Guide to Being a Superhero...'s BFF (Guide to Being, Novella One)

A Date?

I could've quoted every part of a villain's attempt at being intimidating and impressive. Their fruitless tries at scaring me. But this . . . This was just wrong. I had no idea what the heck was going on, what Orion was doing, or if I was truly kidnapped any more! Not that I was objecting to the turn of events, but I was so confused. At least as a kidnap-ee, I knew what I was supposed to do.

My headache grew in strength. So I lay on the floor, wrapping myself in Orion's cape until I resembled a burrito.

Boy, now I was hungry.

I shivered in pain, cold, and confusion as I tried to sort out who Orion really was. As an archaeologist, he shouldn't have risked his profession on something like this. And he obviously didn't care about risks. He'd revealed his identity to me. Well, he'd taken off his helmet. But given how dang attractive he was, I could surely find his face somewhere on social media.

The door opened again, interrupting my thoughts. I looked up. Orion froze in the doorway a tray of food in hand. He stared down at me and shook himself. A smile spread over his face.

"You look adorable."

My face warmed again, "Well, thanks -. Food!"

I sat up and stifled a moan. Orion quickly strode over.

"I figured you didn't really get a chance to eat after the whole drugged episode," he set down the sandwiches and drinks.

Juice boxes. My lips twitched. He held out a pill.

"And I know it's unwise to take medicine before eating," he winked. "This one won't knock you out."

Normally, I would stay on the safe side and just deal with the pain. But since I was ready to knock myself out to stop the headache; I decided to be rash. I grabbed one of the sandwiches.

"Much obliged," I took a juice box and swallowed the aspirin.

"Sorry about the less than classy meal. College doesn't leave much money for stuff like that," Orion sat across from me.

"Ugh, gosh, yes," I sighed thinking back to the days before Kim became Firebird.

I frowned at him, "Supervillainy doesn't pay well?"

He hesitated, "It's complicated."

"You've got me locked up in your lair. I think I deserve an explanation."

"Maybe, but it's not my place to say," he trailed off, grumbling in a language that sounded a bit like Spanish.

So he is Latino or Hispanic. I shrugged.

"You make good sandwiches."

He laughed, "Thanks."

"Are you from L.A., or did you move here for college?" I took another sip from my juice box.

"I'm from Brazil. Well, I was born in Florida, but my whole family's Brazilian. My parents and I moved back when I was fifteen, and Brazil has always been more like home."

"Ahhh," I nodded. "That's awesome."

"How about you?" He grabbed the other juice box.

"I'm actually from Canada."

"I assume Firebird is too?"

I tensed, "Yes . . ."

Orion blew out a breath, "Look, I don't care about your friend's identity or hunting her down or anything like that. I just, uh, I just want to hear about you."

I don't know if he had downloaded the 'Guide to Hacking Past a Superhero BFF's Walls' or if his superpower included the knowledge to break through people's boundaries, but I just about melted. I couldn't remember the last time someone other than Kim and a few other select friends had wanted to hear about me and not 'Firebird.' It was . . . nice.