My eyes fluttered open, and I muttered a four-letter word under my breath as Sam slapped the tip of my toes. I would have said something, but I glared at him because he didn't seem as startled by my powers with the new supers in town.
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"What?" I snarled. Sam pursed his lips and folded his arms across his chest.
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"Did I miss something because I could have sworn you had super speed, yet how many days have you been late to school?" I rolled my eyes as I peeled myself from the back cushions.
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"Are you serious, Sam?" I squinted. Sam flopped beside me on the cushions, gnawing his hangnails, and pointed towards the stairwell.
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"Get ready, James, before you're too late." He spoke. As I leaped from the couch, I huffed.
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"I'm going," I said as I rushed up the stairwell. Powers came in handy most of the time.
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I gripped the straps of my backpack as I walked through the hallway. That morning, I ran into Mia on my way to my locker. Her eyes glowed as she fumbled over her shoelace. But I reached out and caught her mid-fall, holding her in my arms.
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"James," she said, batting her eyelids as she turned to face me. I took a big breath and knelt to tie her shoe, not daring to gaze into her ocean-blue eyes. Derek and Sam were, in fact, correct. I liked Mia a lot.
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"Hey, Mia," I said, attention drawn to the knot on her left shoe. "How did you do your science homework?" I raised my eyes to see her adjusting her shoulder straps.
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Mia grinned. "I suppose it went okay," she answered, her lips pulled wide. Her smile grew as she said, "Thank you, James." I rose from the floor and returned the smile, clasping my backpack and turning to walk to my locker.
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"No problem. I have to get to class." I motioned down the hallway.
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"Okay." she winked, leaning in close. "Talk to you later, James." See you later.
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I was never collaborative in sports for someone with superpowers, but I could throw a ball if I wanted to. During dodgeball, Mark and his friends always seemed to get me out first, throwing all their balls at me at once, making me look vulnerable. I'd watch them do it because I knew what would happen.
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Max stood in the corner with Lucas and Gale, talking, holding their balls in their left hands. I averted my gaze when they stared at me. We all lined up against the wall after Mrs. French, better known as coach French, blew her whistle.
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"I have two rules during this game: play fair and no fighting under any circumstances. Get out there and kick some dodgeball ass," French grunted, blowing her whistle. We took our positions, and Mark scowled at me as I stood in the middle like an open target. My muscles tensed up as he simpered, pointing his ball toward me. Max mumbled, his ball crumbling in his fist. Mrs. French blew her whistle again, and a swarm of balls descended on me.
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I never thought a blow from a padded ball could hurt so much until now. Someone's ball hit me right on the rib, which was excruciating. While gripping my side, I collapsed into a fetal position to maintain as much dignity as possible. Whoever threw that ball was not human. While everyone gathered their balls from the floor, I searched the room, my eyes landing on Noah.
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"How are you, sport?" French asked. As I dragged myself off the floor and dusted myself off, I watched Mark's grin.
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"Could be better," I grimaced, still clutching my rib.
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"All right, you can sit on the bench." Ms. French addressed my concern by pointing to a small chair in the room's corner, and I swallowed my pride as I walked over.
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Max, Mark, and a large group of boys stood there for about half an hour, watching as students poured out of the gym, boys on one side and girls on the other, into the locker rooms.
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As he walked in, Mark slammed me against my locker. The tension in the locker room grew as several others glared at Mark and me.
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"Fight! Fight! Fight!" yelled a bunch of boys. My fists were tight, and my guard was up.
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Mark hissed and chuckled as his locker swung open. "Watch it, freak." His eyes darkened, and a sneer appeared on his face.
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"What the hell is your problem?" I snarled, hands clenched even tighter.
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Max sneered. "You're a bloody idiot." He gave me a smug scowl when I locked my gaze on Max. Noah stood in the background, gnawing on his hangnails and watching.
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I reached into my locker for my fresh white t-shirt and pulled it over my broad shoulders as Mark slammed me back into my locker again. He laughed, and a group of boys laughed along with him. My muscles tensed, and I braced myself for another fight. This time, I fixed my gaze on Mark's locker as he stood there, reaching inside, and I concentrated on my power. The door slammed shut on his knuckles. He moaned in pain.
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"Son of a bitch." Mark growled. Max drew his gaze to me as he and his friends stepped back. I grabbed my backpack and left the room, slamming the door on my locker. I broke Mark's knuckles, but it didn't bother me. It didn't excuse me for breaking them, but he deserved it. One thing I knew for sure, this fight was far from over.
