“Oh.” Riley swallows, taking that in. “So, like, you talked to him again? And accidentally—”
“There was nothing accidental about it. I called up my Grandpa and asked for Night Mask’s info. Then I called him and told him what a vital part of the rescue mission you were.”
“You’re the one who snatched the puppy out of the street! I didn’t—”
“You pointed it out. You’re the one that saw it first. Anyway, I told him what an important role you played in saving Gasket”—that was the puppy’s name—“and that if he was really serious about showing his thanks, that your name was Riley Perkins and that you worked at the superhero diner on Cherry Street.”
He stares at me, his mouth sort of gaping open. His hands are shaking a little, though I can’t tell yet if it’s from shock or anger or, most likely, both. He grips his knees. “You told him where I worked?”
“I told you, Perkins. I told you that you needed to quit your job. I gave you one last chance, but you said—”
“What?!”
My mouth feels dry. I lick my lips. “It was for your own good. You can thank me later.”
“Thank you?! Seriously?! I’m not going to thank you, X! You just got me fired. On purpose!” He gets to his feet and paces the living room, his face a mix of disgust and devastation.
“Well, to be fair, you didn’t exactly give me a choice. I mean, it was obvious you were never going to quit.” I didn’t even tell Night Mask Riley’s work schedule, since he’s basically always there anyway. Well, at least he was.
Riley whirls on me. “First of all, X, it wasn’t your choice to make! It was mine, even if you didn’t agree with it! And second of all, I told you I was going to quit at the end of the summer.”
“Yeah, three weeks from now, when our vacation’s over. That would have been too late.”
“Too late for what? For us to hang out? Because guess what, X, getting me fired doesn’t make me want to hang out with you!”
My heart races, and I take a deep breath and try to keep my expression neutral, pretending that doesn’t hurt. I mean, I prepared myself for this part, or at least tried to, but getting yelled at by your best friend because of a possibly horrible thing you’ve done is one thing in theory and another in practice. “That’s not what this is about. That job sucked, and you were just using it to avoid dealing with your problems. Slaving away there wasn’t doing you any favors, and if you don’t figure things out before school starts up again, well, maybe you never will. So, like, even though you didn’t say thanks, which I think I can graciously find it in my heart to forgive, you’re welcome.”
He glares at me. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen him look so angry before—or, at least, not at me, not even back before we were friends and I was kind of a jerk to him all the time. “You seriously think I’m supposed to be happy about this? Did you think I wouldn’t be mad?!”
What does he think I am, an idiot? “I knew you’d be pissed about it, that there might be some flak, but I was willing to take the hit. Because, you know, I’m selfless like that.” After all, what else are best friends for?
“Selfless? Are you serious right now? You’re the most selfish person I’ve ever met!”
“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I’m not going to collect the twenty bucks your Mom offered me. Some things you just have to do out of the goodness of your heart.”
I’m sitting on the couch in the living room later, spread out so I take up all three cushions, so other me can’t sit here. He’s on the floor, digging at his shoe—and by his shoe, I actually mean his this time—trying to find the rock he claims is stuck in it. Because once he gets it out, then he can stop wearing my shoes and gain his independence from me, or something like that. I pointed out that my shoes were just one of the many items of mine he’s been borrowing—though at least Gordon and Helen got him his own toothbrush—but he conveniently acted like he didn’t hear.
I press the button on my phone to dial Kat’s number. I tried to call her a few minutes ago, but it went straight to voicemail. This time, it barely gets through one ring before she answers, shouting, “Oh, my God, Damien, did you seriously get Riley fired?!”
Other me clearly heard that, because he glances up at me and raises an eyebrow, a very judgy look on his face.
I ignore him. “I missed you today, too, Kat.”
“I just got off the phone with Sarah. I can’t believe you did that!”
“Can’t you?”
“Well…” She sighs. “It was still kind of drastic.”
Alex comes into the living room, perking up when he sees Other Damien and immediately gravitating toward him. He sits down on the floor next to him and watches his every move like there’s going to be a test later. “I bet I can get it,” he says. “And afterward, maybe we could play video games?”
“Of course.” Other me smiles and hands him his shoe, and Alex starts digging around inside it.
I make a face. “Alex, don’t stick your fingers in there. You could get, like, some interdimensional foot disease or something.”
“Really?!” Alex’s eyes go wide. “Cool!”
Other Damien laughs at that.
I grit my teeth and go back to my conversation with Kat, trying to pretend this is even remotely a normal situation. And, of course, that other me doesn’t exist. “I only did what I thought was in Riley’s best interest. He thinks that if he’s not being responsible, he doesn’t have a place anywhere, which is completely wrong. And the sooner he learns that, the better. Plus, there’s only three weeks of summer left. Time’s running out—I had to take action.”
“But he’s your best friend. Best friends don’t get each other fired.”
“Would you fault a mother bird for pushing her baby out of the nest? I mean, once it was ready to fly. Not, like, just randomly or anything.”
“Damien, that’s… I’m not sure he’s going to see it that way. And we’re already avoiding Amelia—”
“As we should have been all along.”
