Page 23 of The Not So Super Hero

Thankfully, the elevator was not broken, but the option of it breaking and sending him to his death was still an option.

With so many people going back and forth, Bailey lost count of how many times he ran into someone.

He thought he dropped so much stuff that it magically disappeared into another dimension.

One guy had chew in and a spit cup on the table beside him outside, which Bailey knocked and spill on his shoes.

Not only did he feel disgusted, but he also smelled disgusting.

Obviously, after Bailey was covered in dirt from tripping so much and smelled of skoal, that meant only one thing. Walking into the lobby with the last box of his belongings, Bailey ran into yet another person.

“Some things never change,” a familiar voice said.

Bailey stared into a pair of blue eyes he hadn’t seen in weeks. They were nicer to see than usual.

“Zane!” Bailey chirped, noting how Zane didn’t glare at him for daring to be loud in his presence. What an upgrade. “Hey. Hi. How are you? Long time no see.”

Bailey’s cheeks heated without his consent. Not that Zane seemed to notice, or perhaps he just didn’t care. It was likely the last option.

“Not long enough,” Zane responded in a voice softer than Bailey remembered.

“Ha. Very funny,” Bailey said with every intention to make a smart-ass remark of his own. However, the idea drifted away upon further inspection of Zane’s appearance. Typically, on the edge of exhaustion, Zane had gotten worse.

Those dark eye bags returned with a vengeance, drooping low under his eyes like he hadn’t slept for days on end.

The color of his skin went to an even a pastier shade of white, almost sickle.

Cheeks that once had an ounce of fat on them hugged his face tighter.

It was a worrying sight that had Bailey hesitating to ask or speak, which caught Zane’s attention.

“You need a shower.” Zane walked around Bailey. “You reek.”

Bailey took no offense to that comment and twirled around to grasp Zane’s uniform.

He forgot he had a box in his hands, though, and dropped it.

He bit back a surprised shout when the box landed on his foot.

Zane stopped to inspect the damage. He snickered, but didn’t walk away, probably because Bailey hadn’t let go yet.

“Are you ok?” Bailey asked.

Zane cocked a curious brow. He was hiding something, which was understandable.

Why would he tell Bailey anything? Especially when they hadn’t even talked in weeks.

They weren’t even close enough to exchange numbers, so a secret or problem sure as hell wasn’t free game either.

The thought made Bailey attempt to come up with a way to get a number.

Or earn the right to hear his problems because he was curious by nature, totally wasn’t because he cared.

“I’m at work. I’m awful,” Zane replied.

Bailey gripped Zane’s uniform tighter. He risked a step closer. Zane took one back. Bailey frowned when he muttered, “You know what I mean.”

Zane tugged his arm from Bailey’s grasp. He grumbled that he had work to do, which had Bailey saying, “If you still aren’t sleeping well, you should seriously go see a doctor.”

“No,” Zane stated sternly.

“Aw, is someone still afraid to go to the doctors? If you’re a good boy, they’ll give you candy y’know.”

A tense and awkward silence followed. When Zane didn’t make any move to speak, or even relinquish his glare, Bailey cleared his throat and said, “I was only teasing.”

“Whatever. I have work.” Zane left.

Bailey didn’t have the confidence to go after him.

Sighing, he retrieved his belongings while assuring himself that they would see more of each other.

He spent the rest of his afternoon putting his things in place while waiting for Amery to pay him a visit.

While they talked over break, Bailey wanted to see her, so when she finally arrived there was a lot of hugging and catching up to do.

“I missed our little chats!” Amery announced, jumping onto Bailey’s bed as if she owned it.

“We talked, like, every day.”

“Yeah, on the phone! That’s different!”

“Is it?”

Amery gave Bailey an annoyed expression that told him she was not pleased with his way of thinking.

Rolling his eyes, Bailey apologized and claimed that he missed her, too.

Amery waved him off. Bailey was not all that surprised by what topic Amery brought up next.

“Have you been watching the news recently?”

“I would be shocked to hear if someone hadn’t.” Bailey played with one of the picture frames on his desk.

“I heard a lot of mutant students dropped out,” Amery said, causing Bailey to pivot on his heel. Upon seeing his confused expression, Amery nodded. “Crazy, right? I can’t really blame them with all the attacks, M.R.S going crazy, and the missing cases.”

“Missing cases?” Bailey took a seat beside Amery.

“Yeah, there’s been a surge in missing mutant cases long before talk of Rebirth.

People didn’t really start putting it together until recently, though.

But some say it’s all speculation, drama for the news to thrive off of.

No one can say something isn’t up with everything that’s been going on.

Rebirth or not, I think we all should keep our heads on a swivel. ”

Amery pointed at Bailey as if to say, ‘especially you.’ Bailey didn’t need that look, nor did he need to hear it. He knew that. As the world’s unluckiest man, it was clear Bailey would get caught up in every mess. It definitely felt like a storm was on its way.

He wondered if Zane felt it, too. He was a mutant, after all; at least Bailey assumed he was after that night in the alley.

Zane could be worried. It could be what was causing his lack of sleep.

He may be the not caring type, but even he had to be concerned for his own life and safety.

Asking felt rather rude though, even for Bailey, who normally poked and probed at someone, regardless.

Zane had every right to be worried. If Rebirth was back, if the news was right, Zane was in far more trouble than Bailey and that should be proof enough of how bad the situation was.