My hair still has traces of white in it. The strands were underneath, but they were still an annoying presence. I wonder why it was fading in the first place, but I'm glad it's going away.
I finish up in the bathroom by putting a little makeup on. No need to cover up bruises on my face when I didn't have any recently. Red Raven has been inexplicably MIA since the hospital encounter. Nonetheless, he had some minions sent out to do his dirty work.
Shadow Soldier was plain creepy in my opinion. If met with him again, I'd pee in my suit. Thankfully, I had Crossfire on my side now. If met with any of the villains, I could run behind him. I mean... stand my ground beside him.
"Della!" Mason shouts my name from his room. I was already starting to brush my teeth to go to school, but I rushed into his lair from the bathroom to see what the problem was. He was still in his clothes from the day before.
"Look at this." He points at his computer screen with terror evident in his eyes. It's not until I look closer that he's getting a Skype call from the username RR1010.
"Who is it?" I ask, bewildered. Why was a Skype call so shocking to him that he had to call me in here? Did he really not have any friends?
"It's Red Raven, Della." Mason scoffs.
The news dawns on me. "Answer it! I need to see who he is!"
Mason shakes his head, "You need to hide." He slips his gold mask on.
I give him a look that screams 'Are you kidding me?!?' I walked in here for him to shoo me away?
"I'm watching and listening, but I'll be out of sight." I huff and sit down on the floor beside Mason's desk chair. I'll have a great view of Red Raven from here without being seen.
Mason hesitantly clicks the green button to accept the call. Anxiously, I wait for his face to pop up on the screen. When it does, I'm disappointed. He's wearing his mask.
"Hello, Crossfire." He greets with a sinister smile. I shudder at the screen. The black mask matches the color of his soul.
"Hi, Raven." Mason rolls his eyes as he addresses him. I know Mason said Red Raven was his best friend, but why wasn't he calling him by his name in front of me?
"I haven't seen you in a while." Raven says, tinkering with something in front of him.
Mason scoffs, "It's not like you've been tormenting the town lately." I watch Red Raven cock his head to the side. How can Mason get by with making these comments?
"I told you I've had a plan all along. Now it's in effect. I need you to meet me at the warehouse at 3:30."
I'm about to verbally object when Mason replies, "No can do."
"Why not?" Raven sneers.
Mason shrugs, "That's my scheduled time to rob old ladies."
Red Raven lets out a hoot, "Alright, then, Crossfire. Meet me at 4:30 then?"
Mason nods, trying his best not to consult with me. Red Raven's hair is sticking up everywhere. He's working on something diabolical, and I'm going to put an end to his nefarious plans. It just has to wait until 4:30.
Mason looks over at me with a blank expression. I suppose he's waiting for me to say something. I'm not sure what.
"You said you're friends." I comment, trying to start my list of questions.
Mason nods, "I think it's my friend. I'm not trying to jump to conclusions."
"Well, who's your so-called best friend? Does he know your real identity? Why won't you tell me?" The questions spill out of my mouth all at once, before he can answer.
He stares at me, waiting for me to be finished. "My best friend is Thomas. He's always talking about Red Raven, but I've never seen him use any powers or anything. If he is Red Raven, though, he would know that I'm Crossfire just because of his mental capabilities. But Thomas has never said anything." I contemplate this new information.
Why would Mickey and Thomas be working together?
***
School is always pretty rough. Even if you're in the top of the class, there are some days you don't want to step foot on campus. I felt this way all 180 school days.
People had already asked me about the hospital accident and why I was in there in the first place. I knew walking into school today that there would be no need to have a spotlight on me anymore. Boy, was I wrong.
Every jock is staring at me, every girl pointing and laughing at me. If I didn't know any better, I'd say I was dreaming. This is straight from a nightmare. I just hope I'm not walking around with my clothes inside out or toilet paper stuck to my shoe.
As I pass by Mickey, he adverts my eyes. Oh. This is him feeling guilty, but not confessing. Well, I know how to make him feel a smidge worse.
"Hey babe!" I skip over to him, acting way more perky than I've ever been. Maybe I should dial it down. He allows a grin to come to his face, but it's more fake than Sophia Brown.
He wraps his arm around my waist, grinning from ear to ear as he says, "Hey, beautiful."
One word. Sickening.
"So how was the game?" I play dumb. At the mention of the game, I feel him tense up. Yes, I think to myself. Keep feeling guilty, Mickey.
"We won." He plasters on a fake smile. What's his angle? Where's Sophia? Why is he pretending like he didn't know I was at the game?
"That's great! So I've gotta get to class but I'll see you at lunch, okay?" To add to my exit, I blow a kiss in his direction. I witness the whole school watching. Plenty of people knew I was at the game. They weren't saying anything because they wanted to see how I played it out.
I was going to give them one heck of a show.
***
I never saw Mickey at lunch, but I didn't really want to either. Even though I already made it hail on his car, he needed to know that it wasn't a freak accident. I needed to let him know face to face that I knew everything.
But now was not the time.
I drive over a few blocks to Mason's abandoned shack. Jonas practically ran out of our A.P Biology class (and he didn't sit beside me either) and out of the school building faster than I could call after him. If I had used my powers to chase after him, he'd know I set him up to meet with Crossfire. I had to lay low.
So I gave him a five minute head start. I used this time to aimlessly wander the halls dramatically like they do in movies.
Who do you think I am?
