by Kelly Oram
I’d always thought myself to have more than enough superpowers for one person, but as I drove back home I would have killed for a little telepathy. I was dying to know what Ryan and Teddy were thinking, and to talk about what had just happened.
Hello, I wasn’t the only person in the world with powers! This was life-altering, earth-shattering news and the three of us just had to pretend like everything was normal all the way back to school because none of us were willing to spill the beans to Becky.
When Teddy caught me watching him in the rearview mirror for the bazillionth time, he decided to break the silence. “What were you doing out in that alley?” he asked, a lecture in his tone. It wasn’t the conversation I’d been expecting.
“You were where?” Becky screamed.
I shrugged defensively, my pride injured because to them I looked like an idiot. I couldn’t explain that I don’t have to be afraid of places like that.
Ryan reached over the center console and squeezed my hand. I was glad at least one person understood me.
“I wasn’t feeling well,” I finally answered. “I needed fresh air, but there were a ton of people smoking all kinds of things by the door.”
“So you wandered into a dark alley by yourself in the middle of the night?” Becky snapped. “That was stupid, Jamie!”
I didn’t begrudge her her anger. She was just scared for me, and from her perspective it was stupid. I’d been through the same self-defense class she had over the summer. There was more than one lecture on not doing dumb things, such as wandering alone at night in dark, secluded places.
“Yeah,” Teddy added dryly. “It was very MJ of you.”
I raised an eyebrow at Teddy in the rearview mirror. “Comic book references?”
Teddy slid me a sly grin, his eyes dancing with laughter. He was obviously enjoying the private joke. “I have a thing for superheroes. What can I say?”
Ryan and I shared a disbelieving look. Ryan’s grip on my hand got a little tighter, but I found myself smiling back at Teddy. “A computer geek into comic books?” I teased. “How original.”
The smile Teddy gave me was devastating. He couldn’t have been happier that I was joking with him about his power. I understood that feeling, too. Ryan had been making light of my powers for over a year now and I was still caught off guard every time he did it. I wondered if anyone had ever joked about Teddy’s powers with him before.
“You’re calling me cliché?” he teased back. “You were the one hanging out alone in a dark alley. That’s classic ‘damsel in distress.’”
“Yeah,” Becky chimed in, apparently done being angry with me. The light atmosphere had eased some of her tension. “What were you doing, hoping Chelsea’s Angel would show up and rescue you?”
Ryan and I both visibly stiffened. In all the excitement of discovering Teddy’s powers, I’d almost forgotten about my own tacky obsession with comic book characters.
Suddenly, I wasn’t in a joking mood anymore. I forced myself to relax, but when I looked in the mirror again I didn’t like the way Teddy was watching me. He was smiling, but I couldn’t help feeling there was a knowing glint in his eyes. I knew it was only my paranoia running on overdrive, but my heart still pounded in my chest regardless.
“That would have been so cool if it really happened,” Becky said with all of her cheerful energy back. Talk of Chelsea’s Angel always got her excited. It was one of the reasons I’ve avoided her as much as possible these last few weeks. The entire nation had been caught up in the impossibility of Chelsea’s Angel and Becky had “angel fever” worse than anyone.
“Yeah,” Teddy agreed. “Being saved by a superhero would definitely be hot. Don’t you think so, Jamie?” When he caught my eye he smirked. “Maybe not as hot for you, since she’s a girl and all. Though, I guess it’s lucky for your boyfriend she is, because if some amazing guy with superpowers came to your rescue, you’d totally owe him a thank-you kiss for saving your life.”
Okay, tension gone. Replaced with mild annoyance.
I tried to catch Ryan’s attention, but he was too busy sending Teddy wary glances. I guess I wasn’t the only one getting tired of the fact that Teddy had been flirting with me every chance he got tonight.
“That would be so hot,” I taunted Teddy. If he was going to play this game, then I was going to play it back. “I’d definitely be a goner if I was ever saved by some big, strong, gorgeous guy with superpowers. Oh, wait! That just happened!” I had to squeeze Ryan’s hand to get him to look at me. When he did, I leaned over and quickly kissed his cheek. “My hero.”
