Fire

by ReeseScott23

I am writing this story about a High school senior who gains fire powers. I'm working to become a better writer and I wanted to combine a supernatural style TV show and a high school life show into a story.I will take any criticism. I have left some chapters out that fit in between certain parts of the story, so if there is some missing info don't worry

The Woods

The car was parked in the middle of the woods. The spot was north of the town by a couple miles but not out of reach of two teens in need of privacy that night. What started off as a normal summer night at the county fair grounds ended with Matty on top of a girl, sitting half nude in the back of her car. The vehicle was similar to that Model T from the Titanic, and as the windows fogged up, so did the sky, for a thunderstorm had rolled in. More than just love was in the air, as the two teenagers were witnesses to discovering feelings for each other, they were also witness to the booming of the clouds and the heavy rain as it cascaded down the back and front windshield of the vehicle. What seemed like hours of romance, came to an end at the sound of a shriek coming from the woods.

"What the hell was that" Matty looked out the window and into the dark forest, He looked down at the girl and gave her a kiss, the noise must have startled her, and Matty did his best to give some much needed comfort. Matty grabbed his jacket and decided to check and see if anyone was out there and needed helped. He slipped on his clothes and boots and opened the door, locking it on his way out to keep the girl safe. He looked into the window and said

"I'll be back in a couple minutes, just in case there is a bear, keep the door locked" He chuckled, he thought it was funny even if it wasn't. He saw the girl shake her head through the window and then he headed off.

Matty headed straight to where he felt the noise had came from. After walking for a couple minutes the path he was following started to thin. The trees were getting closer on each side and the rain was only getting colder. Matty was about to head back when he heard the shriek one more time. However, Matty realized that this noise wasn't from a person, he thought to himself about what this noise could be. And while he started thinking, he stopped watching where he was going. And like magic, Matty tripped and fell directly into a puddle.

"God dammit" Matty yelled as he laid in the mud, he was sick and tired of being pummeled by rain. "What the hell am I doing out here, I have a lot better things I could be doing right now" he said out loud as he reached into his pocket to grab his phone. Realizing he must have dropped his phone when he fell he turned his attention to the ground and started looking. All of a sudden he saw a light come from the puddle, it was bright and unusual. He bent down to pick it up. His hand reached slowly into the puddle, almost hesitant, and pulled out his cellphone. Pissed that he just spent twenty minutes in the woods for no reason, Matty headed back to the car.

As Matty got closer to the car he started to hear voices and a car peel out, he paused behind a log and looked over to the gap where the car had been parked. It was gone, the car had left and now Matty was stuck in the woods. As he sat there wondering why she had left, he heard something again. However, this time it was the high pitched voice of Gary. Gary was a member of the delinquents, Stonebridge's very own college dropouts who moved back home and started up a gang. They were infamous for creating trouble everywhere they roamed and Matty didn't want to get involved. As Matty started to stand up to walk around the group he felt boney hands grasp onto the top of his shoulder.

"Where you going bro-tato-chip"

After being found, Matty walked with the taller kid over to the tire tracks created by the girl's car and stopped right in front of Gary.

"So what chu doing out all da way out ere in da woods by yaself there Matthew, who was in that car?" Gary tried to speak like he was in the mafia; however, his voice sounded nowhere close.

"It's Matty and nothing, just chillin, tryna catch some hypothermia, nothing big, don't know anything about a car" Matty grinned and Gary's boys grabbed his arms as Gary wound up and threw a couple blows on Matty.

Matty spit out some blood and smiled. "Gary, why are you beating me up, what do you have to gain" Gary looked at him smirked, pulled out a switchblade and smiled at Matty.

"Holy Shit, is it the 1950's, look put the knife away and we can just settle this in a dance off at the next sock hop, and maybe, go out for some malts afterwards or something" Matty laughed, blood spilled out of his mouth and as he smiled again Gary repaid him with a pair of left hooks.

"Where is Nathan at huh?" Gary tightened his grip on the knife in his right hand as he held it closer to the neck of the now extremely bruised young man. "Tell me where ya brother is, or I gotta stab ya"

As Matty sat there speechless and afraid, he knew what was coming, Gary didn't care about life or consequences, no one in the gang did. Matty was well aware that he was gonna die out here and he thought back to how great the beginning of his night was. He remembered how sweaty and steamy the back of that car was. Matty's life was flashing before his eyes, and there was nothing he could do about it. Gary gripped his knife even tighter wound back and as he thrust the blade forward, the sky cracked open and Matty felt a searing pain as all the lights went out in the world. He let out a scream in the middle of those dark woods, but to his surprise, he wasn't the only one.

