Being Invisible

by Penny Baldwin

It’s in the Stars Mix

  Since I was no longer otherwise engaged on my birthday, Colin made plans for just the two of us. He said that the weekend could be for our friends, but Friday was his.

  He took me to Shades, my favorite restaurant growing up, which he only knew because he talked to my mom to find out.

  Afterwards, we snuck into my favorite park that I went to as a child. It was technically after dusk, and therefore off limits by park ranger standards. But with Colin’s new martial art skills, we were able to trespass without a sound. That, and the fact that the park ranger was in his seventies, mostly blind, and completely deaf.

  I actually tripped over a stump at one point and yelled “son-of-a…” before Colin shushed me, and no one noticed, so really Colin’s cunning was more for show.

  After taking a walk through the woods, Colin took me to the swings, which he also knew were my favorite. After pushing me on my swing, he grabbed his own. We swung for a while, relaxing and enjoying the quiet.

  “Let’s have a contest to see who can jump the farthest,” Colin broke the silence with his challenge.

  He motioned for me to jump. I swung a couple times before jumping, making pretty good distance. I looked around to see where he had landed, but he was nowhere to be found. Before I had a chance to figure out where he was, I heard his voice in my ear.

  “Try to find me,” he murmured. I turned to where I heard his voice but saw nothing.

  “That’s not fair. How do you find something that you can’t see?” I asked in frustration.

  “Head in the direction of my voice,” he laughed. He was enjoying this way too much.

  I did as he said, doing my best detective from Law and Order impression. “I know what you are doing. As soon as I get close to you, all you have to do is move.”

  “I guess you are going to have to feel for me then.” He was directly behind me, his arms pulled around my waist. I tried to turn around so that I could grab him before he got away, but he pulled his arms tighter around me. Next, I felt a light tug on my ear from his teeth, followed by my neck. He turned my head to him and kissed me. I could only follow his lead, since I didn’t know where he was.

  Just when the kiss started turning passionate, he was gone.

  “Come on, Luce. I’m not that hard to find, am I?” He teased.

  That time I ran toward his voice, so that I could get to him before he moved. I was able to catch part of his arm, but he got away.

  Finally after about twenty minutes of trying, I was able to get him and tackle him to the ground. Even though I couldn’t see him, I heard his laughter.

  “Okay. You got me. Let me help you up. He must have stood up, because his hand grabbed mine from above and pulled me to standing.

  “Even with your superpowers, I still got you.” I teased.

  Before I realized what he was doing, Colin grabbed me, and picked me up. Next thing I knew, he had carried me to the bridge of the jungle gym. After gently placing me on the bridge, I felt him hovering over me. “We are going to play a game.” He said in between kisses.

  “Okay?” I had no idea where he was going with his game, but I trusted him, so I leaned against the bridge, waiting for him to make a move.

  “I am going to touch you with something. Guess what it is.” Immediately, I felt my shirt move and something tickling my stomach.

  “A feather?” I laughed. I was ticklish, so I tried to wiggle away, but he had me trapped beneath his hands.

  “Good job, baby.” Colin explored my body with the feather, sliding my shirt up and moving my skirt to find all of my ticklish spots… no doubt making a note of all the places he could torture me later.

  “Let’s try something else.”

  I realized that I had closed my eyes, which was kind of silly considering I couldn’t see him or whatever he was holding.

  A second later I felt something cold down my neck. Like really freaking cold. “Shit, Colin, that’s ice.”

  “I’m sorry. Was that too cold, Luce?” He wasn’t sorry at all. “Let me warm you up then.” I felt his warm breath on my neck, followed by gentle kisses where the ice had been.

  “Better, baby?”

  I tried for a yes, but all I could muster was something that sounded a little like ‘ummhmm’ followed by a moan. He continued to glide the ice on my skin, followed by his warm breath, finishing with kisses to the spot.