Ryan definitely appreciated the attention. Either that, or he liked the frown I’d just put on Teddy’s face.
“Um, excuse me, who’s your hero?” Teddy asked. “I saved you tonight. He didn’t do anything. And I don’t care how big and strong he is, he doesn’t have superpowers.”
Of course I was this close to roasting Teddy, but I was surprised to see Ryan frowning. It’s not like him to let people get to him.
Determined to win whatever it was Teddy and I were battling, I smirked at him in the mirror. “Not any superpowers that you know about.”
Teddy wrinkled his nose. “Why does that sound so suggestive?”
“Maybe because I was being suggestive? My man has all kinds of superpowers.”
“Oh gross, Jamie!” Becky hollered, throwing her hands over her ears like they’d been burned. “Ryan is practically my brother. It’s bad enough I have to watch him make out with you all the time. You know the rules! Absolutely no bedroom details! Ever! I will throw up!”
Ryan and I both laughed, which made Becky glare at us. I felt kind of bad because I knew the thought of Ryan and me grossed her out, but it was worth it because Teddy was now slumped in his seat pouting as he glared out the window.
“Okay, different subject,” Becky said, heaving one last disgusted shudder. “Back to Chelsea’s Angel. Girl or not, I’d swoon just as much over her if she rescued me as I would some total hottie.”
“I heard Chelsea’s Angel is a total hottie,” Ryan said, then laughed at the look on my face. “Did you see that interview with those two high school guys she rescued last week?”
“The ones she pulled from that sinking car after they’d stolen it and driven it into a lake?” Becky asked.
I couldn’t stay silent anymore. “Those guys were morons.”
“Yeah,” Ryan argued, “but their nickname for Chelsea’s Angel is starting to stick.”
I wanted to smack him for bringing that up. “Super Babe?” I scoffed. “Are you kidding me?”
Teddy decided to stop pouting and laughed at my annoyance. “Did you have something better in mind?”
“No. But Super Babe?” I could feel myself glaring and knew I must look way too sensitive to the name, but I couldn’t help it. “It’s insulting. Our species should be more evolved than that.”
Becky laughed. “You give humans way too much credit. There’s a poll on the LA Times’ website right now asking the public which name is better. It’s a pretty tight vote.”
“And then there’s also that billionaire playboy guy offering Super Babe a million dollars to spend the weekend in Tahiti with him,” Teddy added helpfully.
“What?” I gasped, startled.
Ryan chuckled at me under his breath. I glared at him. “Did you know about that one?”
“Yeah. The guys were all talking about it at practice the other day. They were complaining that rich guys have all the luck.”
Ryan laughed again at my expression. He was enjoying this way too much. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to get zapped.
“I saw his picture. He’s really good looking,” Becky said. “I wonder if she’ll do it.”
I was so appalled by the idea that I blurted “Of course not!” without thinking. When Becky and Teddy both gave me funny looks, I tried to shrug it off. “I mean, I hope she wouldn’t. Who does the guy think he is, Christian Grey?”
Teddy
seemed really amused by this. “You’re saying you wouldn’t go on an exotic weekend getaway with a good-looking billionaire? Not even for a million dollars?”
“Um, no. If I were Chelsea’s Angel, I’d fry his pompous butt faster than he could say ‘fifty shades.’”
Teddy met my eyes and gave me a smirk that made me nervous. “I’d believe it with your temper,” he said. “Hopefully Super Babe has more control than you.”
Ryan snorted at that, and I would have elbowed him if I could have reached him over the center console.
“If I were her, I’d fry anyone that called me Super Babe, too,” I muttered, and this time everyone in the car laughed.
Annoyed, I flipped on the radio really loud to a Top 40 station. They all took the hint. The only conversation the rest of the way home was a bunch of obnoxious off-key singing.
I sighed as I turned the car off and stared out the front window at my dorm building. I didn’t know how Ryan, Teddy, and I were going to ditch Becky without her noticing, but we needed to.
“Beck?” I asked. “Are you going to be okay if I ditch you tonight? After what happened?”