The Walk Home

The cawing of birds caused Matty to slowly open up his eyes. He woke up cold, wet, and extremely dazed on the side of the road. Without his shirt and the bruises he received last night, Matty picked himself up and started walking down the road. The sound of Matty's feet stomping against the cold black asphalt was all that could be heard through the now cloudless sky. He was confused, having no idea where he was or what time it was, he followed the mile markers as they took him back into town.

As he walked down the lonely road he tried to remember the reason for his forest vacation. As he saw the edge of his small town Stonebridge, the memories hit him like a bus. Matty was in the forest, having some fun when he shouldn't have been. He remembered how he got caught up with the Delinquents and how he took a couple punches. The rest of the memory was blurry for him however, he thought of how Gary had a knife. And when Matty looked down at his gut to check for a stab wound, there was none. He thought to himself 'what happened to the deliquents'. Matty figured he might not be safe just yet, so he picked his pace up to a run.

Running through the town was a real pain for Matty. First off, his lack of shoes was causing a lot of pain and giving him blisters all over his feet. Second, even though it was the summer, living in the north meant it was cold year round. Thirdly, all the faces he received were a bit condescending. Matty probably would have looked good running shirtless if it weren't for his tattered shorts and absence of shoes. Not to mention the expression of complete puzzlement he wore on his face, which made him look insane. And as he passed the Addison House he heard a familiar voice shout his way.

"What the hell are you doing Kray, this is a public place". Said Madelaine Addison. Madelaine Addison was the red headed daughter of the richest family in Stonebridge and mortal enemy to Matty. Matty didn't hate her however, Matty always found her to be very attractive and tried his best to always show her kindness. Matty could only assume that her hatred originated from them being polar opposites. She was preppy, rich, and hostile; whereas Matty was an honest lower class student whose family has a less than graceful past. This was what Matty had come to realize, however he had also heard rumors of this hate originating from the forgotten years of grade school. Matty was good friends with her until he apparently 'ditched' her for other friends after the third grade. Something that seemed so dumb and pointless to him, but must have meaning to her

She scoffed "Can you hear me Kray, put on a shirt" Matty realized he had stopped running and started just staring at her right in front of her house.

"Haha sorry" he gave a smirk, turned around and picked up his pace again.

"I don't get why you are so mean to him, he is pretty cute" said Madeleine's friend Julie

"Yeah he is hot" Chimed in her other friend CeCe "you are crazy to not like that bod"

"I can dislike who I want, I'm an Addison, let's get inside, we have twilight to watch, don't we?" The Addison girl and her minions headed inside as Matty continued down the road, and as Matty ran off he couldn't help but feel her gaze lingering on his back.

As he continued down the street he entered his neighborhood, Snow Hill. He waved to his neighbors and they waved back, just like they always do. Matty was almost home when he decided to make a stop at his best friends house. He took a right down Valley street and stopped at the first house.

"What is it with this town and everyone being outside today" Matty said as he pulled up to his friends, the Izzo twins' house.

"Oh we were waiting for you, didn't you know?" Bryan, Matty's best friend said with a smirk. Him and his twin brother Mark were sitting on their porch as they watched matty approach their gate. Mark chimed in with "Hurry up, let's play some xbox".

The three of them headed down to the basement for what was sure to be a match of epic proportions on Battlefront 2. As they entered the basement, Matty went to kick his shoes off but suddenly remembered exactly why his soles were so sore.

"Could this couch get any older" Matty dropped to his butt as fast as humanly possible.

"I don't know, can you maybe own a shirt or two there 'Macho Man'" Bryan had a way of busting on Matty that never got old, and strangely enough, showed that he cared.

The other twin seemed to finish Bryan's thought by asking "and Matty, where are your shoes, and where did you go last night?."

