Page 36

“Except what?”

“I didn’t tell him my full name.”

Silence.

Then, “Well, you must have. He wrote it.”

“No. I didn’t. Don’t you think I’d remember every single word I had with Shadow Star? Because Ido.I remember everything. From telling him about the pillow to denying kissing the side of his head when I totally did, it’s all in my brain like the world’s most awkward fantasy come to life. Seth, I only told him my name was Nick.”

“Maybe he saw it on something inside your bag?”

“No,” Nick said, sitting on his bed in shock. “He was neverinmy bag. Seth. Oh my god. Do you know what this means?”

“I don’t… think so? Should I?”

“Seth. I’ve figured it out. I know.”

“Oh boy. I can’t wait to hear this.”

Nick barely heard him, lost in what could only be the truth. “It makes so much sense. I’ve always thought we had some kind of connection. But now I know why. I don’t know how I didn’t see it before. Seth. It’s like—it’s like he’s read my fic. I think he has a Tumblr account and has read my fic! What if he was a commenter andI didn’t know it?”

“Yep,” Seth said, sounding amused. “There it is. It’s moments like this I realize you still haven’t lost the capacity to surprise me.”

“I get it now,” Nick said, standing and pacing back and forth in his room. “I mean, ofcoursethat’s exactly what happened. He’s probably standing in his Shadow Lair right now—”

“His Shadowwhat?”

“His Shadow Lair,” Nick explained patiently, because he knew that if this was causing his own head to explode, it must be doing the same to Seth. “Every superhero has a base of operations, and Shadow Star has the Shadow Lair. It’s where he broods in the shadows and stores all his gear while practicing fighting. You know this. You beta read my fic. I described it in great detail, so much so that you told me I didn’t need sixteen thousand words to make it clear to the reader he lives in a wet cave. Keep up!”

“How could I forget,” Seth said dryly. “You might be overthinking this one, Nicky. Just a smidge.”

“No,” Nick said. “I’m thinking clearer than I ever have before. Nate Belen was rescued in my fic, and so Shadow Star thought he had to rescue me. But then Rebecca Firestone said I was a damsel in distress, and so maybethat’swhat he thinks because they have a platonic understanding that is in no way romantic or sexual since that’s gross. Seth, what if Shadow Star thinks I’m only going to be in danger and that he has to come rescue me all the time?”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that.”

“You’re right,” Nick said, coming to a decision he should have made a long time ago. “Because I’m not going to be a damsel in distress.”

“Well, for one, you’re not a damselanything—”

“I’m not going to be someone who needs to be rescued all the time. The best love interests for superheroes are always other superheroes because they understand the journey and what it takes to survive. Seth, I know what my destiny is. I know what I have to become.” Here it was, right in front of him, and he couldn’t believe how simple it was.

“I’m not going to like this, am I?”

“I need my own origin story,” Nick announced grandly. “I’m going to become an Extraordinary.”

“Nicky,no.”

“Nicky,yes!”

Fic:This Is Where We Scorch the Earth

Author:ShadowStar744

Chapter 68 of?(HOLD ON TO YOUR BUTTS!)

267,924 words

Pairing:Shadow Star/Original Male Character