Page 44 of The Not So Super Hero

“There’s nothing to feel guilty about,” Bailey said, anxiously sitting at Zane’s bedside with no clue what he was meant to do or say.

He was kind of winging it, seemed all his life he did that.

“I don’t blame you for any of this. It’s Rebirth’s fault this is happening. It has nothing to do with you.”

Zane’s gaze shot to Bailey so quickly it almost gave Bailey whiplash. There was obvious disagreement in Zane’s eyes, but he refused to give it. Instead, his jaw hung open for a moment before snapping shut. Whatever was on his mind was dispersed with a shake of his head.

“Whatever.” He took the remote back, once again focusing on the TV while Bailey wished Zane would talk with him more.

Seemed that would not happen, though. He was uncomfortable and took his time with the situation.

Bailey understood that. Part of him wished he didn’t so he could force the truth out of Zane, but he had time.

They were going to be stuck together, after all.

There would be more than enough time to talk.

Bailey hoped it was sooner rather than later.

He wasn’t sure how long he could go with this pissy Zane. He was forgetting what he was like.

“You really don’t like the idea of training with them, huh?” Bailey wasn’t sure if he was going to get anything out of Zane, but it was worth a shot.

A look of disgust etched itself across Zane’s face. “What the hell do you think?”

True, Zane was lazy by nature, and training was definitely not lazy. There was obviously much more to it than that, but knowing Zane he’d want to keep it less personal and just claim it’s because he was lazy.

“Nothing wrong with exercise,” Bailey mumbled.

Zane shot Bailey a glare that had him clearing his throat.

“I thought you would be pleased thinking about beating up Nate.”

Realization hit Zane, which caused his lips to twitch like he wanted to smile. Bailey totally caught it too. It seemed their rivalry was still strong even after years of not battling it out.

“I saw that.” Bailey leaned forward to press his finger into Zane’s cheek, which had Zane pushing his hand away.

“What?”

“That smile.”

“I didn’t smile, besides, not like I could beat him now anyway,” Zane grunted, his voice sounding so sure of himself that it brought a frown to Bailey’s face.

“What makes you say that?”

“You watch the news, isn’t it obvious?”

That wasn’t an answer. Not to mention Bailey really disliked Zane looking down on himself.

It seemed like he was the only person who thought so little of himself.

Even the twins had higher standards for Zane than he had for himself, which said a lot.

Bailey wanted to know why, though he wasn’t sure what made him think Zane would answer.

“Why do you think so little of yourself?” Bailey wasn’t shocked to see Zane give him a confused glance. “It’s like you’re the only one who doesn’t believe in yourself.”

Zane snorted, and his next words physically hurt Bailey to hear. “Because I know myself better than anyone else. All of you expect too much, believe me.”

There was no doubt in Zane’s gaze. He seemed so certain of himself, which only made Bailey feel worse.

There was an argument on the tip of his tongue, but no matter how much he tried to push it out it didn’t work.

He was understanding what Nate meant earlier.

How many times had others tried to make Zane see what they did? And how many times did they fail?

But most importantly, what made Zane have such little faith in himself? By the sounds of it, he wasn’t always that way, so what happened that changed his whole view of himself? Bailey couldn’t fathom it.

“I don’t believe that,” Bailey finally squeaked out, nervously looking away when he felt the heat of Zane’s gaze. “Honestly, I think you know the least about yourself than anyone else.”

Bailey wasn’t sure if he saw himself as brave or stupid. Perhaps a bit of both, but he sure as hell wasn’t brave enough to look at Zane after saying that. Instead, he sat in silence, waiting for a response.

“You’re na?ve,” Zane said, his voice not sounding at all confrontational but almost sad. “You want to see a hero in everyone, even when there’s nothing there to see. I mean, look at yourself.”

Bailey’s head shot up so fast it made his neck crack. His eyes widened while they stared at Zane, who looked away as if he regretted what he said. What the hell did he mean by that?

Bailey wasn’t sure if he wanted to know the answer yet he asked anyway, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Bailey’s voice trembled and hands shook.

When Zane saw Bailey clenching said hands into fists, he forced himself to grumble out. “Going as a Mutant Studies major, learning about heroes because you can’t become one yourself.”

That was a direct blow to more than Bailey’s stomach. It was to his heart that quivered in place. It didn’t take anymore than a second for Bailey to come up with a response.

“Oh, fuck off, Zane!”

And Bailey stormed out of the hospital room before he could even try uttering another word.