"Honestly, it's a real long story let's just wait for Stef to get here" and as those last words slipped out of Matty's mouth, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

"Matty! Wake up, we are supposed to play xbox"

"You just want him to drive the At-Ats so that you can beat me" This comment pissed Bryan off

"Fine I'll let him sleep, I can beat you myself"

Sweet Dreams

Matty woke up in the middle of the forest. It was raining out and bitch black, just like last night. Matty however, was warm, he wasn't freezing from the arctic temperatures like he should have been. He pinched himself to see if he was dreaming and after feeling a sharp pain surge through his forearm, he figured that whatever this was, it was real. He then heard a faint noise in the distance, so he squinted and focused real hard on where it was coming from. As he crept in the noise's direction, he could feel the mud seep in between his toes and the rain get heavier. As he got closer and closer he noticed where the noise was coming from. It was him. He was watching himself take a beating from the delinquents. He saw how they started punching him and roughing him up. Matty watched in fear as Gary wound his arm back, knife in hand and ready to deal some pain. And just at that moment Matty saw what happened. It was lightning that was the pain he felt last night. And as soon as it struck, Matty woke up. He was on the Izzo's couch, sweating out of control. He sat up with a massive loss of breath as he looked around for the twins. After scanning the basement for them and finding nothing, he turned to the stairs and headed up to the kitchen.

As Matty reached the top of the stairs, he could hear the boys fighting over something in the kitchen. Matty assumed it was probably something stupid like usual, and when he opened the door he was meet with a wild surprise.

"Matty quick help" yelled Bryan as he started swatting at the uncontrollable flame coming from the kitchen stove.

Matty opened the pantry, grabbed a plastic tub, and ran to the sink to fill it up. "How the hell did this happen" Matty yelled from across the kitchen island. He poured the water on the fire only to watch it grow higher.

"Bryan tried to set the house on fire" chirped Mark as he marched down the stairs to save the day with a mini fire extinguisher. Mark sprayed the fire until it was completely extinguished. "Great going Bryan, next time just make a hot pocket in the microwave or something."

In anger Bryan replied "I was." Bryan walked over to the microwave and opened it up to reveal a perfectly made hot pocket on a square paper plate. "I never even used the stove, it just went up in flames out of nowhere."

All three of the boys looked at each other confused. Then they looked at the microwave, then the stove, then back to each other. Their stares were constant, so constant in fact that even the home phone ringing didn't put a halt to their glares. Finally their stares were interrupted by the quiet voice of Stef on the answering machine.

"Hey guys, it's me Stef of course, I don't know why you didn't answer. That's not important however, i'm calling cuz I wont be over till later, sorry to disappoint, see you guys tonight and I know we will have fun at the End Of Summer Celebration, so excited can't wait, see you guys, love you Mark" At the sound of the 'L-word' Bryan and Matty looked at each other and stuck their tongue out, making noises of disgust and mocking their friend and his girlfriend.

"I liked it better when Stef wasn't attractive, it was a simpler time" Matty joked as he lightly slapped Mark's arm.

Bryan shook his head in agreement "Yeah me too"

"That's cuz you like my girlfriend" Mark said as him and his brother locked eyes and started wrestling, screaming all sorts of 'no's' and insults. Matty broke up the fight and then took off his friend's shirt and handed it back to them. As bryan grabbed it from him, Matty started for the front door.

"Where the hell you going?" Bryan asked in his normal angsty teen voice.

Without even turning around Matty yelled back "I'm going home, gotta grab my own clothes, i'll

come back when Stef is here or you guys can just come pick me up, i'm cool with whatever, bye bryan, 'Love you"" Matty finished with a mocking tone aimed to make fun of Mark.

"You don't need a ride home?"

Matty chuckled as he closed the door. Not answering Mark's question just to mess with him.

Matty followed the Izzo sidewalk down to their gate and slammed it shut as he walked through, something that was sort of a tradition for him when leaving the Izzo house. Matty was always treated like family when it came to the Izzo's and since befriended them in grade school, he has spent almost every weekend and most of the summer at their house. However last night was an exception of course, because he didn't spend the night at the Izzo's, he spent it in the woods. Matty's thoughts faded and he again, thought back to last night.

(Flashback)

Matty unbuckled his seatbelt as his dad put the old Ford Truck in park. Matty only brought a couple bucks with him to the fair and decided to leave his wallet at home. As Matty opened the door and walked around to the other side to talk to his dad.

"I got some extra dollars if you need it Matty" His Father said reached for his more than likely empty wallet. Matty's family was struggling financially and had been since his mother's death a couple years back. His father fell into a deep depression, started drinking and lost his job. Now he had to work deadbeat jobs just to make enough to support them both.

