Falling for a Superhero

Chapter ThirtyOne-"I Think I Need the Counselor's Pass"

It was Wednesday when I first saw Dastan at school. My chest tightened just at the sight of him in his black truck, pulling into his parking spot that was normally occupied by his and, sometimes, Hayden's motorcycle. Today was one of those rare days I came to school with Cheyenne instead of Hayden. I was glad too, because when Dastan had parked his truck, three spaces down, Hayden's Ninja came to a speedy halt and I already knew Hayden's gaze went to Dastan's truck. I don't know if it was the first time they've seen each other since their fight, or the fact that Hayden's space was filled with a truck in which I had certainly never seen Dastan drive to school before. Let alone the person who climbed out of the passenger side: Mateo. As soon as they both were on the same side of the truck, continuing their conversation, they both looked over to me for a moment before Hayden's yelling towards them tore Mateo's gaze away. Dastan's vision stayed locked to mine, drawing me in with unreadable expressions of sorrow and regret.

And then, before I knew it I was walking over to them without hearing a thing Cheyenne was warning me about.

"I hope you're happy with your decision then," Hayden said, unimpressed towards the brothers. Dastan's eyes tracked my movement while Mateo held a hand up towards Hayden's chest.

"We know you aren't," Mateo said in a calm voice. He dropped his hand. "This really isn't the place."

It's amazing, really, how he was so calm in situations when his brother would normally just explode. Right now Dastan looked like he would implode, if anything. 

"I don't really care at this point," Hayden hissed, gripping his helmet even tighter now that he had taken it off and his shaggy hair was left in a wet mess. That's when I met his side and grabbed his hand in an attempt to calm him down.

"Hey," I said cautiously. "Let's go."

His jaw line ticked as his vision stayed locked with one of the Vegas. I just hoped Dastan wasn't still staring at me. Hayden looked like he could explode at any moment. Hayden bent down for a reassuring kiss and then I heard a growl rip through our silence. Dastan had turned back to his truck and Mateo got a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to stop him. Dastan spun to face him, both of their eyes glowing. Mateo's shone into a bright golden color—along to match a specific superhero's costume—while Dastan's had the same glare that he had when he argued with Hayden last week. I swear there were flickers of red.

They seemed to have a silent conversation through their contrasting eyes before they looked away. Dastan stared down at the ground in a sadness that I didn't think he was capable of having. Hayden started tugging at my arm, but I subconsciously shook him off and tried to reach Dastan. When I took two steps, Hayden's grip tightened and then in the moment when I looked up to him with an expression that read "Did you seriously just yank on me like that?" Dastan appeared between us. He gripped Hayden's wrist, causing him to flinch, and then that's all it took for Hayden to let go.

"Grab her like that one more time. I dare you," Dastan hissed to him. I rubbed my forearm that Hayden grabbed so tightly and looked between the raging boys. "Leave the violence and rage towards me."

"I don't want her reaching out to you," Hayden notified.

"That's not your decision," Dastan reminded. "She can say and do what she wants. She doesn't need your permission."

"I'm her boyfriend and—"

"Exactly!" Dastan yelled. "You're her boyfriend. Your job is to accept her and...love her." Why did he sound so unsure? "Not dictate her actions, even though she had no right to try to reconcile with me in the first place..."

"You are such a jerk," I suddenly commented to Dastan. He sighed stressfully and looked up at the sky instead of down at me while I approached him. "You...you despise me every waking moment when everyone is around yet imply the opposite when it's just us. And still, you find it in you to twist whatever thoughts in your mind that I'm not good enough for you when it's you that causes all this shit."