Becky sighed. “How did I know that was coming?” The smile she gave me filled me with relief. “I don’t blame you for wanting to stay with Ryan tonight. Go. I’ll be fine as long as Teddy walks me to my door and checks my closet for monsters before he leaves.”
Teddy met my eyes in the mirror. “Go on,” I told him. “Be a gentleman and walk a pretty girl to her door.”
Teddy still hesitated. The look he shot me clearly implored that I be here when he got back.
Please. As if I would ditch him before I got answers? I gave him a barely perceptible nod, assuring him that I didn’t plan on going anywhere. Ryan noticed the exchange and suddenly blurted, “No, Beck, you and Teddy should still go out,” surprising both Teddy and me. At our questioning looks he shrugged. “It’s barely eleven,” he said. “Just because our night’s over, doesn’t mean theirs has to end.”
Ryan turned fully around in his seat and smiled a big, phony smile at Teddy. “Some of the guys were talking about a party this afternoon. Becky can call Sean. He’ll know where it is.”
Becky’s face lit up. “You sure you guys don’t want to come, too?”
I shook my head. “Sorry. Being mugged at gunpoint sort of killed my mood to party. Besides, I wasn’t feeling well before I was attacked, remember?”
Becky didn’t question that at all. She’d told me I looked awful several times at the club tonight.
“I’m not really in the mood to go, either,” Teddy said. He sent one scathing glare at Ryan, but covered it up so quickly I wasn’t sure I’d seen it. At least I wasn’t until he said, “Doing keg stands with a bunch of dim-witted jocks isn’t exactly my idea of a good time.”
I barely had time to be insulted on Ryan’s behalf before Teddy shot him an equally fake smile and said, “No offense.”
It took Ryan a minute to respond, and the “None taken” he’d managed to choke out sounded dangerous. Anyone should have been scared by it, but Teddy refused to back off, staying locked in an epic stare down with him.
The tension between the two of them was so thick that Becky and I could only sit there and gape at one another. “Oooookaaaaay then,” Becky said and yanked Teddy from the car. “Teddy, walk me to my door.”
It wasn’t a request, and judging from the look on Becky’s face Teddy was in for quite the lecture. I mouthed a silent “thank you” her direction and she smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll straighten him out.”
“What do you mean ‘straighten me out’?” Teddy grumbled as Becky dragged him off. Literally dragged him. She had a fistful of his jacket. Just before they got inside the dorm I heard Teddy say, “What? That guy is a tool. Jamie’s too good for him.”
I couldn’t have been prouder when Becky whacked the back of his head and told him to behave. Yeah, he was definitely going to get reamed. Good.
“I don’t like that punk,” Ryan said the moment Teddy and Becky disappeared inside.
I sighed. I liked the kid, I really did, but what was I supposed to do with him? “Ry, he’s harmless. He’s like a lost little puppy who needs a good home.”
“Yeah, well, it doesn’t need to be you who adopts him.”
“Are you jealous?” I had to hold back a laugh. “Of Teddy?”
“The guy flirted with you all night long. Right in front of me!”
“So, the guy has a crush. So what? One of your favorite things to do is point out how incredibly, ridiculously, pathetically smitten I am with you. You know he doesn’t stand a chance. I’m sorry he was rude to you tonight. I’ll talk to him. But could you just try to ignore it for now? He’s a really good friend for Becky, and he has powers, Ryan. Powers! Like me!”
“Yeah.” Ryan’s face grew dark. “That’s the thing that worries me the most. I don’t trust him.”
That surprised me. “Why not? He’s got a secret as big as mine. Obviously he knows how important it is to keep it.”
“Does he?” Ryan challenged. “He certainly didn’t have any problem exposing himself tonight.”
That made my temper flare. “He saved our lives, Ryan. He risked everything for us tonight! He did what I didn’t do for Mike. He’s a way better person than I am.”
Ryan scoffed. “That, I don’t agree with. He saved your life, not mine. And he did it hoping you’d be impressed.”
“Or because he didn’t want to see me hurt. What’s so wrong with that?”
