How did this keep happening?

  How did Glory and I keep meeting in the worst ways possible?

  Here I was, on the first day of what was supposed to be the first day of the rest of my life, and in walks quite possibly the last person I wanted to see again, save for maybe Slaughterhouse.

  She’d taken a step towards me, clearly agitated. Maddie had raced to put an arm on Glory - or I guess, Jessica’s shoulder - in an attempt to hold her back; even so, that grin hadn’t left Maddie’s face.

  “I asked you a question, Bonebrain!” She shouted.

  “Jessica, a word?” Red Rabbit cut in, crossing the room quickly to stand in front of Glory. That upbeat, almost childlike energy from her voice was gone, and her voice sounded notably lower. Glory let out a frustrated groan and spun on her heel before walking out of the door with Red, the door shutting behind them.

  Silence filled the room, leaving just the five of us in here; Maddie was still standing at the now-closed door, still grinning, giggling quietly to herself.

  My heart felt like it was pounding in my throat, and I was trying not to make a sound. My fingers dug into the chair, nails biting into the plastic. I was trying to force myself to breathe steadily, but it wasn’t helping.

  “Hey, Skye?” Elena said, putting her hand on my shoulder. “You ok?”

  I nodded, exhaling slowly. I wasn’t, though; it was taking every ounce of willpower I had to keep myself from cracking.

  “Fuck was that about?” Siobhan asked, leaning in. “You two got some history or somethin’?”

  Maddie scoffed from the other side of the room, before looking away quickly.

  “You got something to say?” Elena asked, voice sharp.

  There was another pause, before Maddie turned around.

  “I’m sorry, this is just-” she giggled “this is funnier than you can even imagine.”

  The door then opened again. In walked Red Rabbit, with Glory trailing behind her. Glory looked…tense, almost like she was holding her breath. She glanced at me as I was looking at her, and as soon as our eyes met I instinctively looked away, trying not to panic.

  Maddie headed over to her, the two sitting at their own table, separate from the rest of us.

  At the front of the room, Red Rabbit cleared her throat, the sound crackly through whatever filter her helmet had.

  “So, let’s get right to it, shall we?” She said, her voice high and peppy again, her helmet displaying a cartoonish smiling face. “Welcome back to our now-second- and third-years, lovely to have you all back. And a very warm welcome to our two new first-years.”

  I saw Elena look up and nod; I tried to, but I felt incredibly tense, barely looking up to make sure I avoided Glory’s eyes.

  Red tapped a finger on her right arm’s bracer, causing one of her fins to hum, projecting an image onto the wall next to her. A cartoony image appeared, showing a tiny, cutesy version of Red Rabbit.

  “So, let's give the first-years a bit of an overview.”

  The next hour was a deluge of information, a massive presentation on the Training Facility. It was a lot, enough that I’d struggle to process it on a good day, let alone when I was thrown off by Glory - fucking Glory, really? - being here as well.

  The way it worked for first years was pretty straightforward: Elena and I were Special Cases, but would also be joining with other first years, focusing on three mandatory topics: Martial Arts, Fitness Training, and Power Usage. As Red put it:

  “Doesn’t matter what powers you have, if you’re doing field work you need to be physically able to fight, know how to handle yourself in a fight, and understand how your powers work.”

  Then in the second semester - after Christmas - we would choose a couple of things to specialise in, as well as potentially dropping one of the mandatory ones depending on our progression.

  Red also mentioned that Special Cases would get to go on patrols before other students; best-case scenario, Elena and I would be suited up and on the streets within a few weeks, either with her or one of the second-years.

  Patrols, so soon? I thought to myself. What if I screw up, or hurt someone?

  I then immediately thought back to Slaughterhouse; surely whatever I did couldn’t be as bad as that.

  The first couple of weeks would also have us together at different times, getting acclimatised and doing combat drills together. We were “a team as well as a group of gifted students”, Red had said.

  Then she focused more on the second- and third-years, what they’d be up to. At this point I’d tuned out, stewing in my own nerves.

  The entire time, my brain kept drifting back to Glory. I hadn’t turned to look at her once - I didn’t dare to in case she saw that as some kind of sign - but I could feel her presence in the room like she was looking over me.

  But eventually, Red’s presentation ended, the image fuzzing away.

