you. They're all pretty cute."

"...It's just one guy-" I uttered, brain-to-mouth filter temporarily failing once again, but stopped myself. Terror chilled my blood as Cam's smile widened.

"One guy? Who?"

"..." I sighed. Lying to her would be unnecessary at this point, so why not tell the truth?

"...The blond."

Cam combed the table over for the boy in question, before loudly questioning: "Oh, Dash? You were staring at him?"

"Keep your voice down!" I hissed, clenching my fist, even though it was loud in the cafeteria so no one probably heard her. She laughed.

"...Wait, how do you know who he is already?" I frowned.

"He's in my English class! I sit right next to him, as a matter-of-fact." She snickered, smiling twisting into a smirk. I suddenly felt nervous.

"So........you like him don't you?"

I knew she was going to ask that.

"...Ehh..."

She leaned forward, eyes glistening with excitement. "You do! You totally do, I can tell!"

"...Ok, fine. Yeah, I like him." I begrudgingly grumbled, falling back into my chair. Cam giggled.

"You should ask him out then."

"...What?"

"You should! Wait, is he taken or something?"

"Not...that I'm aware..."

"Then you definitely should! If you like him, why not?"

"Because..." He's him, and I'm me, is what I wanted to say. But instead, I kept it simple.

"I don't know if he likes me back."

"I can help you find out!" Cam cheerfully suggested, but I immediately shook my head.

"No, it's fine. I don't need someone to play matchmaker."

"...You sure about that?" She tilted her head, giving me a doubtful look.

"Yes." I spooned food into my mouth, giving myself an excuse to not respond anymore. Cam shrugged, and went back to eating her lunch as well.

"Alright..." She trailed off.

"Actually Y/N, you might not need my help. Dash might let you know himself."

I craned my head up, confused, and followed the direction of her gesture. Of course, I made eye contact with him, but this time was different.

He was looking over here first. When Dash saw he had my attention, he smiled. I was fine with that, I even mustered a little smile in return, not wanting to be rude.

But then, he winked at me.

I sharply looked away, face ablaze. Cam didn't miss it.

"What? I didn't see, what he'd do?" She asked, but I remained silent, fixing my gaze onto my tray below me.

"...Well, he's chuckling. And...oh, now his friends are all looking over here. Just, fair warning." Cam snickered, and I wanted to disappear right there and then.

I didn't bother checking whether she was telling the truth or not, I just wanted to leave.

"What...are they doing now?" I wasn't going to look, but I was curious.

"Just, talking. Smiling. They're all focused on Dash though, who's eyeing you like you're some priceless jewel."

"...You're lying." I deadpanned, referring to her latter statement. Cam shook her head.

"Nope, I'm not. Dash's face is all lovey-dovey." She smiled, and my disbelief was cemented. She's messing with me. But I still didn't peek to see for myself; I embarrassed myself enough for one day.

