Seth stared at him intently. “Who is he? He’s Shadow Star. But who is he behind his mask?”
“That doesn’t matter to me.”
“It might if you find out. It might change everything. What if it were me?”
Nicholas Bell did what was possibly the stupidest thing in a short, short life filled with many stupid things. He didn’t mean to, of course. It was a knee-jerk reaction. He didn’t think he could have stopped it even if he’d tried.
He laughed. He laughed, because the idea of Seth of all people being Shadow Star was so preposterous, he couldn’t even fathom it.
Seth’s expression hardened.
“I’m sorry,” Nick gasped, trying to fight it down but failing quite spectacularly. “You’re Seth. There’s no way you could—I mean, that’s dumb. Come on, man. Don’t do that. You don’t need to be him. You’re fine the way you are. And besides, it’s not like you would keep that a secret from me, right? I mean, if you were Shadow Star, you’d tell me. It’s just … dumb.”
Seth nodded tightly. “Right. Dumb. Of course. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
Nick flailed. The conversation had spun out of control. “Oh, hey. Wait. I didn’t mean it like that. You’re my favorite person in the whole world next to my dad. You know that, right? You’re not dumb.”
“Just the idea of me being an Extraordinary is.”
Nick felt like he was on ice, and it was cracking beneath his feet. “I don’t know what you’re trying to say.”
“I kissed your cheek.”
Nick felt his face grow warm again. “I … yeah.”
Seth looked away. “You should go.”
Nick blinked. “Wait, what? What did I do? Are you mad at me?”
Seth smiled tightly. “I just want to be by myself. Sick, remember? Can’t have you catching it.”
“We still need to talk about me becoming—”
“Please. Just … go.”
Since Nick was helpless when Seth said please, he turned and left. Before he closed the door, he looked over his shoulder. Seth sat on his bed, face in his hands.
He left, shutting the door.
* * *
Bob was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. He wore a pair of overalls stained with grease. He looked older than Nick remembered, the lines around his eyes and mouth deeper. His hair hung in white wisps around his face. Nate could hear Martha moving in the kitchen.
“Nicky,” Bob said, his voice a deep rumble. “Everything okay?”
No, it really wasn’t. He shook his head.
“Heard some raised voices.”
Nick winced. “Sorry about that. Just a frank exchange of ideas.”
“You boys okay?”
Nick didn’t know if they were or not. He couldn’t even be sure what they’d argued about. He just knew he was mad at pretty much everyone, mostly for nonsensical reasons. He wasn’t sure if that included Seth. “I’m sorry to tell you that your nephew is a jerk.” Okay, so maybe it did include Seth.
Bob barely reacted. “He’s a teenager. That’s to be expected.”
“But I might be one too.”
“A teenager or a jerk?”
Nick liked Bob a lot. “Both.”
Bob nodded slowly. “Seems like things are changing.”
“Tell me about it,” Nick muttered, pulling on one of the straps to his backpack. “When did Seth get biceps?”
Bob chuckled. “Noticed that, did you? Growing up, I guess.”
“That’s not fair. He gets muscles, and I get a little mustache that makes me look like I should be wearing a trench coat and flashing people.”
“That was … oddly specific.”
Nick sighed. “I tend to do that.”
“You’ll come into yours,” Bob said, patting him on the shoulder. “He’s going through a lot right now. More than you could possibly know.”
“Why won’t he just tell me?” Nick asked, suddenly exhausted. “I’m his best friend. He can tell me anything. It’s how we’ve always been.”
“Can he?” Bob asked. “Maybe he needs to hear that from you.”
Oof. That was pointed, but fair. “I try to be a good friend. But sometimes, other stuff comes up. I get stuck in my own head and forget what I should be doing instead of what I want to be doing.”
“That’s how life goes. Things happen. It’s difficult. Sometimes, people drift apart. They get set upon different paths. Doesn’t mean they care about each other any less.”
Nick stared at him in horror. “That’s not going to happen. I’m going to be with Seth forever.”
Bob’s lips twitched. “How … expected. And if he said the same to you?”
Nick blushed furiously. “I. Um. That would be. Neat?”
“Oh, so I guess the fact that he’s in love with you would—”