  He returned to my neck where he licked, bit and kissed me a little longer, eventually landing on my lips. After kissing me for a few seconds, he pulled away briefly. When he kissed me again, I was surprised to feel something on my lips, and in my mouth.

  Before I could tell him that it was whipped cream, I felt something else against my lips. It took a few seconds before I recognized it as a strawberry. I opened my mouth a little further to take a bite.

  “Let me guess, a grape?” I teased him, after taking a couple more bites.

  “Oh, too bad you got that one wrong,” Colin laughed before pulling up my shirt just enough to bite the skin just below the belly button.

  “Ow.” I whined.

  “Sorry, sweetie. You got it wrong. You had to be punished.” Colin kissed the spot where he bit me. “Would more strawberries make it better?”

  I nodded.

  He kissed me again, this time with the flavor of chocolate on his lips. He pulled away and fed me a strawberry.

  He repeated this several times, kissing me, and feeding me. After the last strawberry, I tasted wine as it spilled into my mouth with his kiss.

  Suddenly I felt something sticky on my neck. “Ugh. Colin, I hope that’s not something disgusting.”

  “Would I do that to you?” Colin teased, licking the stickiness off my neck.

  “Is that… honey?”

  “That’s right. You’re good at this game.” Colin rubbed his tongue back down my throat, giving me chills and making a huge mess at the same time.

  “If my hair gets caught in this, I am not going to be happy.” I started to laugh but it turned into a sigh when I felt Colin’s hot breath against my throat. It was a very sticky yet sweet tasting kiss. Some of the honey ended up on his hands, and everywhere he touched became sticky too. I didn’t care.

  We kissed for several minutes, before the feeling of something vibrating near my inner thigh startled me. “Uh, Colin what’s that?”

  He laughed before making it visible so I could see it.

  “Your cell phone? Am I going to be punished for not guessing it right?”

  Colin started laughing. He appeared, still on top of me. “That wasn’t part of the game. It was in my pocket. I had it on vibrate so we wouldn’t be interrupted.”

  “Oh! I was going to say cell phone anyway.”

  “Right.” Colin smiled, and pulled me up to sitting.

  Because we were having so much fun, I forgot that I was lying on a child’s bridge- a very uncomfortable, very chilly bridge.

  I made a sound indicating I was in pain, and Colin laughed again. He stood up, then grabbed my hand and pulled me up next to him.

  He gathered the items he had used, and threw them into a small cooler that had been hiding on a step.

  “Where did that come from?” I asked.

  “Drew and Liz brought it by while we were eating dinner.”

  I smiled at how much thought he had put into the evening, and pulled him into a hug.

  After rinsing off with bottles of water and paper towels, we spent the rest of the evening playing on the jungle gym. When it started to get too dark to see anything, invisible or otherwise, we headed out. Colin stopped to get me a cupcake-carrot cake, my favorite. He put a candle in it and sang his best off-key version of “Happy Birthday” to me.

  Before kissing me goodnight, he handed me a small box. Inside was necklace with a beautiful heart locket.

  “I love it. It’s amazing.” I leaned in and kissed him.

  “You will have to thank Liz too. I wanted something you could put a picture in. I don’t know s
hit about jewelry though. So I dragged her to about six different places to find what I was looking for. As soon as I saw that one, I just knew that I wanted to give it you.” He paused a moment before adding, “Look on the back.”

  I turned the necklace over where it was inscribed with the words “fate will find a way.”

  Before I had a chance to respond, Colin spoke again. “I chose that quote because I feel like we got the fate thing going on. Whenever I least expect it, you come along and knock me off my feet. Even though I was the one who knocked you off yours.”

  I hugged him… partly because I wanted him to know how much it meant to me, but also because I wanted to cry a little from his sentimental speech, and I wasn’t ready for him to see me getting so emotional. I wore that necklace that night and every night after, the picture he took with his cell phone of the two of us at the park inside.