"Dad it's fine, I have enough, don't worry about it." Matty waved goodbye to his dad as he pulled out of the parking lot and back onto the main road. He watched his father leave and then put his hands in his pocket and walked up to the ticket booth.

"Five dollars please" the lady at the window said while chewing her gum, mouth wide open.

"Um… I'm Matty, Matty Kray" The lady then looked down at the sheet, nodded her head and let him in free. The reason why Matty was allowed in for free was the result of a deal he made with the owner. He taught the owner's son how to shoot a basketball and so every summer for the last two years he has been able to come in for free. Tonight was different though, Matty's whole senior class was here to celebrate the beginning of their last year. He was here to have a good time.

"Hey stranger" Bryan and Mark were sitting on a bench in the food section waiting for their friend Matty. They were surrounded by all the other seniors sitting at other tables.

"Look who finally showed up, hey everyone Matty is here, we are so glad he finally showed up" Madelaine mocked Matty's late entrance through her megaphone. She was standing on one of the picnic tables as she spoke to the crowd of seniors. "Ok seniors, It is me, your class president of course, now we only have one more weekend of summer left, so let's end the summer right, everyone grab a cup of 'water'". She gave an obvious wink to the crowd and received a roar of applause back. Madeleine's parents were business partners with the owner, this allowed her to sneak in gallons of alcohol, only for the seniors. "Now everyone, finish your cup, grab another and go have some fun."

Matty and The twins grabbed their cups and raised them to their mouth. Like usual Mark and Matty raced to finish their cups first as Bryan sipped his rejoicing in it's poor taste.

"Hey boys, need some extra drinks?" The voice was very familiar to the boys and that's because it belonged to Stef. She sat down next to them and handed out each a Solo Cup. Her signature smile was plastered on her face and she looked happier than ever.

"Hey Stef, where ya been?" Matty asked as Mark reached his arm around her waist and pulled her close.

"I wanted to make a dramatic entrance, sort of like your cool late entrance that Madelaine noticed."

Matty sighed "I don't know why she always has to make fun of me like that, and I wasn't late, she texted everyone 7 and that's when I got here"

Bryan interrupted the pointless conversation by saying "Whatever it doesn't matter, lets just go play some games"

"Yeah, we will catch up, go have fun" Mark said as he pulled Stef even closer. Matty and Bryan got up out of their seats and set their sights on the arcade games.

Three hours later, Matty and Bryan were hoping from game to game winning prizes and tokens. And as they got to the fair's last game, The Flame wheel, they heard an argument from the Horse Race booth. As Matty turned to find out what was going on, Bryan grabbed his forearm

"Dude it's not our problem."

"Well maybe it could be" Matty shook his grip off and marched over to the game booth. It was there that he saw Bryce Parker, the captain of the lacrosse team forcing himself onto Madelaine.

"Come on, you're drunk I'm drunk let's get out of here" He wrapped his arm around her and she shrugged it off with force. "God I love redheads, so feisty" He grabbed for her again, this time around the waist and she slapped him with full force. And as he stepped towards her again a voice pierced the air.

"You can stop right there Parker" Matty moved over so that he was in between the two of them. Parker obviously wasn't that drunk and was just hoping to get an easy slay. "Now, I don't care if you go play another game, leave, or jump off a bridge, but please leave her the hell alone". He then added "and all the other girls here too"

"Frick off Matty" and with that he turned grabbed his lacrosse 'frat' boys and left the fairgrounds.

"Thanks" she said quietly and as she walked toward her friends who were there to comfort her, Matty couldn't help but feel like a hero, and that brought a little smirk to his face, and it stayed that way until Bryan come over and figuratively slapped it off.

"Hey, Hey, Hey Matty, hey Matty" Matty jumped at the sound of another voice. He fazed out of his flashback and back into reality. He turned to see a light blue bug parked on the curb, with a short blonde girl in the driver seat. The girl was none other than Stef's little sister Gracie. Gracie was two years younger than Stef and Matty. She had a very strong obsession with Matty. This was the result of Matty helping, a then very nerdy and reserved Gracie, get acclimated to high school. He had even taken her to his junior prom to make her feel special. He had no idea that the summer of her sophomore year she would grow into a perfect dime. Gracie traded her glasses in for contacts and her baggy jeans and harry potter books for a 'rockin bod' and a 'booty that drove the boys crazy'. She had all the boys in the town wanting her number, but she only wanted Matty. And so every chance Gracie had, she tried to spend time with him. "Looking very sexy today Matty, where did your shirt go" She was checking every inch of him out.

