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Damn. He’d been so close. “Fine,” Nick said with a weary, put-upon sigh. “I guess I can accept that answer. Though, if you change your mind, I’ll support you completely.”

Owen cocked his head. “Why do you care so much?”

Nick felt the others staring at him. Nick didn’t like where this was going. “About?”

“Shadow Star. Pyro Storm. Extraordinaries.” He said the last word with a curl of derision. “It’s like you’re obsessed with them. They’re not that great.”

Oh, hell no.

“You really shouldn’t have said that,” Seth muttered.

“Not that great?” Nick said shrilly. “Are you out of your mind?”

Owen blinked. “They’re not—”

“Let me tell you something,Owen.”

“Uh, never mind. I take it back.”

“Nope,” Gibby said, grabbing Owen by the arm as he tried to get up. “You started this. You’re going to sit here and accept your punishment. Be thankful lunch is over in fifteen minutes.”

Nick was already revved up. “Extraordinaries are incredible. They can do things that us mere mortals can only dream about. They have secret identities and superpowers and look really good wearing costumes that would probably get a normal person cited for indecent exposure. And Shadow Star is the best one of them all. He fights for truth and justice and doesn’t take crap from anyone.”

“Big whoop,” Owen muttered.

Nick was pretty sure the only reason he didn’t reach across the table and slap Owen upside the head was because he’d already gotten one detention and didn’t want to risk another. “You shut your whore mouth,” Nick snarled at him.

Owen reared back. “Whoa.”

“Yeah,” Seth said, smiling quietly. “He’s… exuberant.”

That was probably an understatement, especially since Nick was just getting started. “Not that cool? They can manipulate shadows and fire and pose on tops of buildings while the sun sets behind them!”

“He’s given this a lot of thought,” Gibby told Owen.

Nick nodded furiously. “I have. And Shadow Star is brave and gives ice cream to orphans and helps little old ladies with their shopping. He rescues puppies from puppy mills, and one time, he marched with Black Lives Matter because racists are stupid and he hates them so much.”

“Yikes,” Gibby said.

“I don’t know if he did any of that,” Seth said. “That might have been fanfiction, Nicky.”

“Whatever,” Nick said. “Even if he didn’tactuallydo any of that, I know he would, because that’s the type of person he is. He helps those who can’t help themselves. He keeps Nova City safe, and he is strong and neat, and if you ever say anything bad abouthim again, I’ll drop-kick you into the Westfield River, and I won’t feel bad about it at all.”

“Isn’t the Westfield River the one with all the sewage that smells like sadness?” Jazz asked.

“Yes,” Nick said fiercely. “I’ll do it. You just watch me.”

“Hmm,” Owen said, and Nick hated that sound.

“Hmm?” he demanded. “What’s thishmm?”

“Dunno.” Owen gave him a smug look. “Sounds like you have a bit of a crush on Shadow Star.”

Yes. Nick absolutely had the world’s biggest crush on Shadow Star. When he was by himself and no one could hear him, he would whisper “Mr. and Mr. Nicholas Shadow Star” into his pillow, but Nick had it under control. He did.

But when his crush was mentioned out loud?

Nick felt his face turning red, tongue thickening in his mouth. His first instinct was to deny, deny, deny, but that would be betraying everything Shadow Star stood for.