Lunch soon came to an end, and I had to stop myself from chucking my tray into the trash and dashing out.

~~~

I sat down at my usual seat in science, getting my notebook and pencil out for the incoming lesson. I rested my cheek in my palm, leaning over my desk with my other hand tapping my pencil against the polished wood.

My classmates gradually entered the room, taking their seats in the room and some next to me, but I didn't look up at anyone. I spaced out, gazing into nothing, and it wasn't until the classroom's door closed and our teacher addressed the class, that I returned to reality.

Sometime later into the lesson, while I was taking notes, a burst of pain suddenly shot through my head. It made me flinch and cry out, but it was soft, and luckily overshadowed by Ms. Bondde's talking. I used my free hand to rub my forehead, where the pain started from.

Now my head felt fuzzy. Really fuzzy, like it was filled with fog. The feeling thankfully went away a few minutes later, but it was so bizarre, I was unsettled. What was that? A random headache? I've never had one like it before...maybe today has been too long for me. The sooner I get home, the better-

"Y/N."

My name being spoken made me open my closed eyes and look up, seeing Ms. Bondde staring at me. Subsequently, the whole class did then too.

"Did I lose you?" She raised an eyebrow, and to my shame, I heard snickering and chuckling start up from people around me. Sweat welled up on my forehead and on my palms.

"No." I removed my hand from my head, and picked up my pencil again. "Sorry Ma'am."

"Hm."

She continued with the lesson, but the scattered laughter didn't stop. I could feel multiple pairs of eyes on me, setting me on fire. Even worse, I just knew Dash was among them. Shame made me feel like I was on fire.

To my left, out of the corner of my eye I saw two girls whispering to each other, glancing at me. Gossiping, about me. Alongside my shame, frustration ignited and almost consumed it. I thought about what I could do, to try to calm myself down.

One of the girls unscrewed the cap of the half-filled water bottle on her desk, and picked it up to take a drink from it. An idea struck me. I didn't even have to put that much effort into what happened next.

I flicked a finger, a small and unnoticeable movement.

As the girl tilted the bottle down, she was surely expecting a small amount of water to come out, so I knew she was unprepared for basically all the contents of the bottle to gush out at her. With a scream, she dropped it, and more water splashed over her desk.

"Patricia? What are you doing?" Ms. Bondde stopped the lesson once again, confused by the ruckus.

"I'm...I'm sorry Miss. I dropped my bottle..." Patricia coughed and quickly picked it up to take a look at it, like the plastic container was some new creature. An amused smirk formed on my face, which I hid, even though there were people openly laughing at her now.

"That's fine. Just, please clean up your mess. There are paper towels over here that you can use."

As the teacher gave them to Patricia, I took this chance to take in the room. Everyone's attention seemed to be off of me now, which is exactly what I wanted. There was one person who wasn't joining in on the snickering and gossiping, and not to my surprise, it was Dash.

He watched Patricia wipe up the water on her desk, frowning in what I could tell was confusion. I guess he was wondering how she dropped her bottle. I apparently stared at him for too long though, since when he turned his head away from the scene, his eyes moved and happened to meet mine.

But, feeling a sudden rush of bravery, I didn't look away. Neither did he.

We gazed at each other, with he having a neutral expression. It was so...thrilling, looking into his blue eyes. From the times I managed to stand a few feet or so from Dash, I knew they had a lot of detail in them. They were beautiful.

I dreamed of the day, that I could get even closer to see them. And not even just them, but his face in general.

He really was handsome. It felt...wrong of me to think so, like it was inappropriate. But, he was.

When I remembered just what it was I was doing, I saw that Dash had started smiling. It was infectious; I couldn't stop myself from doing the same. I bet we looked like idiots to anyone who caught us doing this, but I didn't care.

All I was focused on, was him.

After some amount of time, I had no idea how long, I was the first to break away. I about buried my face in my notes, unable to describe how I was feeling right now. Excited? Happy? Scared?

Perhaps all three. But I was puzzled.

I'm just now realizing, Dash smiles at me an awful lot. Why? Before I thought he was being friendly, but it strangely feels different. Not to mention how he winked at me at lunch...that could've just been him being playful though. But I don't think he smiles at his friends like how he smiles at me.

At least, I hope he doesn't. It makes me feel special. For once.

When class finally ended later, I actually took my time leaving. I didn't rush out, and waited for everyone to vacate before I stood up. However, someone entered my field of view.

"Y/N?" Butterflies in my stomach begun swarming when I looked up.

"...Yeah?"

Dash was radiant. Maybe it was because of the lights in the classroom, or my imagination, but he was glowing.

"I wanted to ask you something..." He spoke, sounding bashful. He even averted his gaze.

I silently urged him to continue. We were the only ones in the room right now, Ms. Bondde just walked out.

"...Can we exchange phone numbers?"

That stunned me. He wanted my number? And he wanted to give me his number too, since he didn't just ask for mine.

I almost asked why on reflex, but I didn't. We did agree that we should talk more...so...

"Sure."

Now he was the one who was surprised. He must have thought I was going to say no or something. But he recovered, flashing me a grin.

"Cool."

We took out our phones. In no time, we had each other registered as contacts.

"I'll see you later?" His voice was softer. My heart swelled.

"Yeah..." I uttered, but I remembered something that made me gasp and my eyes widened. Dash instantly became more alert, and if I wasn't mentally panicking, I probably would have thought of it as odd. It was as if he was prepared for something to jump out at him.

"My bus." I took a deep breath, turning around and running out of the room.

"I'll- see you later!" I called behind myself.

I didn't want to leave on a note like that, but I couldn't miss my bus!

~~~

I opened the door to my room, flinging my backpack onto the ground next to my bed. I didn't miss my bus fortunately, but I was a tad tuckered out from running to it.

My energy level rose again, when the reason why I almost missed it entered my mind again. I had Dash's phone number, and he had mine.

I pulled out my cell. Was he going to text me? Call me? When? Would he not? What would we even talk about if he did? Should I try to initiate communication first? How?

Questions upon questions, but I didn't care. I was just happy I had his number. I did a little hop of joy, beaming before going into the kitchen to get a snack. As I ate, I thought about what I could do.

I didn't have any homework. I didn't feel like watching TV. I was still too giddy, so taking a nap was out of the question.

... ... ...

Wait. I was home alone, and would be for a while. No Dad to worry about.

Why not...go out? Patrol? The last time I did when there was still daylight outside, was a very long time ago. I could burn some energy, get some fresh air.

My mind made up, I finished my snack and went into my room to suit up.

~

I had no specific place I wanted to go to in mind, so I just walked around. Away from people whenever I could of course, but thanks to how un-superhero like my costume was, most people I couldn't sneak around didn't bat an eye at me whenever I passed by them. Those who did gave me curious stares and nothing more.

Being an unknown super was great. I was a nobody in my personal life, and a nobody in the superhero world. Both had their pros. And their cons weren't so bad...

...Metroville sure was a big place. I stuck to the district my house was in, so I wouldn't end up that far away from it. I passed through alleys and behind buildings, looking for anything that was suspicious.

And eventually, when the sun was close to setting, I found something.

A truck surrounded by three black cars was driving down a street. I wouldn't have paid it any mind, if one of the cars didn't appear to be leading the truck, with the two other cars taking up the rear. The truck was marked, but with a banner displaying a company name I've never heard of.

"Perennial Pharmaceuticals".

I squinted my eyes, and followed them. It wasn't that difficult, just by cutting through alleys and running in some parts, I kept the vehicles in sight while not getting too close. Eventually they all went down a narrow, unmarked street.

I followed on the sides, using buildings and miscellaneous objects as cover. I lost sight of them for a moment, but after cutting across another alley, I discovered where they went.

I looked out to a hill. Across it, was a large warehouse with a parking lot. The truck was inside some sort of holding area, while the black cars parked outside it, with their drivers and passengers getting out.

I continued to watch, mostly hiding myself behind the corner of a building, wondering just what was going on here...

"Hellooo."

A youthful and masculine voice, much closer than I could've possibly prepared for, made me jump. I spun around, to register someone wearing a black domino mask and red suit standing behind me.

The amusement he was feeling at my reaction, was painfully evident in his blue eyes.