CLAIRE

"What?" I forced a fake laugh. "Where did you get that idea?"

Stephanie raised an eyebrow. "I literally just told you. Come on, let's go to class— I won't tell anyone, if it helps."

"Please don't," I said, dropping into serious mode as we started to move out of the library. "I really don't want to talk about it."

Stephanie looked a little deflated, but there was a spark of the joy caused by pure vindication.

"So Psyche was—"

"My mom." That was the first time I'd admitted that out loud. "Come on, we've got to get to class. You can't tell anyone, I'm dead serious, Steph."

"I know." Stephanie sobered. "I'll take it to my grave. And sorry, I'll be less nosy— I just— I had to know."

Seeing her there, I recognized a little bit of myself in the past two weeks.

"It's okay, I know what it's like," I said quietly, letting my features soften. "It's just— it's not like in other places. It's not as glamorous as in the bigger cities."

Stephanie nodded. "I've noticed. I'm sorry— I know I don't know what you've been going through. I really know that now."

"It's okay,"

"You know you don't have to lie so much about how you're feeling, right?" Stephanie ventured as we entered the hallway. "We're still your friends."

"Right."

That too, was a lie. I'd learned a long time ago, when I was a little girl still grieving the death of my mother, that no one really wanted to know how anybody was actually feeling. It wasn't anyone's fault— grief and all the ugly little emotions inside of me were awkward and uncomfortable and no one wanted to be around it.

Except for Tristan. . .

That's when I realized he must've overheard the whole thing.

My heart raced. I glanced around the hallway, locking onto him as he headed towards one of the English classrooms.

I was learning a lot from my powers and taking on my mom's mantle lately. I was learning about the city I'd grown up in, the events that had been happening around me all along that I'd ignored because I was just a kid. I was learning about myself, and what I was really made of.

And I was learning the importance of acting now.

I had the power now to change things, to change my life.

Maybe the adrenaline from the weekend still hadn't entirely worn off.

Maybe because I'd faced off against the guy who nearly killed me about a week ago, I felt like I could face something as petty and yet just as heart-racing as a high school love story.

"I gotta go," I said to Stephanie. "I gotta get to Pre-Calc."

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Stephanie frowned. "But I'm in Pre-Calc with you—"

Then she spotted him, at the same time I did. "Oh."

I handed her my messenger bag. "I'll get there as fast as I can."

"Better hurry," Stephanie warned as she adjusted her own backpack on her shoulder.

"I will."

With that, I darted around other students and ran up to Tristan, right before he could go through the door of his English class.

"Claire?" He turned, surprised.

"I need to tell you something, I'll make it quick," I said breathlessly. "I don't know, what you overheard in the library—"

His expression softened, a fond look in his eyes. "You mean your friends teasing you about—"

"That I like you, yes." My stomach clenched. "I really do, and I'm sorry if that makes things weird or awkward or—"

He raised a fist to his mouth, making a sound between laughing and a cough.

"What?"

"I thought you already knew," he said. "I mean, I didn't think I was being subtle, with the Winter Festival."

I could feel my cheeks heating up, turning red. I crossed my arms over my chest, more defensively than anything else.

"Well, let me make it more clear— may I?" His hand was on my waist.

I didn't hesitate to answer. In front of everyone, I kissed him in the hallway.

And I felt even more powerful than I did fighting one of the biggest supervillains in the city.

The whole rest of the day, I was on cloud nine. It was like I was floating, not walking. Everything else passed in a blur, including esports practice.

I was smiling and listening to love songs on my phone while I sat at the station nearby the high school, waiting for my tram to come in the dark, snowy night.

I was in such a cloud of euphoria, I didn't notice that Henry had followed me up to the station and had been sitting on the same bench of me for twenty minutes.

It was when he finally tapped me on the shoulder, that I finally saw him.

"Sorry," I mumbled, pausing my tunes and pulling my earbuds out. "What's up— you don't usually ride this home, do you?"

"Not usually," Henry admitted. "I live at the same apartment in the Silver Spires where I used to, before we moved. Funny how we end up at the same places again sometimes, huh?"

"Yeah." I shifted uncomfortably. Many had forgotten it by now, but I never did. After all, before he'd been kidnapped by Dr. Electra, before he'd been rescued by Heretic before she burned down City Hall, we'd been friends.

The three of us—Tristan, Henry, and me, we'd all lived on the same floor.

We'd been close once.

Tristan and I had found our way back to one another.

And now it seemed Henry and I had, too.

"It must be strange, being in that apartment again," I mused aloud. "How are you doing, by the way? I never really got to see you again, after. . . "

"I'm fine." He smiled, as if he didn't find it a horribly awkward question. "I'm doing great. It's too bad you moved out, or else we could've been a trio or something again."

"So you and Tristan talk, then?"

There was a strange glimmer in his eye. "Something like that. Not as much as I'd like."

"Uh-huh." I wasn't sure exactly what to say to that. "Still, I doubt you came here just to chat for old times' sake—you could've done that at esports practice?"

He reached to scratch behind his neck and avert his eyes. "I guess I should've done that sooner, shouldn't I?"

"Don't worry about it, we're talking now." I glanced at my phone, then at the tracks. "We've got about ten minutes before the tram should roll in."

"Right, I'll get to the point, sorry." He paused. "Um, this is weird, but I have a friend, she's staying at my place because she's kinda trying to—what's the word? Divorce her parents?"

"You mean emancipation." I nodded. "Gotcha."

"Anyway, she needs clothes, my mom and sister's stuff wouldn't fit, but you guys are around the same height and build, and it would be a huge favor—"

I put my hands up in 'stop' gestures. "Don't even worry about it. Just bring her by, I've probably got more clothes than I know what to do with. I'd be happy to help."

"Thank you." Henry's shoulders loosened, a relieved smile taking over. "Mind if I bring her over later tonight?"

"I wouldn't mind at all—I'll tell my stepmom what happened."

Henry nodded. "Alright then, thank you so much."

He then stood up.

"What, not gonna continue to sit here and reminisce with me?" I teased.

"Not tonight." He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I've gotta go meet her."

"You're a good friend, Henry." I couldn't help but feel a little touched by all that he was doing to help this girl.

Even without powers, he was doing something so kind, so great for the sake of someone else.

I only hoped I could do that for other people.

"I'm trying," he finally said, after a long pause. "But I guess that's the best any of us can do."

With that, he started walking down the steps and the tram came to a halt in front of the station.