“—and now Riley and Sarah are pissed at you, and I’m going to miss hanging out with them. And, no offense or anything, but you can’t really afford to lose any friends, especially with school starting up so soon.”
“Ouch, Kat.”
“What? You already know that’s true.”
“So, what you’re saying is, if I was going to get him fired, I should have done it sooner so he’d have more time to get over it?”
“Ha ha,” she says, not sounding at all amused. “Just—”
“Yes!” Alex shouts, suddenly jumping up from the floor, holding whatever he dug out of Other Damien’s shoe in his fist. “Got it!” He dances around the room with it before bowing and making a big deal of placing it in Other Damien’s outstretched hand.
“Huh,” I say into the phone. “There really was a rock in his shoe.”
Except it’s not just a rock. It looks like a tiny pointed crystal.
Other me frowns at it, confusion spreading across his face.
I tell Alex to go wash his hands so he doesn’t get the previously mentioned interdimensional foot disease, and he runs off into the bathroom.
“Damien,” Kat says, sounding kind of frustrated, “I just hope you have a plan to fix this.”
“I don’t need to fix anything. I’m fixing Riley, and once he sees that, everything else will fall into place.”
“Uh-huh. So, no plan, then?”
“Relax, Kat,” I tell her. “Everything’s going to be fine.”
Chapter 17
EVERYTHING IS MOST DEFINITELY not fine. Gordon keeps flapping his mouth, talking to me with this huge smile on his face, but I didn’t hear anything after, “They want you to be a regular on the show!”
“Damien?” Gordon waves a hand in front of my face.
We’re standing in the kitchen. I stumble back a step and lean against the counter. This can’t be happening. “What the hell is wrong with people?!” I shout. Which might be a
little uncalled for—I might still be stressed about possibly making Riley hate me forever, plus, you know, Other Damien being here—but it’s still a valid question either way.
Gordon blinks at me. He gives me a warm smile and puts a hand on my shoulder. “The producers loved your episode.”
I shake my head. “No, they didn’t.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. The ratings were great.”
“Before or after Amelia’s stupid video went viral?”
He doesn’t answer that. “People went crazy over the Scarlet Shine. It was trending on Twitter.”
“Dad, seriously. Don’t tell me stuff like that.”
“And don’t worry. I know this seems like a lot all at once, but it’s only on a trial basis.”
I don’t know how that’s supposed to make me feel better, since the episode I was on was already pretty terrible. I don’t know how I can top it to make sure I don’t end up a permanent member of the show, since apparently his producers have no taste.
“This is going to be so exciting! The two of us, getting up every morning and—”
“Dad. Listen to me. This was a one-time thing.” And even then only because I was forced into it to protect my reputation, which didn’t even work.
“Damien, if you need some time to think it over—”
“I don’t. I really, really don’t. It’s just… Look, doing that episode with you was, uh,”—I struggle to think of something positive to say here—“not the worst thing I’ve ever done.” That’s close to a positive, right? “But it’s just not me.”
He takes a deep breath, a serious look settling over his face. “You know, Other Damien said he had reservations about it at first in his world, too.”
“I find that very hard to believe.”
“He was nervous about being on camera. But once he was there with his dad, he had so much fun that he forgot all about his stage fright. As soon as that happened, he realized how much he loved being on the show and how he almost missed out on that.”
“That’s not what’s happening here. And I’m not him.”
“I know you’re not, Damien. Of course I do. But the two of us haven’t really…” He scratches the side of his face. “Other Damien and his father do lots of things together. Father-son things. I know we haven’t known each other as long as they have, but that just means we have a lot of catching up to do.”
Ughhhh. Why does he have to make this so hard? “Dad. Seriously. I’m not Other Damien, and you’re not Other Gordon. That means we don’t have to do stupid stuff like make pancakes every week or be on TV together with matching capes, okay?”
He sighs. It’s a deep sigh, like he knew that was coming, like maybe he’s not as ignorant about my feelings on this as I thought. “I just want to spend time with you.”
“I don’t see why that has to be in front of a national audience.”
“It doesn’t, but I… I want people to see us together. I want them to know I’m proud of you.”
There’s a warm, prickly feeling in my chest when he says that last part—just for a second—but I push it down. “And see me in a superhero costume, not blowing things up.”
“That’s not what I was getting at. But… is that really such a bad thing?” He tilts his head, making a worried face at me. “The public tends to focus on only one side of you, Damien, but I know there’s more than that.”
“Fine.” I try to swallow, but my mouth feels dry. “I’ll be on your show again on one condition. I get to be a supervillain. And not as the bad guy. I have to be your supervillain sidekick”—though the whole sidekick thing isn’t my favorite aspect of the role, that’s for sure—“or else no dice.”
He gapes at me. “But, Damien, you’re not a supervillain.”
“Yeah, well, big surprise, I’m not a hero, either.”
Ted comes over Thursday evening after dinner. Completely unannounced. Oh, and he just lets himself in, because Gordon gave him a key for some reason.
I don’t see him do it, because I’m in the kitchen, drawing pictures with Jess—who keeps doing family portraits that, I can’t help but notice, have two of me in them—but I hear the front door open, and then Ted calls out, “Gordon? We need to talk.”
