mixture of clean laundry and cinnamon cookies that smelled like the ones my mom used to bake. My body involuntarily inched closer to his side of the car, and I saw him flash a smile in my direction as if he could read my mind.
“I liked that drawing you gave me,” I said. “You’re a great artist.”
“Thanks,” he said. “I know this whole thing is pretty serious, but I thought that drawing might make you smile.”
My lips quirked up just at the knowledge that he wanted to make me smile.
“Mission accomplished.” I stared at the street sign we passed to make sure we weren’t lost. “So, do you draw a lot? It looked like you were working on something in the parking lot, too.”
His eyes moved toward me. “Every day.” He turned his attention back to the road. “Actually, I run a web comic, too.”
I felt my face light up. “Really? That’s awesome. What’s it about? What’s the URL? How do you even do something like that?”
“Whoa,” he said with a laugh. “Question overload. It’s called ‘Converse and Capes’ and the URL is w-w-w dot converse and capes dot com.”
“I’m totally going to have to check this out,” I said. “What’s it about?”
“A superhero in high school,” he said.
“Speaking of superheroes, I noticed that stack of comics in your room that time I was over.”
“Oh, you mean that time you fainted on me?” He chuckled. “And I’ve noticed the Marvel t-shirts you like to wear all the time. I’m guessing you’re into comics, too?”
Nathan noticed what I wore?
“Yeah, my current favorite is Invincible, but I’m also a big Batman fan.” I eyed another street sign, but it wasn’t the right one.
“I love Batman. It’s classic. You know what I always thought about Bruce Wayne? The normal man is the costume. Batman is who he really is.”
I whipped my head around. “Oh my god, that’s exactly what I keep telling Laura.”
“It’s so obvious.” The car slowed as we approached a stop sign. “Bats are such a part of who he is.” Nathan stopped talking and pointed at the next street sign. “This is their road.”
I sobered up immediately. Here we were. Just knowing their home was somewhere nearby made my palms sweaty and my shoulders tense. I shifted uncomfortably on the leather seat.
“I’m starting to wonder if this is such a good idea after all,” I said, staring at the house numbers we passed.
Nathan didn’t respond, just silently pointed as we passed a white-paneled, one-story house with the numbers six-seven-two tacked to the front. We kept driving past it, down a long row of houses with small front yards and cars parked on the curb. This was more like the short strip of homes near my house than the mansions where most of my classmates lived. Once we were out of sight of the house, Nathan pulled into a driveway and turned around. We drove just close enough that we could see the house before parking behind a car in serious need of a wash.
“I guess now we wait.” I leaned back in the seat with my eyes trained on the front door. Red. Surprise, surprise. I ground my teeth together and prayed the door wouldn’t swing open to reveal shaman eyes zeroing in on me, fury and insanity churning through them. I realized I was holding the door handle like it was a life vest and tried to relax.
“I know a great way to pass the time,” Nathan said. “I just told you something about me. Now it’s your turn. We’ll go back and forth.”
I dragged my eyes away from the house and couldn’t help but grin. “No, now we’re even. I told you something about me yesterday, remember? A lot of things actually. If I recall correctly, they were big secrets.”
He laughed, the sound deep and soothing and genuine. “Come on, Holly. It doesn’t have to be anything big. We could even do a lightning round. Favorite movie?”
I turned my attention back to the house. “That’s easy. Donnie Darko.”
“Mine is Pulp Fiction. Favorite band?”
“Oooh, Pulp Fiction. Good one. Favorite band is harder. It’ll have to be a tie between Motion City Soundtrack and Minus the Bear.”
“Nice. Minus the Bear is definitely in my top ten. I’m hoping to see them in concert this winter,” he said.
“Seriously?” I turned back to him, temporarily forgetting the house. “I’ve been wanting to see them in concert for years. I am so jealous you’re getting tickets.” I would never be able to afford