  “Sorry for the information overload” She said, “I know that’s a lot to take in but hopefully it all makes sense. If you have any questions or just need to chat, I’m not going anywhere today so-”

  There was a grinding squeaking sound as a chair suddenly moved. Everyone turned as Glory got up and headed out of the door without saying a word. As the door slammed shut, I let out a shaky sigh of relief.

  I saw Red’s head drop slightly, before she shook it.

  Maddie then stood up, heading towards Red. “I do need to speak to you about some bits, Red-”

  I sat there, barely aware of what was going on, feeling shaky. My stomach felt like it was knotting itself up.

  “You look like you’re about to chunder.” Siobhan said to me, leaning in. “Sure you’re feelin’ alright?”

  I looked up at her. “Y-yeah I’m fine it’s just…first day n-nerves, you know?” I knew how I sounded, I sounded like I was about to burst into tears.

  She narrowed her eyes. “Nah that’s not nerves, you and Jessica have some beef?”

  “N-No!” I said, a little too loudly. “No- I mean we’ve met before but I don’t think we got off on a bad f-foot.”

  There was a pause. Then Elena stood up.

  “I’m gonna go check out my dorm. You coming with, Skye?” Elena asked me.

  I nodded. I just needed to clear my head, it seemed as good a place as any.

  “Was nice to meet you guys!” Elena said to Anton and Siobhan.

  “Y-yeah,” I said, barely able to string words together, “S-see you s-soon.”

  As we began to file out of the room, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I flinched, squeaking slightly.

  “So, Skullgirl, right?” It was Maddie, her voice practically brushing my ear, low enough that I could barely hear her despite how close she was.

  I tensed up. “H-How d-did you-” I asked, still trying to process what was going on.

  “Later.” She said, her dark brown eyes gleaming like she already knew something.

  Elena spun around, realising what was going on. She looked like she was about to throw something at her.

  “Simmer down, shortstack.” Maddie said without looking at her, “Not gonna say or do anything bad, just need a chat, ‘kay?”

  Elena didn’t say anything, but also didn’t ‘simmer down’ either.

  “Hi,” Maddie said, looking at me, “Name’s Maddie, or Cheshire - like the cat. I know it's a weird intro, but you’ll get used to me. Really nice to meet you, babe, sorry about Jess. FYI, she’s been all over the place since last week. Dunno why, something to do with this Slaughterhouse shit.”

  She was speaking fast, like her mouth could barely keep up with her brain.

  Then her voice dropped. “Listen, we should talk sometime, ‘kay? Away from all this.”

  I just turned to look at her. This was so much all at once.

  “W-Why?” I asked, my voice shaky.

  “Well now’s not a good time, obviously, and I’ve got about a thousand things I need to ask.” She leaned in closer. “No rush though, babe, I can see you’re a bit shaken up.”

  I just sat there, too stunned to argue. “O-Okay?”

  “Great!” She said, pulling back with a smile. Then she began practically skipping down the corridor, sauntering away from us.

  Elena and I just stood there, absolutely stunned.

  “Ok…” Elena finally spoke up. “Gonna just try and pretend that didn’t happen.”

  Feeling like I was about to keel over, I just nodded.

  Elena’s Dorm Room, Young Defenders Training Facility, Meritas City. September 30th, 2014, 3:30PM

  “So, what do we think?” Elena asked, standing in the middle of the room with her arms stretched wide.

  The dorm building - one of two on the campus - was a tall, L-shaped building split into four floors, with rooms slotted evenly between them. Most rooms had two students rooming together, but some - Elena, for example - had her room to herself.

  Elena’s room was big, clearly meant for two people to live in. A decently sized bed was affixed to the right-side wall, a monitor on the left-side wall showed a scrolling newsfeed of information both on-campus and in the city proper. She had a walk-in shower too, which was apparently hi-tech and could be customised to the user’s preferences, whatever that meant.

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  Most of her stuff was half in boxes and half out, still scattered all over the place, but she’d already put clothes into one of the wardrobes, and stuck a few posters - film posters by the looks of it, mostly crime drama ones? - on the wall.

  “I-It’s nice!” I responded, taking it all in. “Good to h-have it all to yourself.”

  “I know, right?” She said, flopping down back-first onto the bed, still grinning. “God it’ll be nice to just have my own space, y’know? Plus, did you see the facilities here?”

  “‘Facilities’?” I asked, tilting my head.

  “Yeah!” She said, pulling herself up into a seated position. “Obviously you’ve got the Training Complex for like, proper hero training, which is whatever. But the dormitories have their own normal gyms here for people who aren’t super-strong.”