I was wandering the halls, but I was stopped by Sophia, the wicked witch of the west. Not bothering to roll my eyes, I brushed by her without a second glance. She was not pleased with my attitude.
"Got a problem, Della?" I stop in my tracks. Is it appropriate to crack my knuckles an swing on her? Yes. Will I? Well, uh, who's stopping me?
"Yeah I've got problems, but not as many as you. What girl steals a girl's boyfriend right in front of her?" I scoff, clenching my fists.
She smirks, and you'd think with her arrogance that she'd have an entourage behind her. This witch traveled alone. It's not like every mean girl had a possy.
"Please, he practically came running into my arms. You don't deserve him." She attempts to stab at me with her words.
"You're right. You two deserve each other. I deserve better. I've got something better to do than waste my time talking to you." I whip around and begin to walk away when I hear her calling for me to come back.
I don't turn around, but I do shout back, "Bye witch! Watch out for falling houses!"
I zoom off towards the meeting place, hoping I haven't missed anything. Mason will catch me up if I have. The fact of the matter is Jonas showed up to replace me. I knew that what happened today was going to make a difference in our friendship, good or bad.
I get to the house and peer in the side window. Mason is sitting on the couch, looking at his watch every other second. No sign of Jonas.
I go to the front door and push it open, causing Mason to jump up just to relax when he recognizes my face. He sits back down, wringing his hands together. I'm surprised he's not pacing like usual.
"He's on his way. I passed him even with a five minute head start." I stroll across the room to sit beside him. There's a knock on the door.
Mason's eyes grow wide, telling me to hide. I fade away right in front of him and move towards the kitchen doorway.
Mason opens the door to reveal a grimacing Jonas. His curly bangs flop in his face and his arms are over his chest. Who is this kid? I've never seen this side of Jonas.
"You came." Mason breathes.
Jonas pushes through the door frame. "I'm not happy about it. I want to know what happened to Della."
"I told you, she saw Mickey cheating on her."
Jonas grabs a bundle of his hair in his hands. He pushes past Mason again. Poor Mason doesn't know how to handle the situation.
"I can't be the hero." Jonas says all of a sudden.
"What?" Mason questions, but a flood of relief washes over me.
Jonas stops in the middle of the wooden floors. The boards creak underneath his feet. Seriously, how old is this place?
"I'm just a sidekick. I can't be the hero. All I can do is read minds." Jonas outbursts. I knew he was upset with me getting new powers, but this was insanity.
"She can't help that she has the powers she has." Mason tries to reason with him.
Jonas nods, suddenly more relaxed. "I know. I'm just stating why she has to be the hero. I don't even have a name."
"We can get you a name." Mason still persists. He's trying his best to get the truth out of him, why he was so angry with me.
Jonas plops onto the couch, his hands curled into fists. He then jumps up and goes for the door, but Mason blocks his path.
"What is going on with you?" Mason pushes Jonas against his chest. Jonas pushes him back, and the next thing I know, I'm watching a fight.
Mason finally shoves him down on the floor but he doesn't pin him. Now Jonas is distraught. It's written on his face. He can't even win a fight, I can tell that's what's going on in his mind.
Then he sweeps his foot to knock Mason off his feet. I hold back a laugh at the sight of the two of them lying on the floor.
"I lied to her. I knew who he was all along. I didn't tell her." He sits up after his confession.
Mason sits up too, and begins to rub the side of his head from the hard impact. "Who?"
Jonas sighs, "Mickey. I knew he was cheating on her. I should have told her."
"You did." Mason shrugs it off.
Jonas rolls his eyes as he moves over to the couch again. "Sooner, though. I should've told her sooner. But she kissed him at the Greenhouse and I felt my heart break."
He puts his face in his hands, "I knew about him being Red Raven since the trip to Sophia's house. I kept it from her for as long as I could because I didn't want her to get depressed and stop trying to be the hero."
"Mickey is Red Raven?" Mason whispers.
Jonas nods, "99 percent sure. But I also heard something about a Thomas guy."
Mason goes stiff, "There's two of them?"
Jonas nods, "Yeah. I'm assuming you know Thomas?"
Mason's turn to nod, "Yup."
Jonas breaks their followed silence, "I have to talk to Della. She has to know why I've been so upset with myself."
Before I say anything, Mason speaks up as Jonas begins to walk out the door. "You weren't upset with her, then?"
Jonas shakes his head, no. I appear in front of the both of them and watch Jonas' eyes go wide.
Then he closes his eyes and murmurs, "How long were you here?"
I allow a smirk to come to my face, "Long enough."
He shakes his head, smiling all the while. "You're a mess. But I suppose now you've seen my whole meltdown."
I look to Mason and he takes the hint to go into the kitchen.
"I'm sorry, Della, I'm so sorry I've been ignoring you and making you feel like you did something wrong. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Mickey sooner. I'm sorry-"
I give him a hug to end all of his apologies. He's right, if I had known earlier, I would have been in a deeper slump than I had already been. He was doing the best thing for me.
"Don't hide anything else from me, though." I laugh as he rolls his eyes.
"Wouldn't think of it. Especially since I know you'll eavesdrop on me at anytime."
Mason peers back into the room, hesitantly stepping across the threshold. He's the definition of awkward even in a supersuit.
"Hate to break up the reunion, but, uh, Del? It's almost 4:30."
My eyes widen and I clench onto Jonas' wrist before he questions anything.
How many times will I have to eavesdrop today?