"I guess those years in choir were good for something," I remark. I remember hating having to wake up on Saturdays to go to practice.
"Man, when you hit that note on "One day I'm gonna be free" and let your hair outta your ponytail...Hooh! You were feeling it!" As Lamar says it his scar lights up.
"Monarch is one of my favorite bands, and when you're singing this song you gotta feel it." I pull my hair back and fix it with my scrunchie.
"You're really good, Jason!" Imani praises. "I know some people in the music industry, I can arrange some introductions."
"Nah, I just like singing as a hobby, I don't think I can make a career out of it," I reply. She wags a finger at me.
"Don't be sure about that. You sound better than some of these musicians nowadays. Be a real shame to hide that voice," Imani says. She's a very genuine person so I know that she means it.
"I'll think about it," I simply say.
After we exhaust our time we leave the karaoke place. We leisurely stroll through the park not wanting the evening to be over just yet.
There are storm clouds rolling in, thunder claps somewhere in the distance.
"Friends of yours?" Imani quips. Lamar smirks and sticks his right hand up. It's hard to see in the low light but the clouds come faster, lighting flashing inside them. The tons of water vapor congregate above us. With an ear splitting crack lightning spits out from them. Imani and I flinch back but Lamar stands still as the electricity from the sky above goes into his hand. All the clouds direct their energy at him and he absorbs it all until the lightning becomes weaker.
He lets his arm down and rolls his neck.
"Nothing like a quick pick me up," Lamar says like he just drank a cup of coffee instead of harnessing the power of weather itself. I add 'weather manipulation' to the apparently ever expanding list of abilities Lamar has.
"WOW, THAT WAS SPECTACULAR!" Imani exclaims.
"Seriously dude, is there anything you-" I start to say but I'm interrupted by a big SPLAT that lands on my shirt. It's bird poop, a bird just pooped on one of my favorite shirts, no doubt scared by the unnatural weather.
Both Lamar and Imani burst out laughing at my misfortune.
"Real funny."
"Oh c'mon dude, you know if it happened to either of us you'd be laughing your head off." I would be but since it didn't, I'm not.
"Look on the bright side Jason," Imani says while wiping tears from her eyes. I don't see what upside bird crap could possibly have. "I heard that's good luck. Maybe you'll hear good news soon." Lamar finger guns at me.
"Yeah, maybe you'll hit the jackpot in the lotto or something. Then you can take us out sometime."
"Yeah, I'll hire a deep web hitman to take you both out." They both snicker at the dark joke as we all share a semi-twisted sense of humor. "I gotta wash this off."
"I think there's a bathroom over there," Lamar points out. Luckily there is a rest stop with a bathroom but the door has a padlock on it. Before I say anything about it Lamar summons electricity into his hand and melts through the shackle. He just puts a finger to his mouth.
"I won't say anything if you don't." He pushes the door open and the lights inside come to life. If they're on a motion sensor or if Lamar turned them on is unclear.
I take my shirt off and grab a bunch of paper towels. Wetting them, I start to clean off the crap, hoping hand soap and warm water will be enough. After a minute or two I get most of it out but I make a mental note to throw this in the wash as soon as I get home. So I put my wet, kinda clean shirt back on and head to the exit. I'm about to get out when I overhear something.
"Lamar, I must confess something," Imani says. I stop just before the door frame.
"What is it?"
"I...can't stop thinking about the day we met."
"Yeah, that day was crazy."
"It was but, it's when you saved me that I keep thinking about."
"Must've been terrifying for you, huh?"
"No, that's just it." I hear something press against something else. I peek out the door and Imani has Lamar pressed against a lamppost. Just then its light comes on, whether by coincidence or Lamar is again unknown. Her hands rest on his strong chest. "It was exhilarating. I can't get the sensation out of my head! Being lightning with you!" Lamar swallows hard. Neither of them notice me, focused on the person in front of them.
"Turning into electricity will do that to you," he tries to joke but Imani presses more of her body against his. My heart beats faster.
"It's always on my mind, that rush, that feeling of power. Please, let me feel that way again," she says.
"I only did that for an emergency, I don't feel comfortable doing that for no reason. Something could go wrong."
"What if I make you comfortable?" She slowly moves her face closer to his for a kiss. Something in me wants to scream out, like there's something terrible boiling in my stomach that can only escape from my mouth. But it's trapped by this awful tightness in my chest. Ardent yearning held back by an anxious knowing that this isn't right. That spying on them is wrong and it's not my place to interrupt. It's all my heart can take. I'm about to close my eyes to stop the stinging tears welling up.
