Spoiler Alert: They Ain't Gonna Make It

44. Sherbert

Harry was nervous. He had zero confidence in his plan and he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. Maybe it was the waffles he had eaten. Maybe it was the leftover butterflies from when he had touched Cat. Or maybe it was the pain that came with explaining a horrible plan to an even worse superhero.

"So I tackle him?" Eli frowned, attempting to tie his domino mask back over his face. His finger kept getting caught in the knot, which would make him mutter something in Italian (how he knew Italian was mind boggling to Harry) and angrily fuss over fixing it. "That sounds... what's the word?"

"Dumb? Stupid? Foolish? C'mon, just say it, I understand," Harry sighed, rubbing his temples. His plan was terribly flawed. So terribly flawed, they might die trying to complete it.

Harry had been surprised earlier. He had hit Eli in the back of the head with a stand in attempt to brinf back Dr. Fluke. And shockingly, he did. Eli now thought he was a made-up superhero once again and was not liking Harry's plan.

Eli pursed his lips. "No... more like..." He thought for a moment. "Laughably deficient. Utterly brainless. Stupefied, simple-minded, and just plain unintelligent." He finished tying his mask, grimacing at its uneven place on his face and undoing it to try again.

Harry scowled, turning away from the boy. Of course Eli had to use several posh words he swallowed from the thesaurus.

The blonde went on. "It's so moronic and puerile, I'm not quite sure where I should start picking out the faults."

Harry was about to tell him to not even bother, that he already knew how bad of a plan it was, but Eli was already onto his next thought.

"I mean, sure I'm an amazing, handsome, brilliant, and just the best superhero since Superman-"

Harry rolled his eyes. That was another thing about Eli when he thought he was Dr. Fluke. He talked about the other "superheroes" like they were real people and not comic book fantasies. It was annoying.

"-but I'm not quite sure your plan is... hmm... what's the word I'm looking for...?"

"Realistic? Practical? Reasonable?"

"Pragmatic," Eli nodded. "I'm not quite sure your plan, little boy, is pragmatic."

Harry threw up his hands. "Then how about you come up with a better one yourself, your royal pain in the-"

"I would think of a plan," the blonde cut him off with a glare, beginning to pace the orchestra room. "But I think my weakness is thinking."

"You think thinking is your weakness?"

"Well no, I don't think so," he frowned, finishing his tying once again, placing a hand on his hips and the other on his chin. "I guess I feel like it's a weakness..."

Harry growled. "How can thinking be a weakness?"

The other boy shrugged. "Every time I think, I get these cramps-"

"You're hopeless!" Harry cried. "Our friends are probably dying at this very moment and you, their only hope, are complaining of cramps every time you think!" He took a breath. "You know how crazy that is?!"

Eli opened his mouth to respond, but then closed it when he realized he had nothing to say.

"You're a superhero!" The spy yelled. "You have real superpowers! You could save life's!" He shook his head. "But you can't save people by worrying about yourself. That's not how it works."

Eli glanced up from his feet, his blue eyes filled oceans deep of care and selflessness. Though he was stuck-up most of the time, he still cared for others. He was still a superhero.

"If you want to be half the superhero you think you are, you're going to have to follow my moronic and impractical plan."

Between Harry's breathless breathing and Eli's swirling thoughts, the tension in the room was thick enough for a feather to slice through. A feather. There were so many things that could go wrong in Harry's plan, they both knew, but whether or not the plan was do-able was a different story. If they didn't save anyone, what was the point of doing anything?

"Okay," Eli mumbled.

"Okay?"

"Okay," he confirmed. "I'll follow your pitiful plan."

Harry shook his head. "Now what made you change your mind? Because I'm sure it wasn't my charm."

Eli laughed. "You have the charm of a poorly raised pig."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks."

That made Eli chuckle a bit more. "You have this integrity. A trustworthy sense. I can't describe it..."

If only he knew all of Harry's secrets. If only he knew who Harry really was. Because if he did, he wouldn't even consider complimenting Harry's integrity or trusting him at all. Harry barely even trusted himself to pick out what cereal he wanted, much less someone else trusting their life's in his hands.

Harry was quiet as Eli continued.

"I just... I trust you, you know?" He smiled. "I trust you to save those people, to save me, if I need any saving."

"Awww!" A voice cried from behind Miss Smith's desk. "You two are so cute!"

Harry snarled. "Jett, what did I tell you about being quiet?"

Jett didn't have time to answer as James cut in. "I'M SORRY! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO BE QUIET WHEN YOU'RE SHIPING YOUR OTP?"

Eli scrunched his nose. "Doesn't OTP stand for Out of Toilet Paper?"

"Oh my gosh no!" Jett yelled "You're so uncultured, I bet you don't know a thing about Phan."

"Phan?"

"Phan."

"Phan?"

"Phan."

"Pha-"

"We don't have time for this!" Harry cut in.

Eli shook his head and clasped his hands together. "Let's go save the day, Sherbert."

Harry cocked his eyebrows. "And you think Sherbert is...?"

"You."

Harry gritted his teeth.

"Well, I don't know your name," the blonde then explained. "So I gave you one."

"You're not calling me that."

"Then what should I call you, if anything."

Harry stood from his chair, pulling three black items out of his pocket. Two of the items were gloves, which he slipped over his hands. He hauled a small bag over his shoulder as he made his way to the door.

"Well," Eli tapped his foot, "I'm waiting."

Harry turned back to look at the superhero, placing a black beanie over his head.

"Call me Neo."