**Twenty-five years ago**
Ryan slung his arm over my shoulder. “I can’t believe you came back for prom.”
“I’ve only been gone for a couple of months.” I pushed his arm away so I could get my suit jacket on.
But his arm fell back over me. “Becks is a lucky girl.”
Snorting, I shook my head. “I’m the lucky one. Becks is amazing.” And I truly believed those weren’t just the words of a love-struck high schooler.
Becky Hanners was an S grade hero, strong enough that the current heroes of Point City had made an exception and already started training her while she was in high school.
We all knew that she was going to be one of the premiere heroes in the city as soon as she graduated.
With her tan skin and dark black hair, she was exotic and lovely in a way that made me feel a little silly every time I saw her again. I never got tired of looking at her.
“You have it bad.” Ryan shook me out of my daydreams.
“I’m just happy she invited me to prom. After I moved away, she’d kept our relationship quiet. I don’t think her parents even know.” I’d been worried that she wasn’t going to keep it going.
Ryan bounced his eyebrows. “Dude, she’s gorgeous, but most dudes are a little weirded out about her being so much stronger.”
I shrugged. I wasn’t sure if it had to do with my parents’ death earlier that year, but her strong powers were attractive to me. “Who knows what my power will be when I finally come into it?”
“Hopefully, it isn’t too shocking.” Ryan made a spark jump between his fingers.
“What! You didn’t tell me.” I grabbed his hand, not worried. It was Ryan. He wouldn’t hurt me.
“Let go. It’s not too much, but I’ll never have to worry about charging my phone again.”
I laughed. Of course, that’s what Ryan would think about with his power. Not saving the world or solving some existential crisis of man. He was just too lazy to do more with it than keep his phone charged.
His statement made me absently check my own phone. “We need to finish getting ready. The girls are going to be by soon to pick us up.”
“You know, before superpowers, the guy picked the girl up,” Ryan threw out a useless factoid.
I shrugged. “I don’t much care who picks up who as long as I’m going to the prom with Becks.”
A little, black sedan pulled up into Ryan’s drive as we opened the front door.
I could see Becks in the passenger seat and Ryan’s girl, Rena, driving.
They both slipped out of the car, but my eyes were only for Becks. A royal blue prom dress pooled out of the car as she stepped out with a pair of gladiator sandals.
“Miles!” She moved a little too quickly and shot across the yard, crashing into me and crushing me with a hug. “It’s so good to see you again in the flesh.” She pulled away, giving me a blushing once over.
Damn, I was a lucky man. Becks was beautiful.
Rena finished her less exuberant greeting with Ryan, turning to me. “I’m so happy to see you are doing well after—” She cut off the rest of her sentence.
Everybody danced around me ever since my parents had died. They just didn’t know what to say.
“My aunt and uncle are cool. Their place is by the beach in Coast City. I might even learn to surf this summer.” I’d used that line a lot lately to add a little pep into the conversation after my parents came up and the conversation lulled.
“Oh. I want to come. There’s training until July, but then I have a few weeks off before I officially start as a junior hero for Point City,” Becks jumped right on the opportunity.
I smiled, nodding. And it made me feel good to make plans and to know that someone like Becks was going to be there for me. She’d scored second on physical durability. She was only second to Fortress himself.
If I was honest, I was always a little jealous of Fortress. The titanic man was an idol for many, including Becks, and I hated to say it, but there was always a worry in the back of my mind that Becks would fall for him.
I pushed all that away. “You should totally come to Coast City in July. I’ll teach you how to surf.”
“Alright, you two lovebirds, let’s get to the dance.” Ryan pushed us towards the car, shouting over his shoulder, “Bye, mom, dad, we’ll be back super late.”
Rena got back in the driver’s seat as me and Becks piled into the back. Snagging my seatbelt and snapping it, I wrapped my arm around her as smoothly as I could.
She leaned in and laid a kiss on my cheek.
My mind screeched to a halt, and I imagined my heart beating out of my chest like a cartoon. I did the only thing I could think to do and went to reciprocate the cheek kiss, but in my haste she hadn’t pulled away yet and I brushed my lips against hers.
To my surprise, she scooted closer and kissed me on the lips.
I savored it, lost for a moment, imprinting everything about her lips to memory.
But the moment was broken when Ryan whistled suggestively in the front seat. “Damn. We aren’t even at the dance yet.”
Becks pulled away, blushing, and Rena slugged Ryan in the shoulder. “Don’t be an ass. That was really cute.”
He rubbed at his shoulder, laughing.
I let my hand slide along the seat until my fingers found Becks’ hand and entwined our fingers.
It didn’t matter how much of a superhero Becks was, as long as she was there for me. It didn’t hurt to fall for an indestructible woman. I needed that stability in my life.
She turned her head and stared into my eyes as a little smirk quirked on her lips. “What are you thinking about?”
“Just how lucky I am.” I spouted a corny line.
I knew Ryan would mock me for that one, but I didn’t care. The smile on her face was worth all of it and so much more.
“Okay. We are here,” Rena announced, breaking our moment.
I was shocked that we’d already arrived. Time had passed so quickly. I had really been lost in her eyes.
“Come on.” Becks pulled my arm, and we both hopped out of the car.
Students were streaming out of their cars and walking into the back entrance of the high school.
It was the end of senior year for most of us and there was some nostalgia for everybody, but I felt especially emotional. I hadn’t been back since I’d moved away.
Ryan and Rena had lingered in the car, and we left them alone, letting them have a bit of time for themselves.
I gripped Becks’ hand tight and pulled her forward. “How have classes been?” I tried to make conversation, though I’d already talked about everything with her over the phone these last few months.
