Super Crush (BxB)

Reconnecting...

"What? Is your phone broken?" I ask with a bite as I pull the double doors open. Technically, I don't invite him in, but he's not a vampire and knows the invitation is implied.

I sit back down at my desk and pretend to be very caught up in a boring explanation my dad is giving about neuro-synapses or something. I don't know. I am actually watching Clay sit on the edge of my bed in the reflection of my computer monitor. My eyes dart between my dad and him. Both of his hands go to his face and I turn from the screen to see his body shaking.

"Hey, hey, hey," I say. Abandoning my post and my mini grudge.

I sit down beside him on my bed. I take his hands from his face and rest them on my leg. Wiping the tears from his cheek fills me with this incredible urge to take Clay into my arms. There is something so endearing about this hunk of a guy crying. So unforeseen but so uninhibited. 

I don't say anything, but he knows I have given him the floor. He pulls himself together.

"Everything is fucked," he whispers.

Now I do take him in my arms. I reach as far as I can across his wide back and pull his head onto my shoulder. I rock him softly as I notice what's going on with Dad. His voice is cutting in and out and the screen says "Reconnecting...".

Fitting.

After a moment Clay opens up. "My friend is dead. I know they knew the risk, but damn. They were a good person. The biggest superhero in the world has turned me into a fugitive. I can't do a thing to fight it. She has too much power. It would take a miracle to clear my name. And then there's you."

He pauses. I hang on his words wondering which direction this is going to go.

"I have ruined your life."

Technically, I have ruined my own life, I think but remain quiet.

"I haven't responded to your texts because I didn't know if you actually wanted to see me. My world is falling apart and the biggest thing I am worried about is if you can forgive me for bringing you into this."

I speak up. "I was thinking the same thing. I mean, I assumed you didn't want to see me, that I messed things up too badly. I wasn't sure if wanting to see you again meant I was letting you off the hook too easily. Or that I was just a pawn in your plan with Tiptoe to take down Matriarch. Or worse. What if you were mind-controlling me? Did you actually care for me or was it just Sir Madness's neuro commander secretly making me feel this connection to you? I went from zero to crazy real fast."

My rant is silenced by one of his half-smiles. It's a strange choice but a promising gesture.

"You are a hard person to get away from, Brass."

It's a joke but it's also true. Unknowingly, I gravitated to Clay as the hot and mysterious new kid, not knowing he had a secret superhero alter ego.

He continues. "At first, I tried to stay away, keep busy, keep it professional, make a wall between personal life and being a vigilante–but I started to fall for you. Sincerely."

These are magic words. I throw logic out the window and swing my leg over Clay's lap. Pushing him backward on my bed, my lips find his and they reconnect. The dance is timid at first and then quickly turns into all-out making out. His mouth finds my neck and my body tremors with chills.

Abruptly, Clay stops us."Wait. You aren't using me, right?"

I stop and furrow my brow. "Huh?"

"Your best friend and long-held crush isn't around anymore, am I just filling a spot?"

"Valid concern," I respond. "But no. You are not him. You are uncalculated and spontaneous. You too have a good heart and help people, but you are driven by a different compass. One of understanding and compassion. Abe is directed by a power outside of himself. One that tells him what to do and how to present."

Wait, I think. Has Matriarch already been controlling her team? I am an idiot, Abe could be a victim of her ploy for who knows how long.

My momentary pause brings concern to his face as if he thinks I am second-guessing something. I rest a hand on his chest and the other on his cheek.

"I think you are cool for some of the reasons I like about Abe. I think I am naturally drawn to the energy you both have. But I like you for the ways you are different. Your strength of mind and heart. You let me in and showed me who you were on the first day in the art room. Though you kept your profession a secret and told some fibs, you never lied about how you felt. You have always spoken with your feeling. And that, my friend, is nothing like Abe."

Clay has the corniest smile plastered on his face. I am sure it is just a reflection of mine. He pulls me into a deep kiss and we fall back into our rolling around.

Though there is a little piece of me questioning if I should continue on this road with Clay, I ignore it for now, for I am completely sidetracked by the euphoria I am feeling.