They need to “talk” alright. More like Gordon needs to finally tell him he’s a letterist jerk and that their families would be better off never seeing each other again. Not that Gordon’s actually going to say any of that to him, and not just because he’s not home. He and Helen went to get a brownie mix for dessert, and Amelia went with them to make sure they got the kind she likes, and Alex is staying over at a friend’s house, even though I suggested he be banned from any social interactions until after we get rid of other me, since Alex can’t be trusted not to blurt out that his brother’s interdimensional twin is staying with him to every person he sees. But Helen laughed that off and said no one would believe him anyway, which I guess is fair enough.
That means that it’s just me, other me, and Jess. And now—
“Uncle Ted?!” other me says from the living room in this really ecstatic tone, like seeing him is actually a good thing.
Crap. I pause my crayon in the middle of drawing a cat and a dog dancing together—a request from Jess—and consider how best to handle this situation. As in, should I sneak out the back door, like, as soon as humanly possible, or should I wait it out and just hope Ted doesn’t come in here and discover there’s two of me?
I’m leaning toward that first option when I hear other me talking to Ted in the living room.
“Dad’s not home right now. Mom’s not, either. But it’s really good to see you. How’s Nolan? And Devon?”
“Fine, no thanks to you,” Ted says, and I can definitely hear the sneer in his voice.
“Did you see me on the news last week?” Other me says it so proudly and so hopefully, like he actually cares what Ted thinks. Well, not just that, but like he expects Ted to be happy for him.
I get a really sick feeling in my stomach, and even though I should probably be making a run for it out the back door, instead I get up from the kitchen table—Jess immediately snatches up the brown crayon I was using for the dog—and creep toward the wall that separates the kitchen from the dining and living rooms. I peer around the corner, trying to watch what’s happening without being seen.
Which, I have to admit, would be a lot easier if I could turn invisible. I just don’t ever have to admit it out loud.
Ted’s standing by the front door, making a disgusted face at other me, who’s actually smiling hopefully at him, like he has no clue what a douchebag he is.
Ted scoffs and takes a step back, distancing himself from other me. “You mean your publicity stunts?”
“Not the dance video. Or the, um, the episode of Dad’s show. I meant—”
“I know what you meant.” He rolls his eyes. “Not that it matters, since you did all of them for the same reason. You just can’t get enough attention, can you?”
“I… what?”
“You think it means anything? No matter how many people you pretend to save, you’ll still be a villain, and everyone knows it. Well, everyone but Gordon for some reason. I don’t know why he can’t see it.”
Other me swallows. “I really did save those people, though. It wasn’t pretend.”
“I knew you were jealous of Nolan. But what he did by cleaning up the park? That was an act of sincerity and true heroism, something you’ll never understand.”
Yeah, right. My stomach kind of burns, and electricity sparks up and down my spine. I glance over my shoulder at Jess, who’s still happily drawing her family portrait at the table. She doesn’t seem bothered by Ted chewing out other me in the next room, but, then again, that’s pretty much how Ted always talks, so she’s probably used to it.
I turn my attention back to the living room, where other me’s just standing there, looking hurt and bewildered.
Ted scoffs at him. “And you can save the innocent act for so
meone more gullible.”
“You don’t care that I saved those people? I mean, I know it wasn’t enough to, uh, to make up for the other stuff I’ve done, with my, um, my other power.” He can’t even bring himself to say lightning. “But—”
“Everyone can see right through you. Someday, my brother will, too. And no matter what you do, you’ll always be a villain, and no one’s ever going to think otherwise.”
“But I want to help people.”
Ted scowls in disbelief. “Even if that was true, saving people is hero work. It’s just not your place.”
Other me gasps and takes a step back. I think he would have been less shocked if Ted had actually hit him.
And before I even have time to think about what a bad idea this is, I storm across the living room and get right in Ted’s face.
His very, very surprised face when he sees there are two of me.
“My parents obviously aren’t home, because they would have told you to shut the hell up already if they were, so get out. Now.”
Confusion twitches across his face. His mouth falls open as he looks from me to other me. “What the—”
“I’m the real Damien, the one you should have been yelling at,” I tell him. “That’s, um, Kat, my girlfriend. She’s a shapeshifter. We’re into weird things. And for the record? My place is anywhere I want it to be, and having to have superhero DNA to be qualified to help people is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. All it qualifies you for is being a douchebag, or maybe that’s just you. Now, I trust you can find your own way out.” I jerk my head toward the door, which is literally right there. “And if not?”
I lift my hands and let sparks run across them.
Chapter 18
I HEAR AMELIA SHOUT from inside her room on Friday afternoon. There’s a muffled, “WHAT?!” followed by stomping footsteps as she storms out of her room and over to mine. Then instead of knocking, she throws my door wide open and marches right over to the bed where I’m sitting. She shoves her phone in my face with the video I made paused on the screen, even though I’m the one who just texted her the link to it, so it’s not like I haven’t seen it before. “I can’t believe you!” she screeches. At full volume. Right next to me.
The Rivalry of Renegade X Page 13