  Over the next several months, Colin and I became even closer. Since Liz and I knew about Colin’s invisibility, we did everything we could to help him. That meant keeping it a secret from everyone. Unfortunately, that included Annie. Luckily, she was in her last year of college for architecture and she was so busy, she barely slept at our place anyway.

  In the meantime, Colin and I ran almost every morning, stopping at Harvest Moon most days after we were done.

  He had a pretty solid routine of running, going to school, working out and spending time with me. Liz and Drew got in on the act too.

  Drew started to work out with Colin every time he went. Drew also swore that playing Medal of Honor on his Xbox would help Colin’s reflexes and hand-eye coordination. Apparently he needed a lot of help with that, since they played practically every day. Liz helped by yelling at the guys every time they did something wrong. You know, to motivate them. I think she was trying to toughen them up. They usually ended up throwing something at her.

  Of course I had to give Colin a playlist of songs fit for a superhero. I didn’t want to name it anything that might give away his ability, so I called the mix “It’s in the Stars,” reminding him that he had fate on his side.

  By the time spring quarter came around, Colin was as fast as lightning, as strong as an ox, as nimble as Jack, and as- whatever cliché that works, he was it.

  It was one thing to be all those things though. It was entirely another to put those things into practice. And Colin knew this. He was chomping at the bit to actually get the chance to be the hero. He wanted to know that when it came down to it, he could be the superhero he was meant to be.

  I didn’t tell him, but I was anxious too. He definitely had the superhero skill set. I had no doubt about that. But nothing was cut and dry in violent situations. How do you play a game when you have no idea what the rules are?

  What neither of us realized is that we wouldn’t have to wait much longer to find out.

  Chapter Thirteen

  You’ve Got Me? Who’s Got You? –The Lois Lane Mix

  It was an unusually warm day for April in Ohio. The campus was mostly deserted because everyone, except the four of us, was on Spring Break. We decided that we would have a night away from all of the superhero-ness and just have a fun evening out.

  It started with the guys finally getting us the tacos they had promised when we first met. We held them to buying us margaritas, telling them that with how long it had taken them to pay up, they racked up margarita interest. A few margaritas later, their debt was paid, and we were feeling pretty good. Colin and Drew, on the other hand, stayed completely sober to make sure they could ‘protect us from ourselves.’ Their words not ours.

  The guys were walking us back to our house, while Liz and I sang ‘Sweet Caroline’ at the top of our lungs. I think they were hanging back a little bit so they didn’t have to be seen with us.

  “I know what we need.” Liz stopped abruptly, making us all stop short to avoid hitting her.

  “What’s that, babe?” Drew put his arms around her and pulled her to him.

  “Insomnia. Doesn’t that sound good?”

  Drew and Colin’s “no” was trumped by my insistence that Insomnia was awesome.

  Colin’s assurance that I “don’t love Insomnia and have frequently compared it to pencil shavings,” fell on deaf ears.

  I was trying to remember which drink I disliked the least when the bell chimed indicating someone opened the door. We turned toward the sound just in time to see a man with a gun coming straight for us. Instinctively, Colin pulled me behind him and stood in front of our group.

  “You.” The gun wielding man pointed to the girl at the register. “Give me the money from the drawer. Everyone else give me your wallets.” We all grabbed our wallets and dropped them on the ground.

  I allowed myself a quick glance in Colin’s direction.

  Please don’t be a hero. Please don’t be a hero.

  I know it was selfish and unfair of me, since this was the kind of moment he was waiting for, but I really just wanted to have Colin back home with me in one piece.

  The cashier, who was understandably shaken, tried to give the man money but dropped half of it on the ground. That caused the gunman to lunge for the cashier, trapping her below his arm while holding the gun at her.

  The girl was young, probably a student working for extra money, and she looked terrified. Seeing her made my eyes well.

  She needs a hero. She needs him. He has to save her.

  The distraction gave Colin enough time to become invisible and rush over to the guy, knocking the gun out of his hand. The man turned to attack, but was surprised to find no one there. When he saw his gun lying on the floor, he moved toward it, but was tripped on the way. Drew kicked the gun so that it was nowhere near Colin or the robber.

