Heroic Acts

Twelve

The Phantom was taking a break from big crime for a while. The boy in blue was drawing way too much attention, and even though that's what he wanted, he was dangerously close to being caught. Closer than he thought, even.

He paced back and forth in a big building a few miles away from the university. It was an abandoned plant for creating god-knows-what. He made his way to a concrete slab and sat on it, twiddling his thumbs. This evil, dangerous man only had one thing on his mind; the sweet boy with the cinnamon hair. Darien was, in fact, his Kryptonite. Seth didn't know whether to call it love or paranoia. Sure, he was extremely worried that Darien would find out, but he wasn't sure if he was more worried about being found out or having Darien hate him forever.

He tried to shove the thought of his roommate away, bringing the thoughts of his next plot further. He wanted to target another area, and soon, but more on the down low. He wanted to make sure that guy in the blue didn't foil his plans again. He wanted to destroy him.

Focusing his anger on the superhero made him feel a lot better.

***

The Blue Warrior spent his time stopping petty crimes when the Phantom wasn't around. The typical business; stealing purses back from thieves, dealing with bank robbers, and the occasional "kitten stuck in a tree" situations, which totally didn't make any sense at all.

When he wasn't in his superhero mode, he explored the town as plain ol' Darien. On this day particularly, he made his way to a sweet little coffee shop and bookstore combination, ready to order a nice latte and study for an upcoming exam. He made himself cozy in a little chair with plenty of table room for his books. Mid-way into copying some notes down and sipping at his latte, he heard a voice.

"Excuse me, sir?"

He looked up to see a bright, friendly boy with blonde hair and blue eyes. He couldn't be much older than Darien, and he had a genuine smile plastered on his face.

"Hello, do I know you?" Darien asked.

"I can't say you do," the boy said. "I'm Andy. Andy Blackwater! I noticed you were reading a textbook that I've also been studying from recently and I was wondering if we took the same course." Andy seemed a little familiar to Darien, but the classes were so big sometimes it was hard to tell.

"Maybe," Darien said simply.

"May I sit?" Andy asked.

"Oh, sure!" Darien said and gestured to the seat next to him.

The two talked for half an hour, becoming friends almost instantly. Andy wanted to become a director, and he was studying at the same school as Darien. They did in fact have the same English course, concluded by the evidence that they both remember specific details of their latest classroom experience, and they matched.

"Say, Darien," Andy began. "The theatre department is putting on a musical soon, and I think you should try out for it!"

"A musical? I'm not really one to sing and dance and all that.. I'm just a good actor!" Darien said with a smile.

"I understand, but I really think you should give it a shot! What have you got to lose?" Andy asked.

"Y'know, I'll certainly put some thought into it," Darien finally said, grinning.

"That's awesome!" Andy smiled, looking down at his watch and checking the time, and his smile quickly dropped.

"Uh oh, I'll be late to my next course if I stay any longer! Uh, here, Darien!" Andy said, pulling a pen out of his pocket and quickly writing his number across a napkin, sliding it to Darien.

"You can text me, if you want," he said, quickly putting his things together and getting ready to dart out the door.

"I will!" Darien called as he watched the blondie run off.

***

To: Andy
From: Darien
3:45 pm
-Hey, Andy! It's Darien. I'm placing your contact in my phone, now! I'll talk to you soon. :)

To: Darien
From: Andy
4:00 pm
-Oh, hello Darien! Glad to have contact with you. Sorry for the slow-ish reply, I just got out of class.

To: Andy
From: Darien
4:03 pm
-You're okay! I hope class was well?

To: Darien
From: Andy
4:05 pm
-It was, just a long drag, though. Now I've got nothing to do and my roommate isn't home.

To: Andy
From: Darien
4:08 pm
-You could always come over! I have Mario Kart! ;)

To: Darien
From: Andy
4:12 pm
-Sounds like a plan! I'll be on my way shortly.

***

Darien patiently waited for Andy's arrival, making sure the room was clean enough to look decent. With a knock at the door, Darien ran up and opened it happily.

"Hiya, Andy!" he said sweetly to his new friend.

"Hi! I was promised Mario Kart?" Andy said and chuckled.

Darien invited him inside and closed the door behind him. The evening was filled with pleasant new-friends conversations, laughter and lots of Mario-related cursing. The two clicked extremely quickly over the period of a few hours, and Darien was so happy to have made a new friend.

Seth was dressed in his usual clothes, a t-shirt and dark jeans. His Phantom outfit left in its usual safe place, and his head only producing the thought of going home. He was tired, and he missed his roomie, and he spent the whole day plotting his next crime. He sluggishly made his way across the campus, taking his time, tiredly awaiting the moment he'd open the door to that room and could dive into bed and never leave.

He climbed up flights of stairs, down long walkways and through hallways. As he approached the door, he stopped to listen to the sweet laughter on the other side. Confused, he made his way inside the dorm room to find Darien and his new friend, who just so happened to be sitting just a little too close to him.

"Oh, hi Seth!" Darien said sweetly. "I'd like you to meet Andy!"