Page 21 of The Not So Super Hero
“Moved.”
“Where are you from?I’m from Connellsville, Pennsylvania.Do you know where that is?”Bailey finished his plate and sat it on the coffee table.He moved closer to Zane, which caused him to scoot a little further away.
“You talk a lot, you know that?”Zane asked.If he expected a response, he didn’t get one.Bailey sat there with those wide green eyes sparkling behind big rimmed glasses while waiting for Zane’s answer.
Sighing, Zane replied, “Fairfall, California.”
“California?What brought you all the way to New York?”
Zane had finished his plate as well, sitting his utensils on said plate before throwing himself back onto the couch.Groaning, he placed his hands over his face and spoke into his palms with a muffled voice, “I knew I shouldn’t have come.”
“You act like conversations are the hardest thing in the world.”
“They are.”
“I may talk a lot but you,” Bailey poked Zane in the side.“You don’t talk enough.”
Zane threw his arms over the back of the couch, allowing his head to loll off the back as well.“Free food isn’t worth this hassle.”
“Come on, you’ve been through worse with me.We almost got blown up!”
“Thanks for reminding me.I’m going to leave before I risk a second encounter with death.”
Bailey pushed Zane back when he tried to get up.Scowling, he narrowed his eyes on Bailey, who smiled apologetically.“Sorry, I shouldn’t have brought that up.Please stay?Unless you have to go for your other engagement.I don’t want to force you to stay here or anything.Wait, was I doing that already?I don’t know, sorry.You can go.”
Bailey sat back on the couch, hoping for it to swallow him up.With his eyes on his shoes clicking together, he waited for Zane to get up and leave, but he never did.
“If anything bad happens, I’m leaving.”
Smiling, Bailey said, “Define bad.”
Bailey wasn’t sure what got Zane to stay, but he was grateful that he did.
CHAPTER 7
Sittingaloneinhisapartment, Zane felt utterly bored to the point of insanity.Normally silence was something he strived for, however, that Sunday afternoon made him restless.That annoying feeling of pins and needles in his legs had him kicking them about to disperse the energy.
Zane never had energy.It was a foreign word, let alone a feeling.He wished for that energy to leave so he could return to his lethargic nature.However, the fidgety symptoms traveled from his legs to his arms until it forced him to pace his apartment.How odd, because listless was Zane’s natural state of being.It was his weekend, work was tomorrow, students were returning, which meant it was going to be a colossal pain.He wanted to spend his Sunday at home.That wasn’t happening though, because even TV and beer couldn’t keep him in bed.
Sighing, he put on some clothes suitable for the outside world and went for a stroll.He knew he was losing his mind the moment he left his apartment to walk.Zane didn’t do exercise.Was he actually his own doppelgänger?
However, the edgy feeling dissipated, allowing Zane peace of mind while listening to music on his walk to the park.Since break was ending, the town returned to its normal booming nature.Students piled back to the dorms.The streets grew packed.For a brief moment, Zane wondered what Bailey was up to.Brief, seriously, it was two seconds at the most.
A sudden pat on his shoulder brought Zane back to reality.Pivoting on his heel, he set his headphones around his neck when he came face to face with Terry Busch, the young officer who worked with Chris.From time to time, they got drinks together, or he checked on Zane when Chris was busy, so it wasn’t all that surprising that he came over to talk.
“Strange seeing you out on a weekend,” Terry said.He obviously wasn’t on duty, seeing as he was in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.“Are you feeling ok?Need to go to the doctors?”
“Funny.”Zane snorted, then noted the bag in Terry’s hand.“Getting some take out by yourself?Where’s the girlfriend?”
Terry’s face fell, while Zane’s smirk grew brighter.He may have overheard from Chris that Terry had recently been dumped.
“My bad, I won’t tease you if you’re gonna be like that,” Terry huffed, hands raised in defeat.
“Good choice.”
“What about you, though?Chris was talking about some new boy in your life.Got yourself a boyfriend?”
“What?”Zane grimaced, making a mental reminder to disembowel Chris the next time he saw him.“No.”