  That entire time, Liz and I had been stuck to our spot.

  "Liz, Baby. You and Lucy have to go. Head to the donut shop next door. Lock the doors and call 911."

  When we continued to stand, unmoving, Drew yelled. "Get out!" Reality kicked in, and we both fled. As we opened the door to leave, I heard him tell the girl behind the counter to get down at the same time I heard a crash. I turned around to look, and saw a display full of mugs scattered on the floor.

  Liz grabbed my arm and pulled me outside.

  By the time we reached Brutus Donuts, the old man behind the counter had already heard the commotion and called the cops.

  He locked the door behind us, and even offered us each a free cruller. Liz immediately broke into tears, while I sat there in a state of shock, unable to speak.

  "Lucy, Drew can't become invisible. He's not a superhero," she managed to get out in between sobs. "He's over there helping Colin, and he has nothing. What if something happens? He could..." Her sobbing took over, and she could no longer speak.

  "He doesn’t have nothing," I said, determination temporarily overriding my feelings of hopelessness. "Drew works out with Colin all the time. Drew's strong too. And Colin's not going to let anything happen to him. That's his boy."

  Liz nodded, but continued to cry.

  We sat in silence, waiting for something to happen. The shop owner silently brought us cups of tea. I sipped the tea, and picked at my donut, feeling the need to do something.

  Finally the welcome sound of a police car arrived. We both let out sighs of momentary relief that at least the guys had help.

  Our wait turned from minutes to over an hour before anyone came to talk to us.

  We were relieved when a female officer in her forties tapped on the door of the donut shop. Al, the storeowner, opened the door for the officer and brought her a cruller. Apparently crullers were standard protocol for these types of situations.

  "Ladies. I just need to ask you some questions." The officer seemed almost apologetic.

  I nodded, but Liz continued to cry. "First, you have to tell us if they are okay," she choked out.

  I held my breath while I waited for the answer.

  "Everyone is alright. Drew, does he belong to one of you?"

  Liz laughed
through her tears. "Yes. Me."

  “You must be Liz Mollohan. Drew’s really worried about you. I told him you could see him as soon as we are done with questions. The cashier is understandably shocked, but she’s doing okay." She chuckled before going on. "It's great that your boyfriend was there Miss Mollohan, but let him know that he shouldn’t play hero next time. He could have gotten hurt."

  “Oh, no worries there. This is Drew’s first and last day in the hero biz,” Liz answered, before turning to me with a concerned look. I’m sure she was thinking the same thing I was.

  Colin was invisible, so the officer didn't even know he was there. Which means she has no idea if he is okay, if he is even alive. Where the hell is he?

  I wanted to cry. I wanted to throw up. I needed to get out of that place. But I still had to answer her damn questions.

  Liz had her eyes trained on me as the officer asked question after question. We tried to remain as consistent as possible, only giving the officer the story as if Drew had done it all. Drew knocked the gun out of the guy’s hand. Drew tripped the guy and pulled the display on top of the would-be robber. The whole time, my head was barely there. Only one question plagued my mind.

  Where the hell are you, Colin?

  I kept my tears at bay for the duration of the officer’s questioning, even with them threatening to erupt every five seconds that the officer kept us. My anxiety was rising to the point of panic, so much so that when the door opened and another officer came in, I jumped.

  The cop that opened the door was a young guy, probably not much older than me. He asked our officer a couple questions, then left. I couldn’t take it. I wanted them all to just stop. No more questions. No more interruptions. I suddenly couldn’t take seeing the cruller in front of me.

  It’s too much. I’m going to be sick.

  Just when I started to get up to run to the bathroom, I felt a light, barely there touch. I jumped, causing the officer to raise her eyebrows.

  "Cold chill." I answered her unasked question. She nodded, looking back down at her report.

  Did I really feel that? Is Colin here?