"Oh, I lost it in the woods, wrestling a bear" then he added "oh and a tiger" He finished with his signature smirk.

Gracie laughed "Why don't you let me give you a ride silly"

"That's a bit forward don't you think?" as Matty stuck his tongue out, Gracie unlocked her doors.

"I meant in my car" she stuck her tongue out too and Matty reached for the door and opened it. "I'll drop you off at your house but we need to make a quick stop first.

Matty sat outside Gracie's house, in her blue beetle

"We should uh… maybe do this more often." She gave a thumbs up for an answer because she wasn't able to speak. "Hey… What if your sister sees us." Gracie paused looked up at Matty and then continued.

After a couple minutes Gracie came up for air and Matty reached to put his seat belt on.

"You know, no one is home, why don't you come inside"

"I would, but I actually really need to get home." Matty was confused in many ways. This was one of his best friends' sister, also he wasn't sure if he wanted to go any further. He liked what they had but wasn't sure of anything.

"Ok fine" She said disappointed as she buckled her seat belt. They then headed off towards Matty's house. "Will I at least see you at the EOS tonight"

"EOS?" Matty had no idea what she was talking about.

"The End of Summer Celebration silly, you are so cute" she shook her head, giggled and after a couple minutes of driving they arrived at Matty's.

"Ok, I'll uh.. see you later Gracie" he gave her a kiss on the cheek and opened the door and exited the car. She took off down the road with a smile on her face and Matty knew that he was walking a very thin line. Matty headed inside to take a long deserved nap.

EOS?

Flashback dream

"You are my hero Matty" The gang was back to sitting at the foodcourt and bryan was teasing Matty for saving Madelaine from the Frat Boys.

"So what exactly happened" Stef and Mark asked at the same time.

"It's not much to tell, I saw Bryce forcing himself on some girls so I figured i'd.."

Stef interrupted him "What girls?"

"It was Madelaine and her friends" Matty continued his story but was immediately interrupted by bryan

"Nah, it was just Madelaine, I don't know why you helped her out, she always gives you shit, when has she ever been nice to you?"

"I don't think that matters, ya know. She gives me a hard time but that doesn't make her a villain ya know." Matty scratched his head as he continued "so Bryce was all up on her. And I said 'don't do that dude' I was pretty cool not gonna lie."

"You were so manly, and hot" Bryan and Mark did their signature 'Macho Man' insult of Matty. They started flexing, pretending to take mirror selfies, and Mark went as far as to start doing ab workouts and pretend curls. After the gang laughed it all off they grabbed more drinks and continued hanging with the rest of their class. And again Madelaine got back on the mic to make an announcement to the seniors

"Hello again seniors" It was apparent that she had too much to drink. "This is the last announcement, I promise." She giggled and so did her friends who were standing behind her. "So as most of you know, you shouldn't be driving right now, so I rented a party bus to bring everyone back to CeCe's house to continue this party, it's boarding in 15 minutes so get your last rounds of games in" A senior in the crowd raised his hand. "Yes there will be booze there , don't worry." She hopped off the microphone and the gang's attention bounced back to them.

"We going?" Stef asked. Matty wasn't sure if he wanted to go, but he would do whatever the gang wanted to do.

"I want to play a couple more games and then I'm down to go" Mark answered and looked towards Bryan in anticipation of his response.

Bryan shrugged "It's a dumb high school party, I'm down."

Stef looked at Matty "It's up to you Matty, what do you say?"

"Ok fine let's do it." Matty was ready to go have fun, however he felt he should give the owner a quick visit just to stop in and say hello. Matty stood up and headed towards the back of the grounds past the food tents, towards the operations building.

"Where you going" Bryan yelled out to him in his normal fashion

"Bathroom" Matty yelled back over his shoulder like he always does. He continued past the food tents and to the back of the fair grounds.

(end flashback)

"Hey dude, you awake" Matty's dad was sitting on the edge of Matty's bed when he awoke the teenager. Matty looked over to his desk and caught a glimpse of the alarm clock that read '5:30'. His dad had a habit of waking Matty from his weekend naps.