"Wait," Lamar says. His hand between him and Imani. "The truth is...I'm gay," He admits, his scar lighting up…. Huh.
"Oh my!" Imani says, like she just realizes the position she's in. She backs off and give him space. I duck back behind the wall in case they notice me. "I'm so sorry. I should know better, all my parents taught me about boundaries and here I am ignoring them."
"It's okay."
"It's not, I must've made you very uncomfortable. The opposite of my intention, believe me."
"Relax, I'm a superhero, I've been uncomfortable before. I forgive you, just y'know keep this between us."
"Thank you, I will." Lamar loudly clears his throat.
"Hey Jason!" In that one second I'm horrified to think he saw me. "You almost done in there?!" I try breathe a sigh of relief but my pulse is still running a mile a minute. I have to do something that shows I wasn't eavesdropping. I notice the hand dryer that I walked past and put my shirt under it in a feeble attempt to dry it off. The noise is loud enough that Lamar and Imani can hear it, but not loud enough to drown out the hammering of my heart from the information I just heard.
As calmly and straight-faced (poor timing) as I can, I walk out the bathroom I'm trespassing in.
Imani and Lamar gave the other a wide berth, I decide not to look at too closely. Sparing them any more embarrassment.
"I think it's good for now, but I'll wash it when I get home," I say, trying hard to keep my voice flat.
"Yeah that sounds- Are you good?" He asks me.
"Huh?" My voice cracks a bit more than I'd like.
"Your eyes," he points out. I didn't notice they welled up so much.
"Yeah the smell of that crap really got to me, I have a weak stomach to stuff like that," I fib.
"Oh, okay," he says sharply. His scar lights up again. Oh my god, how could I have been so stupid? Why am I just realizing that his scar lighting up is him blushing?! AM I THE DUMBEST IDIOT IN EXCELSIOR CITY?! HE'S BEEN BLUSHING THIS WHOLE TIME!
"Well I have an important thing in the morning," Imani says.
"I also have important Protagonist business to attend to," Lamar says. He's not good at making up excuses it seems.
"Yeah I'm all song'ed out. I'm gonna head home." We all stand there for a second or two. The awkward tension holds us there for what seems like an hour. Then we all go our separate ways.
HOLY CRAP! HOLY CRAP! HOLY CRAP! HOLY CRAP! I'm sitting on the train heading home with what I hope is a blank expression. Lamar is gay, holy crap what does this mean for me?
"Sounds like you got a shot with him," a girl says. I look at the seat opposite me. There's a girl in combat boots, ripped jeans, a black see-through mesh shirt, and a black leather jacket to complete her punk look. "Thank you, punk was the look I'm going for," she says. She's chewing gum and blows a large bubble. I look around the mostly empty train car in confusion.
"I'm talking to you in the wet shirt," she says. "I'm a Protagonist, I can read minds," she explains. "And you're practically yelling your internal narration. I couldn't help but overhear." She scratches the part in her hair between her blue and green afro pigtails.
"Oh, sorry," I offer.
" 'S no problem. More entertaining than what people usually think to themselves this late at night. More PG anyway," the girl says. "Don't call me 'the girl' name's Z but most of my friends call me SlickBack."
"Why?"
"I don't know you well enough to tell you that story or psychically implant it. So what's good, you gonna hook up with this Lamar guy or what?" She asks.
"Uhh, I don't know. It's complicated." I don't know if he wants to be in a relationship the way his life is right now. Oh crap she just heard all that.
"I did hear all that. And if that's the case then ease up I guess, but being in a relationship with someone who cares about you ain't the worst thing in the world." How would you know I care about him? "Dude, you're freaking yourself out, thinking about him on a train at night. It's a safe bet to say that you care about him," SlickBack says. She's got me there. "I do got you there."
The train starts to slow down.
"Listen, I'd love to chat and give obvious advice but my stop is coming up and I got my own Protagonist stuff to do. But you're cute, I'm sure this Lamar guy would be lucky to have you." The train stops and the doors open. She gets up but before she exits she taps my shoulder.
"You got a shot, Jason," she says. I never told her my name but I suppose that doesn't matter right now. She gets off.
I got a shot, huh?
"YEP!" SlickBack says loudly from outside the car. The train speeds away to take me home.
Chapter 3 End.
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