Beneath The Surface

~Chapter Twenty TwoTotally Casual Interrogations (And Other Disasters) ~

Vieana had a plan.

It was simple, really.

Step One: Hang out with Fisher.
Step Two: Casually, very casually, ask him weirdly specific questions.
Step Three: Confirm whether or not he was secretly a superpowered vigilante running around downtown at night wearing tight black outfits.

Easy.

Totally easy.

She definitely wasn't going to embarrass herself.

Definitely.

---

She found Fisher exactly where she expected him to be after school-leaning against his truck like he was auditioning for the role of "Annoying Skater Boyfriend #3" in a bad Netflix movie.

He grinned when he saw her.

"Hey, princess. Miss me?"

Vieana rolled her eyes so hard she almost saw other dimensions.

"Like I miss root canals," she said.

Still, she hopped up onto the tailgate beside him, acting as normal as she could manage. Which was to say, very badly.

Fisher side-eyed her suspiciously. "You're being weird."

"I'm never weird," she said immediately, which was exactly what someone being weird would say.

He raised an eyebrow but let it go, tossing a crumpled bag of Skittles at her.

"Peace offering," he said. "Because I'm about to destroy you in Mario Kart."

Vieana caught the bag, heart hammering.

This was it.

The perfect chance to casually question him while distracting him with simulated violence.

She ripped open the Skittles, popped a handful into her mouth, and gave him her most innocent look.

"So," she said, as they fired up the game. "Where were you last night?"

Fisher snorted, picking his character without hesitation. "Why? Planning my murder?"

"Just curious," she said sweetly.

"Gym," he said, a little too quickly. "Working on my... glutes."

She choked on a Skittle.

"Your glutes."

"Yeah. Gotta stay aerodynamic."

Vieana narrowed her eyes at him. "You don't even know what that word means."

He grinned. "Sure I do. It's science, princess."

Suspicious.

Very suspicious.

They battled through the first race, Vieana winning easily because she had a healthy distrust of everything and Fisher drove like he was legally blind.

As they loaded into the second match, she tried again.

"So hypothetically," she said, "if you were, say, a secret vigilante with superpowers, how would you keep people from finding out?"

Fisher gave her a side glance so sharp it could've cut concrete.

"Are you... good?" he asked. "Like, emotionally?"

"Answer the question, Lewis."

He smirked, tossing a banana peel across the track with ruthless precision. "Easy. Deny everything. Act dumb. Gaslight the hell outta everyone."

Vieana made a thoughtful noise, pretending not to notice how his ears had gone slightly pink under his hair.

"Interesting," she said casually. "Because that's exactly what MoonShadow would say."

Fisher coughed violently.

Vieana smirked, boosting past him to steal first place.

For a second, she thought she had him.

Thought he might actually crack.

But Fisher just leaned back, throwing his controller onto the truck bed, flashing her that familiar lazy grin.

"If I was MoonShadow," he said, voice low and dangerous, "you'd be the last person I'd trust with my secret."

Vieana froze.

Not because the words hurt.

But because of the way he said it-
Like it was true.
Like it mattered.

Her heart thudded painfully against her ribs.

She forced herself to smirk back. "Good," she said lightly. "Because if you were, I'd have to arrest you for being an idiot in public."

Fisher laughed, the tension breaking between them like a snapped rubber band.

But as they played another round, arguing and shoving each other off the tailgate-

Vieana couldn't stop thinking about it.

About how fast he dodged the questions.
About the way he looked at her when he thought she wasn't paying attention.
About the pink flush crawling up his neck when she pushed too close to the truth.

She had a plan.

A real one this time.

One way or another, she was going to find out what Fisher Lewis was hiding.

Even if it killed her.