  I looked down at myself at the mention of a gym. I was pretty thin, with little in the way of any meaningful muscle. Red’s comment about needing to be able to actually fight rang in my head.

  “C-Could be useful, e-especially if we need to get stronger to actually hold ourselves in a fight.”

  “My thoughts exactly.” She said, giving a thumbs up, “They’ve got a pool too, so that could be fun.”

  I froze. A pool? Even though I couldn’t-

  “Dude, you can sit here too. You don’t have to just stand there.” Elena said, cutting off my train of thought.

  “R-Right.” I nodded, stepping to the bed before awkwardly seating myself next to her.

  “That Power Usage class sounds like it could be fun. I’ll be real, still not sure what my power can do yet.”

  “W-what do you mean?”

  “Well I can spit up food I eat and give it little quirks, duh. Thing is, I don’t really know what does what; what combos of different foods can do the most interesting shit. Most I got was spitting some acid at Slaughterhouse, or hot sauce at that one robber.”

  As Elena was speaking, I held out my hand in front of me. “I think I’d n-need that too.” I said. “I need to be less m-messy when I use my powers.”

  “I mean yeah, you do kinda blow up your arms.” She said, pointing to the long scars on my left arm.

  “Something like this, maybe,” I said, holding my arm up and focusing my power into my right arm and hand. After a second, there was a wet tearing sound as a blade shot out; not destroying my hand like it had before, but instead sliding out from between my middle and fourth finger, about two feet long.

  “Less d-damage to my arm, less strain on my healing.” I then focused again, pulling the bone-blade back into my arm as the wound sealed shut quickly.

  “I was gonna ask,” She said, watching my power work “How good can you heal?”

  I shrugged. “I-I don’t really know. My body seems to b-be able to heal from when I use my powers f-fine, but I d-didn’t realise I could heal from b-big injuries like what Slaughterhouse did to me until it happened.”

  I rubbed the scars on my left arm with my right hand. “A-And even then, it can’t get everything.”

  “Jesus.” Elena shivered, “Just try not to throw yourself into a meat-grinder anytime soon, ‘kay? Don’t think you’d be able to come back from that.”

  I laughed, trying to relax a bit.

  “Anyway,” she said, turning to me and grimacing, “Fucking Glory, huh?”

  I laughed, which helped me feel less tense.

  “Y-Yeah, of all people…”

  “Guess it makes sense though. She was kicking ass that night, should’ve thought she’d be in the Special Cases.”

  “I d-don’t get what her problem is with me though.” I said, anger burning in my chest. “I s-save her life and that’s the thanks I get?”

  “Some people are just assholes, Skye, even heroes. Just gotta rise above it. Anyway, she’s not the one I’m worried about.”

  I turned to look at her. “Who are you w-worried about?”

  “The other girl she was with, the creepy one with the cat costume.”

  I bristled, remembering how she’d practically snuck up on me. “Maddie?”

  “That’s the bitch. I dunno, dude, she’s weird. She was trying to be so friendly with you right off the bat.”

  I nodded. It seemed too sickly-sweet to be genuine.

  “G-Guess I’ll just have to keep an eye out.”

  There was a pause.

  Then-

  “Just wanted to say, really glad we’re doing this together.” Elena said.

  I turned slowly to look at her. She was looking right at me, smiling.

  “R-Really?”

  She made a face at me like I was daft. “Hell yeah, dude. Like, yeah I know we’ve only known each other a couple weeks but after getting rejected I didn’t think I’d be doing this at all, let alone as a Special Case. Nice to be doing it with someone.”

  She gave me a light tap on the arm.

  “Plus,” she continued. “You’re just nice to hang around with.”

  I could feel my cheeks burning.

  “Y-Yeah I feel the s-same.”

  “Thank god.” Elena laughed, laying on her back again. “Be real awkward if we couldn’t stand each other and then we’re stuck together for the next three years.”

  I just smiled, looking at her. She was just grinning, one arm behind her head like nothing could bother her. I caught myself watching her as we talked, looking at the way her hands gestured as she talked, the way her lips curled when she laughed. I couldn’t get over how easy she was to talk to, how she didn’t judge me, how nice it felt to be around her. She was just confident and sweet and cute and-

  Cute?

  My brain screeched to a halt.

  I stared at Elena as she spoke - she was talking about the upcoming martial arts class - but I wasn’t listening. The words just bounced around my head.

  Did I actually just think that?

  I felt my cheeks burn again.