"How was work" Matty asked as he sat up, rubbing his eyes. His dad got up and walked over to the door, looking half asleep already. His dad turned and answered with a shrug. Matty got up and gave his dad a hug. "Hey you go get some sleep, Ima get a ride with the Izzo's"

"Love you dude"

"I love you too dad, get some sleep already old man" matty joked as he kicked his dad out of his room and shut the door. Matty changed into an outfit that seemed appropriate for the parade. Grabbed his wallet, his house keys, and headed towards the kitchen. He reached into the fridge and grabbed a water bottle, when his phone started ringing. Matty reached into his pocket and answered the call. "You guys coming soon?"

"We are outside you idiot" Bryan answered with his usual hostility and as Matty walked to the window to check, he could hear the loud blare of the car horn. Matty grabbed his jacket then walked outside.

Parade

Matty locked his house door behind him and headed to the grey sudan that was Stef's. He opened the shotgun door and sat down. He looked up to see bryan driving and the two love birds in the backseat. Matty slipped his phone back into his pocket and then turned to his best friend.

"They are making you drive again?" Matty blew a raspberry. "That's harsh man, is Gracie not coming?"

"Yeah she got caught up with her AP homework, and Believe it or not, I offered to, I'd rather this, then sitting in the back and watching them 'love it up', ya know?" Matty shook his head in agreement and turned to look at the heavily forested road through the icy windshield, when Stef interrupted the departing of his train of thought.

"So you gonna tell us where you went last night or not" Stef peeked her head over the console and towards the front seat. "How come you didn't go to CeCe's?"

Matty honestly didn't know if he was going to tell his friends the truth of what happened last night. He didn't know how he would explain to them that he was struck by lightning, or about how he woke up on the side of the road, or that he wasn't alone.

"Hey, you still there?" Mark flicked Matty in the ear

"Ow, yeah I'm still here calm down" Matty turned and flicked Mark back. "And if you must know, I went home last night, I wasn't feeling the Party vibes"

"Your home, or a girl's home?" Bryan quickly added

"You need to focus on the road, and it was my home, no girl involved." This was met with an immediate, 'sure" from everyone in the car, as they were all in disbelief of Matty's story. "You guys are all ridiculous, I don't know why I'm friends with you" They all laughed and after a couple more minutes of driving, Bryan pulled into a parking lot off the main road and parked the car. The four of them exited the car and walked down the sidewalk towards the large commotion surrounding Town Square.

"Do you think the bouncy house will be back this year?" Bryan asked with the biggest smirk on his face.

The gang got to the top of the hill and looked down the main road to see crowds of people enjoying the last day of summer. There were food courts, carnival games, children chasing each other, and even a bounce house. All the local families were there. The rich, the poor, the in between, they all showed up to the annual celebration. Before breaking off from each other, the gang decided to visit the Izzo's Parents who were enjoying themselves at the food court, socializing with the other parents of the town.

"Hey Matty" Mrs. Izzo smiled so big as she gave Matty a hug. "We haven't seen you in a couple days, what you been up to?" Mr. Izzo stretched his hand out to shake Matty's.

"No trouble, I hope?" Mr. Izzo eyed Matty through his glasses in the same way he always does when he hasn't seen Matty in awhile.

"Actually dad we just killed someone, should have been there, you could have watched" Bryan jumped in to ease the tension off Matty's shoulders.

"Very funny Bry Guy, now me and your mother are going to enjoy some more food, be back by 12, you got that Mark?" Mr Izzo boomed his voice over to Mark and Stef who had sat down at a bench to romanticize some more.

Mark responded with a "Sure" never taking his eyes off his beloved.

"See you later dudes" Bryan and Matty stood there waving goodbye and their attention changed from the lovely older couple to the much younger couple cuddling on the bench.

"Hey Love Birds!" Matty and Bryan slid in between the couple at the same time "What do we wanna do? I know Matty is gonna ditch us for some chicks, like he does often"

"I don't always do that, plus nothing ever pans out anyway" Matty had a habit of going 'girl crazy'

"Well what about last night then" Stef called him out and Matty started to blush a little.

"I already told you guys, I wasn't feeling it so I just went home" The gang took the next couple minutes busting on each other before deciding to go see what the Festival had to offer them.

After a couple hours the group stopped by the end of the street, where the field began, to watch the fireworks. After enjoying a long night of cotton candy comas, phony face paintings, and messing around, the gang found a nice patch of grass to sit down and watch the upcoming show of blazing rockets.

"I wish every night could be like this" Matty put his hands behind his head and looked up at the stars. The north star was bright, just like it always was, and Matty couldn't help but think about its place in the universe. Then he thought about his. For the third time that day, he thought back to last night.