Ryan sank back into his chair and folded his arms tightly across his chest. “Nothing is wrong with that, obviously—but Jamie, that guy is dangerous.”
I shrugged. “So am I.”
“Yeah, but you care about whether or not you hurt others. He only cares about getting what he wants—you.”
“You don’t know that.”
“And you do? Do you know anything about him at all? Who he is? Where he came from? Jamie, how many people in the world have superpowers?”
“Exactly!” I hissed. “Don’t you get it? He’s the only person I’ve ever met—ever even heard of—who is like me. I’m sorry you don’t like him, but I can’t just tell him to get lost.”
I stopped and took a deep breath, surprised by how worked up I suddenly was. How desperately I had already decided I wanted Teddy in my life. “Please, Ryan,” I whispered, my voice thick with emotion. “From the second he used his powers tonight I felt something, a connection, relief that I wasn’t completely alone anymore.”
Ryan flinched. I recognized the hurt in his eyes and realized what I’d just said. “That’s not what I meant.” I reached for Ryan’s hand, afraid he might pull away from me. He didn’t, but he wouldn’t meet my eyes. “I’m sorry. Of course I’m not in this alone. You know how much you mean to me, but it’s not the same.”
My voice broke and a lone tear escaped down my cheek.
Ryan tried to hold out, but he’s never been able to resist my crying. Resigned, he reached up and dried the wetness from my face. “Babe, I’m sorry. I just—maybe I am jealous, but there’s something about him I don’t trust. He just shows up out of nowhere and happens to have powers at the same time all this stuff with Visticorp is happening? I’m going out of my mind with worry, Jamie. You’re in danger and I don’t know how to keep you safe. If anything happens to you…”
Ryan’s voice broke. I reached up and placed my hands on his cheeks, pulling his face close to mine. “I’m strong. I’m not completely defenseless. And you’re an expert at finding solutions to the impossible. We’ll figure it out.” I pressed my lips to his. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
We kissed again, but it only lasted a second. We had more to talk about before Teddy got free from Becky, and I was pretty sure Ryan wasn’t going to like it. “We have to tell Teddy.”
“Tell him what?” he asked. But he knew. “No. Don’t even think about it. Just because he has powers doesn’t mean we can trust him with your secret.”
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“We have to. That guy from the alley tonight was one of the Visticorp thugs who’s been following me. He saw what Teddy did. Teddy’s in a lot of danger now, and he has no idea. We have to warn him.”
Ryan shook his head. “We don’t know anything about him. At least wait until we know more. Please? I have a bad feeling about all this, Jamie.”
There was no way I could say no to him. “All right. We’ll talk to him first. Find out more about him.” I tried to lighten the mood a little by saying, “If I bat my lashes at him a few times, he’ll probably tell me everything I want to know.”
“Hey now,” Ryan warned, but with a light tone. He pulled me over the center console into his lap. “No making eyes at anyone but me. I forbid it.”
I giggled. “You forbid it?”
“Yes. I absolutely forbid it.” Ryan wrinkled his nose and then said, “You know? I believe Teddy may have found my only flaw tonight.”
“Impossible. You, Ryan Miller, are utterly perfect. You have no flaws.”
“Except for the fact that I don’t like to share. I want you all for myself.”
I smiled and wrapped my arms around his neck. “That is the opposite of a flaw,” I said, and then lost myself in his kiss.
Not even a minute later, the back door slammed shut. “Do you guys really have to do that every five minutes?” Teddy’s voice was laced with disgust.
“If you don’t like it, go somewhere else,” Ryan said and tried to pull me tighter against him.
I leaned back a little so he couldn’t kiss me again. “Try to be nice?”
Ryan frowned, so I stuck my lips out into a sexy pout and batted my eyelashes at him playfully. “Please? For me?”
Ryan sighed and let me climb back into my own seat. Once I was settled I turned around and leveled Teddy with a stern look. “You, too! You promised me you would behave yourself if we were going to be friends.”
“Yeah, well, that’s proving to be a much harder task than I anticipated.” He paused and then gave me one of his award-winning dimpled smiles. “But the fact that I can’t resist hitting on you is part of my charm, right?”