  “Hey Skye, I think I-” She said as she sat up, then stopped. “You ok? You look a little flushed, want me to turn the AC on?”

  I quickly stood up. “N-no it’s fine! I think I need to go, Dad’s picking me up soon.”

  “Oh…’kay?” She said, sounding confused. “You sure you’re ok?”

  “Y-yeah no I’m fine! I-I’ll just see you tomorrow.” I said, too fast.

  She frowned. “...Yeah, sure. Text me when you get here tomorrow, ‘kay?”

  I nodded, giving her a weak thumbs up. Then I quickly, too quickly, left her dorm room and went out into the corridor, dodging between new incoming students, trying to keep my head down while desperately trying to ignore the butterflies I felt in my stomach.

  The Quads, Young Defenders Training Facility, Meritas City. September 30th, 2014, 4:30PM

  Funnily enough, Dad had actually messaged me to say he was on his way. Not a total lie.

  There was a small cafe not far from Elena’s dorm building, so I headed there to grab a sandwich and a drink before I met Dad.

  I spent about an hour or so walking through the Quads while I was waiting, Here, it was quiet. No Elena, no Glory - Jessica, I kept thinking of her as Glory first - and no Maddie. Just me and the wind in the trees. I walked slowly, grass damp beneath my shoes with my bag slung over one shoulder, the leaves rustling just enough to drown out the noise from other students.

  I needed this peace. Today had been an emotional rollercoaster; between Glory, Maddie, and the orientation overall, my nerves felt like they’d been peeled raw.

  Everything else was nice. Siobhan and Anton seemed nice enough - though she seemed like a bit of a livewire - and meeting Red Rabbit in the flesh (well, in the metal) was still surreal.

  I sat under the shade of one of the trees, and took out the sandwich that I’d bought. I tried to put things to the back of my mind, as if eating would ground me, but it didn’t. Glory being part of the Special Case program was something that, in hindsight, I should have guessed given how insanely strong she was.

  But, I thought to myself, I can just keep my distance. The others seem nice, and I’ve still got Elena.

  The thought of Elena made her face flicker in my head. The way she laughed, the way she smiled, the way she talked to me like we’d been friends for years, even though we’d barely known each other for a couple of weeks. She made me feel different, like she didn’t care that I was an anxious, neurotic mess; I felt like I could tell her anything and she wouldn’t think I was pathetic.

  I shook my head like I was trying to scrub the thoughts out of my mind. She’s just easy to get along with. I thought.

  Then why couldn’t I ignore those butterflies in my stomach when I thought of her?

  It wasn’t like I hadn’t noticed that she was good-looking before; she was all round curves and adorable, and she had this confidence and ease that I’d always envied.

  As much as I tried to ignore it, I kept thinking about what I’d felt back in her dorm room, how I’d thought she looked cute. Did I really think that?

  I remembered that day in the hospital. I remembered her hand was soft, warm, and gentle when it was holding mine. But she was only doing that because she was scared I’d died, right?

  I felt myself blushing again, hugging my knees. The thought of her hand in mine made something flutter in my chest.

  I shook my head. No, she’s just cool and confident. I thought. I guess I’m just drawn to that because I’m such an anxious mess. That sounded reasonable.

  But then why did my face burn when she’d said she was glad we were doing this together?

  Why had I practically bolted from her dorm like I was running away from her?

  Because I was.

  I rested my chin on my knees, staring out across the open space. I could hear students laughing in the distance, maybe playing on the sports court.

  I didn’t want to overthink this. But I still would; that’s who I was, the girl who overthought everything.

  Did I really like her like that? I’d had crushes on girls before, sure, but never acted on them; they’d always been things I’d held from afar, not with someone I was friends with. It sent my heart skittering.

  I didn’t know if I wanted to run and scream, or just let it sink in.

  I sighed, staring up at the clouds of the afternoon sky, as one question sat in my mind:

  Did she feel the same?

  I couldn’t say anything, could I? What if I said something and she didn’t feel the same? Then I’d torpedo the one actual friendship I had, a friendship with someone who I liked and got along with. A friendship with someone who, I realised with a gnawing sense of terror, I was starting to fall for.

  I sighed. The wind combed through the trees. I took another bite, trying to get my mind off of it.

  Then there was a loud crash, as something slammed into the ground barely ten feet in front of me, kicking up dirt and grass.

