Masks are Greater than Sunglasses [ COMPLETE ]

no masks, no sunglasses, no supers

* Hey friends, so finals have been kicking my but and I'm only halfway through editing this weeks chapter - good thing I had this extra special chapter written! I was going to post it after we finished the book but instead it'll make up for this weeks chapter. *

*This chapter is outside the plot in a would where there are no Supers. Would Nick and Rya still have met? Let's find out! *

- Rya - 

Irvine is spectacular. It truly is. Everywhere I turn there are soaring arches, gilded windows, pruned shrubs and freshly mown grass that all whisper of the most prestigious of college campuses. I swear I can literally hear birds singing from every corner of the campus, I don't know how they pulled that off.

Still, with all its prestige and history there's one thing Irvine can't escape: the cheesy college tour guide - the staple of every college visit. The overly excited freshman who's always smiling and full of ridiculously obscure facts about the school. Did you know that in 1989 Irvine was the first and only college to experience a 12 bike pile up when the physics majors decided that they could science their way into becoming professional mountain bikers? I know, astounding that it failed.

Anyway.

Our tour guide, Collin or Caden or maybe Cade, turns onto another sidewalk, walking backwards, waving his hands exuberantly, and narrowly avoiding crashing into a group of chatting girls. They give him the evil eye but he just shoots them two thumbs up and a million watt smile. It's so excessively cheery I almost have to shield my eyes.

"How does he not fall?" I ask no one in particular.

"Oh he does," An amused voice beside me answers. I nearly jump out of my skin, I thought I was the last one in our group.

"Watch this. In about three seconds he's going to trip over a crack in the sidewalk. He does it every time, at this point I think he's doing it on purpose." The voice continues. I look behind me to locate the mysterious source. My gazes clash with a pair of deep brown eyes and I almost stumble myself. The boy behind me is dressed in an Irvine sweatshirt, pushed up onto his forearms, his brown hair is tousled as if he just rolled out of bed, and he's got a devilish smile on his face. He's cute, there's no denying that and my face starts to heat, as his eyes meet my own.

"Watch." He insists, his smile brightens as he points back to the tour guide and that's when I notice the phone he's got pointed at the boy in the front of the group, set to record.

I turn my gaze back to the front of the group just in time to see the boy's heel catch a lip on the pavement. He pinwheels his arms in comically exaggerated circles, he tips backward and forward on his heels as if he's on a tightrope. With an apparently astounding lack of coordination, he falls backward, sprawling onto the grass at least three feet from where he actually tripped.

A grin breaks out across my face as the rest of the tour group stands stunned. Beside me, the boy loses it. The full on hunched over, knee slapping, body shaking peels of laughter. With his hair falling into his eyes.

The tour guide bounds back up to his feet and gives a low bow, next to me the mystery boy woops and gives the guide a thumbs up. The guide's face turns toward us and he flips him off but he's smiling just as wide. A giggle escapes my lips at the good natured authenticity of the interaction. Our group starts to move again and the boy falls into step next to me.

"How did you know that was going to happen?" I ask between laughs.

His eyes sparkle in the sunlight, lightning from coffee to mocca. Lips quirking into a heart pounding smile, he leans toward me as if he's going to share a secret. "Connor does that on every single tour he leads. The first time I think it was an accident and he just ran with it. I was fortunate enough to get it on video and now I'm making a compilation."