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Mia smiled as she slid her tray onto my table and sat in the adjacent seat. As I bit into a hamburger, I grumbled, avoiding eye contact with her and the rest of the lunchroom. Mia frowned, reached across the table towards me, and I glared at her.
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"I hate your cousin," I snarled.
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She asked, "Is there any reason to treat me like the bad guy?"
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I pressed my lips together and took a warm breath out of my mouth. "No," I stated. I chewed down my burger once more.
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"You're a nice guy, James. It's something I know. You shouldn't let my cousin push you around just because he's a jerk." I lifted my head as her lips wrinkled. "Mark is a fucking idiot. So?" I asked. "Be the bigger asshole back at him, kind of like that superhero, Alpha, with his egotistical--"
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"Alpha's cool," Someone contended from another table, chiming in.
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"Yeah, and he's sort of hot, but kind of has an attitude problem." She admitted, winking at me.
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"You think so?" I said, my frown dissolving into a grimace as I stayed clear of her awareness of my alter-ego. Her gaze shifted to mine, and I averted my gaze.
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"I do," she replied, leaning across the table to grab a fry from my plate. As my gaze traveled to her lips, she pressed her jaws together and took a slow bite. She got to her feet after picking up her tray.
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"I'll talk to you later, James," Mia dumped her food in the trash can and strolled out of the cafeteria with a big grin. I melted into my seat. I was in a lot of trouble.
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"Hit me," I yelled. Derek raised his eyebrow.
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"I'm not hitting you," he deadpanned, his hands tensed as he and I paced the living room.
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"Why?" My arms deflated by my sides. He took a step forward as his jaw tightened.
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"For one, you're my brother. And two," he said, shifting his position to match mine, "I don't want to feel like I just slammed my hand against a brick wall." Derek scowled. "Is something bothering you?" he asked as he slumped against the couch. I sat beside him, my fingers running over my dirty blonde roots as I inhaled and exhaled.
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"Yeah, Mark," I replied, bluntly.
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"How's it going with you and Mia?" He quickly changed topics. That was the problem. I sighed, knowing I would not stand a chance with her.
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For my sake, I lied and said, "We're getting somewhere. We had lunch together yesterday, and Mia gave me some advice."
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Derek smiled as he double-checked his uniform. "What did she say?"
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"Nothing more than a little encouragement," I replied, licking the inside of my lower lip clean.
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Derek's right brow rose. He then snorted loudly and pressed his hand against my chest. "Is that why you're acting this way? You have superpowers, dude."
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I moaned and rolled my eyes, kicking my foot against the table. He huffed while he checked his work belt. "Don't tell me you're going rogue, James. I have to patrol, but you're welcome if you want to come along and use that encouragement on someone else."
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Derek sprung from the couch, hurled his keys, and caught them. I grumbled, "Show off," as I followed.
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Derek punched keys on his monitor while chewing gum and checked his reflection in the window mirror. Then he turned his radio down. I monitored him while talking with Sam and Mia via text messages. After encountering Mark the other day, I purchased a new phone, resetting my password to something fresh, hoping he couldn't figure it out.
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"Does your father and Sam know you invited me over this afternoon?" Mia wrote. As my phone buzzed, I sighed. Sam's anxious mind had sent a text message before me.
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"Where are you?" Sam asked. My tongue clicked, and Derek's curious eyebrows rose as he concentrated on the road.
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"I'm with Derek, but I invited Mia for dinner this afternoon." I couldn't tell if we upset Sam, but he didn't answer for two minutes, so I assumed he was.
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He said, "Just don't bring her into the lab." As I switched back to Mia, I exhaled a sigh of relief.
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"Meet me at my house around 5:30 p.m. I'll order pizza, and we'll work on whatever homework you need help with." Mia gave me a thumbs-up and a pizza emoji as I turned off my screen.
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Derek drew his gaze to me. "What was that about?"
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"I invited Mia to our house."
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"Without Sam's permission, I hope," he asked.
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"Pretty much," I said as I observed Derek adjusting his hold on the steering wheel. Then he returned to the road, and I texted Sam again.
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"She will be there in about an hour. Tell her I'm on my way if I'm not there." I tapped the back of my phone with the tips of my fingers, waiting for a response.
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"I also don't want you to bring her upstairs. Understood?" He growled through the text. I reddened and drew a breath.
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I replied with a wink emoji, "Wasn't planning on it."
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Sam was furious. "James-Everett-Knight, I'm serious. If either of us has to have the sex talk with you, it will infuriate your father." When Derek looked at my phone screen, I couldn't help but chuckle like a twelve-year-old boy.
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"I promise I won't," I wrote back.
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He responded, "I hope so." I sighed and checked Mia's text before turning off my phone for the entire ride.
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