The Best Intentions

Chapter One

I was straightening up my room when Aubrey threw open the door and launched herself at me. She screeched, "Sabrina!" while I turned to catch her.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed. "I thought you were coming over in an hour?"

Aubrey smacked the side of my head with a hostile glare. "Don't you ever leave me for a year without a heads up again. Do you know how much I missed you?"

"I'm sorry," I said with a nervous laugh as I set her down. We texted almost everyday, but it wasn't the same. "Hey, you got taller."

Aubrey rolled her eyes and sat down on the edge of my bed. "I can't believe you left without telling me."

I sat down beside her. "I'm back now, and I'm not going anywhere."

"You better not," she muttered. "You literally missed superheroes and supervillains becoming a real thing!"

I sighed. "I'm disappointed that I missed out on a year of that. I couldn't even keep up with all the supers popping up. You're going to have to explain who everyone is to me."

Aubrey stood up and grabbed a notebook off of my writing desk. She jotted a couple of things down with a pen for a few minutes while I waited in an awkward silence.

Spinning around, Aubrey exclaimed, "Voila! Here's a list."

I grabbed the notebook from her and looked at the three categories. A few names were listed in the first and last column, but the middle column had the most.

Aubrey pointed to the first column. "These are the heroes. I'm sure you've already heard of Green Light. She can fly and shoot green blasts of energy from her hands and eyes. Then there are the twins, Silver and Gold. They can fly too."

I snorted. "There's only three heroes? That's kind of sad."

Aubrey nodded. "Trust me, I know. The last section is all the villains. Everyone in the middle is a vigilante."

I glanced at the names of the villains. "Who're Viper and Aphrodite?"

"The only villains that should be taken seriously," Aubrey said. "I heard Viper can poison people, but that's just a rumor. I also heard she has super strength. She mostly steals cars. Aphrodite can control people's emotions. She's a burglar."

"That sounds badass," I commented. "I've heard of her. Is the rumor true that Aphrodite can make anyone do what she wants?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "No, it's not mind control. Just, imagine you were in a fight against her. She could make you feel terror, and it might make you back off. Or she could make you feel like you're in love with her. You wouldn't want to fight someone you're in love with. The effect wears off quickly."

"Wow."

"Wanna see some pictures of them?"

I nodded. Aubrey pulled her phone out of her bag and showed me a picture of Viper first. Viper wore a dark green hoodie and black jeans. She had fingerless gloves, a black beanie that short orange hair stuck out of, and yellow sports glasses.

I frowned at her costume in distaste. "Do all villains have that bad of fashion taste?"

Aubrey chuckled. "Aphrodite has a better suit."

After she showed me a photo of her suit, I gave her a dubious, "Are you sure that even counts as a costume? It looks like it could be a swimsuit."

Aubrey rolled her eyes, but I caught her smile. "Well, it still looks better than Viper's."

"What about the heroes?" I asked.

Aubrey suddenly cackled.

"What?" I asked.

"Talk about tacky costumes," was all Aubrey said. "If I'm being honest, only vigilantes have good suits. Everyone else sucks, besides Aphrodite and Viper, of course."

"Give me some examples."

Aubrey shrugged. "My favorites are Coldfront and Dare, but I also liked this hero named Head Rush. I don't know what happened to him. He just disappeared one day. He was more of a vigilante, but the news called him a hero because he saved a lot of people."

"Maybe he's dead?" I suggested. "What could he do?"

"He was a speedster," Aubrey explained. "I don't think he's dead-"

"A speedster?" I interrupted. My heart started to beat faster as excitement filled my chest. "That's really cool."

Aubrey shrugged. "Well, Dare and Coldfront are cooler. Literally. Coldfront can control the weather, but I heard his main specialty is ice and snow. Dare can teleport. I think they're amazing." Aubrey threw the notebook across the room. "Anyway, this stuff isn't important. Tell me what happened when you were living with your aunt."

I pursed my lips, my newfound speed coming to mind. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. "Well, for starters, school was awful. None of the other girls would talk to me, no matter how hard I tried to start a conversation. Academically, I couldn't grasp anything being taught. It just didn't work out too well."

"Country kids must be the root of all evil," Aubrey teased.

I smirked. "On the bright side, I liked living with my aunt."

Aubrey nodded, already knowing some of what I was telling her. "Well, I'm glad you're back now. Hopefully the experience was humbling, Ms. Billionaire."

I rolled my eyes. "How was school over here?"

"Awful without you," Aubrey commented. "I barely passed. Junior year was the worst. At least it's over now. We've only got one year left."

I groaned, flopping down. "Let's not talk about school until August. Do you want to sleep over tonight?"

"I can't," Aubrey said. "My dad is going to be home tonight. Can we hang out this weekend?"

I nodded. "Of course. When are you leaving? Do you need a ride home?"

Aubrey checked her phone. "I should probably leave now, and sure."

"I'll get someone to drive you home," I said. "Sorry, it will have to be a butler. Our chauffeur is driving my mother around at the moment."

Aubrey sighed and rolled her eyes. "So much for humbling you."

I smirked and followed Aubrey downstairs and made sure someone would drive her home. I gave her a quick hug before she left, then made my way to my grandpa's lounge on the third floor. He was sitting in his brown leather recliner, drifting to sleep with a book in his hand. His reading glasses were slowly sliding down his nose.

I knocked on the doorframe softly. He startled awake and glanced at me. A bright smile spread across his face. "Hi, darling. What is it?"

"I'm just saying goodnight. I have jetlag. Sleep well, Grandpa."

"You too, dear."

A small part of me felt guilt for lying through teeth, but I ignored it. I did want to tell him goodnight, anyway. Besides, I couldn't tell my grandpa that I was going out to see if I liked being a vigilante.

I stopped to grab a backpack from my room, then hurried to the kitchen. I opened the pantry and grabbed a few boxes of snack cakes. I shoved them into my backpack, hoping that three boxes of snack cakes would give me enough energy to keep going.

If Head Rush was still around, I hoped I would get to meet him. Maybe when he found out that there was another speedster running around, he would make a public appearance.

I stepped outside and glanced around to make sure nobody was milling around outside. Sometimes the butlers would step outside for a cigarette. Satisfied when I saw no one, I raced off down the drive that lead to the main road.