Hero by Day

Chapter 19 - The birth of a Hero and a Villain

"Widow, I bet these gentlemen would just hate being slapped around by a proactively dressed woman."

~ Clint Barton (Hawkeye)

:Aden:

Whoever said that the nerds would end up ruling the world was mistaken. As far as I could see, the world was full of bullies in positions of power. The world would always be run by the bullies, trust me.

My evidence was startling.

My father owned Dash Corp, the multimedia empire. Maybe you've heard of it? Who am I kidding? You probably have.

Anyways, being the son of one of the most powerful men in the city was not as fun as you'd think. I was a disappointment. I was no businessman or bully, I was only a scrawny nerd who couldn't even defend himself against other kids. I'd rather give a bully my lunch money than even try to fend for myself. I would rather avoid confrontation than run straight into it.

It didn't help that Dylan Danvers, the guy who'd been bullying me since we could both walk and talk, was also the son of my father's best friend.

Sometimes I wondered if my dad wished Dylan had been his real son, because I certainly didn't live up to his expectations. Dylan was the perfect embodiment of the son he always wanted.

Mean. Selfish. Egotistical. Boastful.

(You get the idea)

I mean – It was bad enough that I had to go to the same school as Dylan and his friends, but the fact that he was invited to dinner every Friday was pure torture. I had to endure hours of my father telling me to be more like Dylan and my mother dotting over him. It only helped that Dylan's parents disliked me about as much as I disliked Dylan.

They thought the nerd thing was a phase. That I would eventually put down the books for a football. That all this time around Dylan will somehow make me be him by osmosis.

It didn't help my case that Dylan and his dumb friend, Burke, followed me into the bathroom today. They pushed me around, per usual, and I cowered, per usual. But this time Oliver Storm walked in on us, just my luck.

Oliver Storm was, in short, the most popular boy in school. He had the looks, blonde with movie star white teeth, and the attitude. He was known for being perhaps the nicest kid you'd ever meet, but I didn't believe the rumors until I saw it for myself. I mean, why would you have reason to be nice if you were popular and good looking?

He scared away Dylan and Burke without even breaking a sweat. And then, to my surprise, he offered me help. Me. He didn't even know me and he wanted to help.

But Oliver saving me did not come freely. Dylan made sure to jab and make fun at me even more than usual when our families went out to dinner. I was starting to resent Oliver for even trying to help. What was the point of helping someone once if you wouldn't be there all the rest of the times they needed help?

"Aden, put down the book, honey. You are in a nice restaurant with your family, so be polite and talk with us. Do you see Dylan reading at the table?" Mrs. Ruby Dashner, my mother, chided at me.

I scoffed under my breath, "That's only because he doesn't know how to read."

"What was that honey?"

"Oh, I was just agreeing with you, mother."

Of course my parents just had to take us to one of the most expensive and high end restaurants in the city. They knew just how much I enjoyed ordering off of a menu with appetizers more expensive than some people's rent.