  I looked up as the dirt cleared, wondering who, or what would-

  Glory. She wasn’t wearing her costume; just a black tank top and sweatpants under a black and gold jacket, but it was still her.

  She stared down at me, immediately stepping forward, her face twisted with anger. I scrambled to my feet, backing up until my back was against the tree, with her standing barely a foot away from me.

  “You didn’t answer me, so I’ll ask again: what the hell are you doing here, reject?” She snarled.

  Every thought in my head melted away; I just started rambling.

  “I-I was offered the program a-after the fight with Slaughterhouse!” I replied, shakily.

  “Bullshit. You?” She asked, scoffing angrily. “They asked you after you got your shit rocked?”

  “Y-yes, why?!” I asked, louder.

  “‘Why?’ Because I don’t think you should be here! You get rejected, and instead of sucking it up and moving on, you go and nearly kill yourself and get a gold star for it. You didn’t earn a place here, you got lucky!”

  I felt the nerves give way to something else: anger started burning in my chest.

  “W-What is your problem?” I asked her, my voice rising.

  “Excuse me?” She responded, inching closer to me.

  “I-I’ve done nothing to you. What’s your problem?”

  She laughed. “What, can’t speak properly and you’re fucking deaf, too? I just told you my problem with you, dumbass. You need me to say it again?”

  “B-But I’ve done nothing to you!” I shouted back, desperately trying to get my point across.

  Glory rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to do anything to me, moron. I. Don’t. Think. You. Belong. Here!”

  “Why? We fought Slaughterhouse together, remember? Not just me, but you and Elena too!”

  “Oh yeah, real fucking heroic.” She said, sarcasm crisp in her voice. “You got your ass beaten into the ground while she spent it puking up food before she started crying. Does that sound like a pair of heroes to you?”

  The image of Glory at Slaughterhouse’s mercy flashed through my mind; her screaming, writhing in unimaginable agony - agony I knew, too, the pain that felt like it had ignited every cell in my body. I felt my jaw clenching, that burning anger in my chest roared to life. “You were the one screaming for your life!” I shouted, the words spilling from my mouth.

  I saw her eye twitch. She took another step closer, her face now inches away from mine.

  “You wanna repeat that?”

  “You were screaming, you were in pain! I wasn’t going to stand there and do nothing!”

  She clenched her teeth, practically hissing. “I didn’t need your help, reject!”

  “You clearly f-fucking did!” I shouted again.

  She growled, grabbed my collar, and lifted us a few inches off of the ground before slamming me into the tree. It was enough to knock the wind out of me as I felt the bark graze my back, making me gasp. I held her gaze, she looked mad.

  “Do I look like somebody who needs help now?” She hissed.

  She was pushing me into the tree with all her strength, hard enough that I could feel the bark groaning and cracking behind me. Something in my right shoulder popped, as a searing pain shot through me.

  I tried to yell, but it got squeezed out of me, sounding like a dry wheeze.

  Hit her.

  The thought sounded loud and crystal-clear in my mind.

  HIT HER.

  I didn’t think, I just moved. My head snapped back; my power surged into my skull, feeling like it was about to vibrate loose from my skin. I swung forward like a hammer, slamming my head right into Glory’s face.

  I was expecting to hit that golden barrier she always had on but…no. There was no glow, no shield, just bone against bone. My head smashed into hers with a crack; she gasped, immediately dropping from the air, letting go of me. I tumbled to the ground, almost falling over before balancing against the tree as my shoulder popped back into place on its own with a crunch.

  “Fucking- bitch!” Glory groaned. Her hand flew to her face, blood dropping from her nose and between her fingers. She was looking down at her hand, her eyes widened in surprise.

  Then she looked up at me, staring for a second. It was like she was trying to process what had just happened.

  To be fair, so was I. I didn’t know what to say. My head was pounding, my pulse racing, but I wasn’t shaking.

  “This isn’t over, reject!” She spat, though her voice cracked on the last word. Then she took off into the air like a rocket, kicking up enough force to blow my hair back and knock leaves loose from the tree. Then, she was gone, soaring off into the distance.

  I stared into the sky after her, dazed. As soon as I exhaled, the tremor hit me; my legs gave out, and I dropped to the floor as the adrenaline wore off.

  I blinked. I barely even remembered deciding to move, it had just…happened.

  Looking up, I saw something fly overhead: a single, small drone, its lens pointed at me before it glided away.

  My stomach dropped.

  Holy shit. I thought. Did I just hit her?

  Did I just hit Glory?