Flashback

Matty finally reached the fair office, however; he walked straight past it and headed to the parking lot. He could see all the seniors and his friends loading onto the bus. He checked his phone and saw a text from his best friend, and for the first time, Matty chose to ignore it. He walked up to a grey hatchback that had a girl leaning against it, it looked like she was waiting for him and that's because she was.

"Took you long enough, I suppose you got my text" the girl said with a smirk

Matty answered back "I thought you were drinking tonight" he walked up to her, got real close and stared her right in the eyes, their noses almost touching. "And I always get your texts"

"Nah not tonight, tonight is special" She looked back up at him. Matty quickly brought her close and laid his lips on hers. They broke apart, "Get in the car" she said, "I know the perfect spot". And the two teenagers headed up the windy backroads of Stonebridge. looking for a spot to put their feelings for each other on display.

(Back to reality)

"I'm actually excited for school tomorrow" Mark's comment was met with puzzling looks.

"Why" Bryan asked his brother.

"Well why not, it's senior year and we got football tomorrow and then basketball soon after that, this is our year, it won't be too bad" Mark ended his school supporting rant with a smile as he turned and snuggled with his girlfriend. Matty sat up and an idea dawned in his head.

"Hey Bryan, you wanna play chicken?" Bryan shook his head no of course; however, that didn't stop Matty from forcing him to come along. "Come on, let's just try to get as close to the fireworks as possible". Matty and Bryan started walking down the narrowing rock path located on the side of the meadow. The went slow, to hide from anyone who may not want them getting so close.

"Do you think we can get close enough to light our own fireworks?" Bryan gave a smirk and Matty knew that the game was about to start. They walked up to the tent that had all the fireworks that were waiting to be shot off. "Go touch one"

Matty laughed "I'll do more than that" Matty nudged his best friend as he ran by. Matty turned the corner to what looked like a firework buffet. He grabbed the biggest one he could and headed back to where Bryan was stationed. "You ready"

"Yeah light that shit" Bryan handed Matty the lighter after he stuck it in the ground. Bryan ran back to hide behind a rock. And as Matty flicked the lighter open, more than just a spark came out. Bryan sat and watched as before the lighter touched the firework, an explosion, like a thousand fires, enveloped his friend.

(Inside the explosion Matty stood there as the fire surrounded him, he could feel everything; however, the fire didn't hurt. There was no pain and the fire felt natural gliding up against his skin. He knew that this wasn't normal, and that he should be dead or something else.)

The heat coming off was so hot that Bryan was forced to shut his eyes and duck to avoid receiving any burns. He laid there with his hands on his ears and his eyes shut for a couple minutes. But then the world silenced, and all Bryan could hear was the popping of the other fireworks in the background. He feared for his friends life, and terrified of what he would see, he peeked gingerly over the rock. Matty stood in front of him with burn holes in his clothes and black ash all over his body.

Bryan was in shock, he had no idea how his friend was perfectly fine

Matty started laughing "Dude, that was crazy"

Time to Leave

"Come on, we are leaving now" Bryan yelled to Stef and Mark who were practically laying on each other on their picnic blanket. Matty was following close behind him. Mark noticed Matty's attire and stood straight up.
"What the hell did you two do?" Mark was surprised to see both Bryan telling them all what to do and Matty covered in black ash and burnt clothing.

Matty started laughing "Dude, I blew up, it was awesome" Bryan turned around and got in Matty's face.

"It isn't awesome, you could have been seriously injured, you are so lucky that nothing happened. We never should have gone down there anyway, what were you thinking?" Bryan was practically headbutting Matty as he spoke.

"I thought you wanted to go down there, you were practically begging me to light the firework." Matty was now shouting and both him and Bryan were getting very heated.

Mark interjected "Guys I think you both need to calm down, it was a fluke and let's just be glad that we are all safe."

Bryan and Matty sat down,back to back, and simultaneously said 'whatever'. They sat there enjoying the rest of the firework show and then headed home. However; unknown to Matty, Bryan's mind stayed racing and he was secretly forming his own thoughts of what happened that night. And he wouldn't soon forget a single detail.

The gang piled back into Stef's car, but this time it was a very silent ride home. Bryan and Matty weren't talking and the lovebirds didn't want to get in the middle of everything. Soon after they arrived in Matty's neighborhood Bryan broke the silence.

