Super Powereds: Year 2

by Drew Hayes

Nick did know—that is to say he truly understood—the value of information, however. And that merely goes to show how misplaced the fears of others were, because that trait alone made Nick Campbell one of the most dangerous men in all of the school.

“Lie, Sneak, Cheat, and Think,” Professor Pendleton repeated. “These are the tenents of a Hero who specializes in Subtlety.

Rather, we are the ones who must outthink, outmaneuver, and out-plan our enemies.

Alice may not have much in the way of special abilities, but once her mind was set on something, one would have better luck changing the course of a river.

She certainly couldn’t say what she was thinking, which was that, for a girl who slandered Nick so readily, Alice seemed to light up noticeably when she talked about him.

The fact that we’re totally on board with Mary’s suggestion should tell you that there is more to him than gelled hair and a sack of shit where his heart should be.” “Okay, that one was just mean,” Nick spoke up again.

“Never admit to any crime until you know what you’re being charged with,”

Professor Fletcher fleetingly wondered if the boy had ever noticed that his teammate always healed him before everyone else. Somehow, he doubted it.

“Humans can only toil endlessly for so long. Every now and then, we need to taste the sweeter things in life, to remember why we do the work in the first place.

Nick didn’t like anomalies; Nick liked to know what was coming so his spontaneous reaction was already prepared.

“More lies aren’t the answer,” Alice said. “Not that I know what is. Hell, I don’t even know why you still act the way you do. You let the cat out of the bag already.” “Only to you,” Nick said, his voice softening slightly.

‘There’s always someone better than you’

“I sincerely missed you over the summer,” Nick whispered in a voice that tickled against Alice’s neck and felt stronger than his usual flippant tones.

Nick had actively stoked the very fires of infatuation he’d worked so hard to douse last year.

Curiously, in all of his machinations, analyses, and speculations, he never once paused to wonder why he’d selected that particular piece of truth as a wrench to throw in Alice’s gears, which merely went to show that even the swiftest minds can fall into the gopher hole that is self-delusion.

Vince would do anything to protect her, which just meant she had to get even stronger so he’d never have to. She wouldn’t let him get hurt anymore. Not for her.

It was a vocal vibration that marked the end of his seemingly infinite patience and kindness. It was a set of harmonic undulations that broadcast a single message with crisp efficiency: Vince was pissed, and that did not bode well for those who had brought him to this point.

Nick was many things: irritating, condescending, emotionally distant, all of that had been made very obvious. He wasn’t overly prideful, however.

This Nick didn’t conceal his intellect; his eyes roved the world in front of him and devoured every detail they could find. There were no emotions, not even fake ones, decorating his visage. He gave away nothing and took in everything: that was the essence of Nicholas Campbell.

Of course, Alice had needed tending to, and in her distraught state, she’d barely released Nick for any extended period of time.

You don’t get frustrated with things you’ve given up on. If you still cared enough to get pissed off, it meant you still had hope. And hope was the difference between people who accepted their limitations, and the ones who surpassed them.

said. Neither Stella nor Camille were sure whether she was playing dumb, or if she really didn’t notice the way Thomas’s eyes would linger on her when he thought no one else was looking.

A year ago, it might have worked, but Alice was a wiser woman these days.

He was the one she’d cried against for hours, and all he’d done in response was hold her close. He’d known words would be wasted; he’d gotten that there was no simple fix for what was wrong. Nick understood her, at least a little bit, and that connection was something that made her feel better when he was around. It was enough—at least for right now.

Really, the only person in Melbrook who might have fathomed its significance was Alice, and Nick had already found himself a bit too fond of her company lately. He needed to put a little space between himself and his blonde teammate.

Nick pressed his hand across his heart to show how injured he felt. This led to him brushing against Alice’s malice-filled finger, which was still drilling into him. She jerked it back as if she were afraid it would be dissolved by his skin. There was a beat of awkward silence between them before Alice sat back down with a huff.

Nick turned a curious eye to her. He wondered when his former admirer had gotten so observant. It was certainly a useful trait, but one that could create problems in the future.

Alice flashed him a smile that Nick was quite accustomed to giving and not so accustomed to seeing on other people.

Nick looked at the blonde girl with a new respect. She had played him. Not for anything important, and not all that well by his standards, but she’d still managed to slip one by him.

Alice gave him another smile, this one far less festive and vastly more desirable. It came with softly tilted eyes and just a slight flush to her cheeks. Nick stumbled, his feet going stupid as his brain kicked into overdrive. By the time he recovered, Alice was cackling freely at his expense.

Alice nodded silently; her mind was already digesting Nick’s words. No one else on the team could have made her pause. None of the others understood what it was like to stand idly by while you watched your friends do amazing things. Only Nick could know how she felt; after all, he might have given her a four, but he gave himself a two.

Alice had reached the table by the last one, and Nick felt something in his gut tighten.

Briefly, Nick entertained both of those options; however, in the end, he remembered that Alice was watching, so it was probably best to show at least some mercy.

In this light, she looked smaller than normal, yet somehow more beautiful as the soft light illuminated her features.

He could usually slip so much by Alice, but every now and then, she caught something he didn’t expect her to see. It was quite annoying.

Her hand worked its way carefully into his, intertwining her digits amidst those dexterous fingers as a fresh wave washed over their feet.

Where he was from, coming to a man’s room and getting on his bed carried certain intentions, ones he was relatively certain Alice wasn’t intending to communicate. Not yet, anyway.

No one in our class even comes close to you in lying, cheating, or manipulating.”

had always struck Vince as strange that people who squabbled so constantly would also continually choose one another’s company.

Nick allowed himself a small smile at news of Alice’s victory. The girl deserved a win, and putting one up against an opponent like Violet was no small matter.

“I won’t help you kill yourself,” she whispered into his chest. “I’ll be more careful,” Vince told her. “I promise.”

In truth, he already knew what he would say; he was taking this time to stare unabashedly at his blonde dorm mate. She was truly beautiful: he could finally admit that to himself. It wasn’t just the golden hair, the stunning body, or the wide blue eyes. It was her tenacity. Alice had turned from a spoiled princess into a determined warrior, and she’d done it mostly through her own gumption and relentlessness. He admired that. He adored that.

My best friend.”

Alice started to move away, but Nick pulled her in once more, placing his lips carefully against her ear and speaking in the softest of whispers. “Never forget who I am.”