Sidekicks

Chapter 4: I Know Who You Are

{Author's Note: Let me know what you think :) Happy reading!}

Ryan slammed his gym locker closed, grumbling foul words under his breath.

Coma, I'm gonna kill you!

His life couldn't possibly get any worse. First, some student came out of nowhere and stole Sofia's old seat. It didn't help that the student was such a math nerd that it made Ryan instantly feel stupid during class. Then Coma decided to hold afternoon practice when Ryan had specifically instructed him not to, just to try to recruit a tall kid.

It doesn't help that the kid he's trying to recruit is Fuse!

Ryan had been in a sour mood since he woke up on Monday. Lina's party and the subsequent fight with Fuse on Friday had left him feeling horrible all weekend. Combined with the scolding from Kilowatt about keeping his guard up to ensure Fuse could never get another look at his face, even with his mask on, and Ryan felt like garbage.

And his backpack was still wet from his trip to the bottom of the lake on Friday.

He'd gone to school and stared at Sofia's old desk, wishing she were back in Bandock. She had always been the one to make him smile when he was at his worst.

Imagine his utter shock when the tallest student he'd ever laid eyes on sat right in his girlfriend's old seat and began furiously taking notes.

Ryan couldn't help but stare. After everything that had gone wrong in the past few days, he now had the added grief of seeing someone stealing Sofia's seat.

Of course, the kid had to be smart too. Ryan didn't like to participate in class but just listening to the new kid rattle off answers had him seething. He was making the rest of the class look bad!

"Thank you, Henry."

Henry? The nerd's name was Henry? Ryan scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Welcome." He froze. That voice.

Ryan knew that voice.

It was softer and less aggressive than usual, but it had to be the same voice.

Ryan felt his heart rate increase and kept his eyes trained down. I'm sitting right next to my mortal enemy! He thought, eyes frantically searching for a way out. What do I do?! Kilowatt never prepared me for this!

Like a bell, Kilowatt's scolding words rang through his mind. You have to learn to adapt to your situation. You'll never be a great hero if you can't learn from your opponent.

Ryan could learn how to adapt. He was a great hero! He'd take the attack on his personal life and turn it into an attack on Repulser's sidekick! He'd destroy Fuse before he'd have the chance to react! That would prove to Kilowatt that he was a good hero and didn't have to be scolded anymore.

He knew Fuse wouldn't attack him while at school, it was far too risky. Using unregistered kinesis in a school area would send the school into lockdown and alert the police along with Captain Kilowatt. Fuse would be taken out faster than the trashcans on garbage day.

Ryan snuck a glance at the villain parading around as Henry. He didn't look all that threatening. He had his lip between his teeth, furiously taking notes again, and his shoulders were hunched up in what looked like a defensive manner. Nothing like the loud, cocky, rude idiot he would fight with Kilowatt.

Ryan hummed quietly. Maybe he'd misjudged. A lot of voices sounded similar, after all. He tried to convince himself that he was being a fool, but he couldn't help staring at the long legs that stretched out from under Henry's desk – no – Fuse's desk. It had to be him. Who else could have such outrageously long legs?!