The Nebulous Meaning of 'Hero'

Chapter 5: To New Friends

i'm so sorry for the wait!!

In a school where a large percentage of the pupils had the ability to kill each other with ease, the punishment for violence had to pretty severe. It was less than it would have been had Wes used his superpower, which was expressly against the rules in certain areas (the cafeteria included). As it was he got off with two days suspension and compulsory attendance helping out at the school musical. With Eric Gold. Yeah. Not really his idea of fun.

Safe to say he wasn't in the best of moods when he emerged from the principal's office to find Dakota leaning up against the wall, messing around on her phone with a bored expression on her face.

"Uh- hey," he said sheepishly, rubbing a hand at the back of his head. She looked up, shot him a smile and started walking down the corridor, not even bothering to check he was coming after her.

"What d'you get?" she asked as she walked along, combat boots making loud clomping noises on the floor. He didn't get what she meant for a moment and then she added, "as punishment, moron."

He shrugged.

"Oh- uh, suspension. Two days. And I have to help out with the 'Grease' production."

She was silent for a few moments and then said,

"Hey, I'll audition as Sandy and keep you company. I can sing."

He was slightly stunned by that.

"You really don't have to."

"Well maybe I just want to. D'you want some gum?"

He paused, then nodded.

"Sure."

She seemed to be gearing up to say something as she passed him a strip, paused in the empty corridor with something sort of nervous in her face.

"You do know that what Eric said wasn't entirely untrue," she settled on at last, staring at him harshly as if daring him to be shocked. "I've had sex with a fuckload of people."

He just laughed, and then trailed off when he saw her confused expression.

"I'm sorry- it's just. Fuckload. Punny, huh?"

She rolled her eyes, continuing frustratedly-

"Wes, I'm not some innocent flower who's getting my name stained for nothing. Like it was nice of you and all – it was so fucking nice of you, you don't even know - but I don't want you to think I'm something I'm not-"

"Who gives a shit who you've slept with, Dakota?" interrupted Wes, raising an eyebrow. "I bet Eric's slept with twice that, and no-one's calling him a slut. Fuck him, seriously."

She just stared at him a few seconds, then gave a small smile, hesitant like someone might jump out at her and say the whole thing was a joke.

"Okay," she said at last. "Okay."

Just as he was about to speak again a loud, angry voice came catapulting down the corridor.

"WESLEY SEAMUS MOTHERFUCKING ALCROFT!"

Wes's head snapped up to see Billie looking absolutely furious, clutching her folders to her chest with knuckles clenched so tight over them they were white.

"What the fuck were you thinking, Wes, you could've been fucking expelled and over what, shithead, Dakota O'Reilly's fucking honour?"

She was there and yelling in his face before he even had a chance to run, and he was pretty sure she hadn't registered Dakota's presence because the next thing she said was,