“Boring. It’s like the teachers have given up here at the end. They’re just rubber-stamping A’s and ready to ship us all off.” She shrugged.
“Is that Miles? I thought you died along with your parents.” A big square-jawed, and all too familiar face caught my attention.
“Kevin, that’s completely out of line.” Becks stepped forward hard enough to crack the concrete. She was pissed.
I put my arm out, slowing her down. I could fight my own battles. She let me pull her behind me.
“Kevin. I’d say nice to see you, but I’d been hopeful that I wouldn’t have to see your ugly mug again. I heard you got kicked off the football team for cheating. Can’t win a fair fight, can you?”
Kevin was just as tall as me, but where I was a beanpole stretched out by puberty, he was a star running back for the team. He had at least eighty pounds on me.
“What did you say?” He rolled his shoulders as he stepped away from his date.
I wasn’t surprised that he’d chosen a high maintenance blonde. And she didn’t seem concerned with him being a tool. She let out an exhausted sigh, inspecting her cuticles.
“I asked if you are capable of winning a fight fairly, or if you need to cheat.” I refused to back down, taking a step forward.
The tension was escalating. I could tell Becks was trying to trust me, but she was getting anxious.
A whistle rang out, surprising both of us enough that the tension shattered for a moment.
“Flag on the play.” A potbellied father gave a hearty chuckle at something only other dads understood. “Penalty box for two minutes. You, head on in.”
The man had a pin on his lapel that said ‘Chaperone’. He was waving Kevin to the side, while letting Becks and I head into the dance.
My pride was wounded at having someone else interfere, but at the same time, I was relieved that I didn’t actually have to fight. It would be a poor way to start prom.
I pulled Becks with me, taking the win for what it was. I was proud that I’d stood up to the bully that had plagued my school career.
“That was tense,” Becks said as we went in the main doors.
“Sometimes you just need to stand up to that sort of thing. He wasn’t going to hit me, not here.”
She nudged me with a hip, and a wicked grin spread across her face. “Who knows, maybe when you get your power, we could be an amazing superhero duo. You have the courage for it.”
I felt my cheeks warm and a smile plaster itself on my face. I’d team up with her any day.
Pulling Becks closer, I pecked her on the cheek as we walked through the locker-lined hallways, heading for the cafeteria.
“That’d be pretty awesome. Who knows what kind of power I’ll get, though,” I hedged.
“I’m sure it will be something deserving of how exceptional you are. They say the later you get it, the more powerful it is,” she encouraged me.
“We both know there isn’t any actual evidence of that.” It was true there was no proof, but a part of me still hoped she was right. I wanted the kind of power that Fortress had.
Most heroes were women and were, on average, more powerful. It helped that they could have two different abilities. But there were always exceptions like the world’s hero, Fortress, who was a completely unstoppable force.
Even as we walked down the hall, I spotted two different posters with Fortress on them.
“What’s Fortress like?” I asked, bringing him up with Becks for the first time.
“He’s a pretty normal dude. Stupid busy, though. The government has him flying to something like a dozen saves a day.”
I let out a soft whistle.
“That’s even when there isn’t an emergency. A titan lands somewhere and he’s off to go fight the most dangerous monsters in the world. That’s a ton of pressure on his shoulders.” Becks shook her head, making her curly hair dance along her shoulders. “No wonder he’s had like three divorces.”
“Really?” I was surprised, thinking any woman would cling to him like glue.
“There is such a thing as being too busy,” Becks said. “But enough of Fortress. I want to dance with you.”
She dragged me further ahead, looking back over her shoulder with a smile that would have gotten me to follow her anywhere.
We came up to the cafeteria and the parent taking tickets recognized Becks, waving us forward without checking for tickets. Becks didn’t waste a second, pulling me onto the dance floor and picking up the beat.
I joined her and wasn’t half bad, or at least, I hoped that I wasn’t half bad. I’d been watching videos the past few days, hoping to be able to be competent enough. I wanted the night to be perfect for Becks.
We held hands and moved along the dance floor, having the time of our lives. Her smile and sparkling eyes under the shifting lights were my sole focus. It was like everybody else melted away.
When the music finally slowed down, I put my hands around her waist, pulling her close while she put her arms on my shoulder. The two of us got lost in each other's eyes.
She leaned towards me, kissing me. I sank into the moment.
After everything that happened to me that year, Becks had become my rock. She’d helped me heal from my parent’s accident, and I was excited about what the future would bring the two of us.
And based on the way she stared into my eyes all night, she felt the same.
When the music picked back up, we broke the minute-long kiss.
“I’m thirsty. Want to grab a drink?” I nodded towards the punch, thinking maybe that we could go for a walk of the school and I could tempt her into a dark corner. I wanted to continue what we’d started.
“Yeah, I’d like that,” she leaned in to whisper in my ear.
She didn’t need to tell me twice. I pulled her out of the dance floor over to the punchbowl that I hoped wasn’t spiked. I was already drunk enough on the chemistry between us.
“Miles.” Ryan reappeared with Rena, pulling a flask from his pocket and dangling in offering.
“No, I’m good. Thirsty for actual water.” I had to yell over the music.
“Saw you two out there. Go get ’em tiger.” My friend encouraged me with a wink, leaning in to whisper. “I have some spare condoms if you didn’t come prepared.”
“Ryan.” I pulled away, a bit shocked. But that didn’t stop my mind from imagining the entire thing. “Actually…”
I leaned in, grabbing my friend by the shoulder, considering if I should take him up on his offer just in case.
A crash sounded, the floor rumbling and my hand shaking on my friend’s shoulder.
Becks blurred in front of me and slammed her heel down on the ground, reacting far faster than anyone else in the room.