He said "Just don't do anything that stupid again, ok?"

The car came to a stop in front of his house and he nodded back at bryan before opening up his door and exiting the vehicle. And as the car drove off they all screamed out at Matty 'see you at school' and 'end of the summer chants'.. He walked inside and headed straight to his room, he was sure his father was passed out so he didn't bother to check on him. Matty threw his burnt clothes on the ground, grabbed a towel and walked into the bathroom. He started the shower up. And after a few minutes it was finally hot enough. He stepped in and the feeling of warm water hitting his face was not only relaxing but welcoming too. And then Matty reached for the handle, he didn't even stop to think about it, his hand went straight for the hot handle and he turned it all the way up. The steam coming off the shower alone would have hurt anyone else's skin. However, Matty enjoyed it, his skin wasn't bothered, he enjoyed the heat. He needed it.

First Day of School.

Matty's alarm went off at exactly 6:40, he rolled around to his left and turned it off. He wasn't ready for school. He got up, put on some warm clothes, grabbed his school supplies, football gear, and keys. His dad was already at work, so he immediately left his house and started walking to school. The school wasn't far, it was only a 15-minute walk and Matty had at least till 7:30 to get there. In hindsight he probably should have had Bryan pick him up but Matty was worried. He realized how truly upset Bryan was last night and now he worried that he may have really hurt his friend. But then Matty thought about his well being and why he wasn't hurt. He thought back to all the weird occasions that have happened lately. He realized something unusual was going on and he needed to find out what as soon as possible.

Matty arrived at school on time for once and since he listed the Izzo's address as his own he was in the same homeroom as his best friends.

"Good Morning my bestest friends in the world, how I have missed you" Matty always found a way to annoy the twins and cheer them up at the same time.

Bryan answered in the saddest way known to man "I hate school, kill me now" To bug him even more Mark gave his brother the biggest hug in the world which started a fight between all three kids.

Matty ended the fight with the most important question in student history. "So what classes did you guys get?" They were lucky, extremely lucky, the majority of their classes lined up. "Awesome" Matty was more than excited to have a solid schedule. His only problem now was his work study, a class he needed that paid him to do certain tasks for the school.

"What classes does Stef have" Bryan looked at his twin. Mark pulled out his phone and texted his girlfriend, they all waited patiently. Mark opened her message and they all held their breath.

"She has the same" Mark replied as they all rejoiced. Then, with perfect timing, the bell rang and it was time for first block.

After hours of classes with the twins, Matty finally made it to his last block, his work study. He was told he would be working with another student this term for the first time ever but wasn't told who it would be. As he sat and waited for his new partner he whipped out his phone and texted the girl from the other night. 'Where did you go, what happened, why did you leave?' He sent this to her and before he could get a reply in walked Julie, Madeline's best friend.

"What are you doing here?" Matty asked, "aren't you rich?"

"Its personal, more importantly, what were you doing running shirtless through the town yesterday morning?" she sat down right in front of him to show her 'first day of school outfit'. She was definitely hot and Matty couldn't deny how great her ass looked today. "Why don't we get you shirtless again " she went to grab for Matty's shirt and he backed away. Matty knew what she wanted and he didn't think it was right, he still didn't know what happened the other night and he didn't wanna jump into anything new until he had a talk with the girl.

"Ok so we need to start doing laundry" He said this as he backed away from the girls grasp and grabbed detergent off the back table. Her tongue went back into her mouth and her smile turned into a frown. "Take this" Matty said while handing her a basket of clothes.

"Ok fine whatever" She said as they started up their actual work study duties.

After avoiding a sex crazed Julie for a whole block, Matty was ready to blow off some steam. He headed to the locker room to get changed for football practice.

"Good luck breaking my tackles today Matty, or his too for that matter" Mark chirped at Matty whilst he and his brother walked towards their lockers, which were stationed right next to Matty. Bryan and Mark, as different as they are, when put together were a deadly pair of middle linebackers that had been named all conference two years in a row. Matty was a third down back and receiving back specialist, he was good at it, but didn't play as much as the twins.

"oh , you two? You two can't tackle me" Like usual this comment caused an argument between the kids, with the twins being on the same side for the first time ever. Matty ended it however, with some gossip. "Yo, guys, Julie is my work study partner, and she tried to get with me, in the frikin laundry room." The boys then heard the whistle of their head coach and decided it was a good idea to move to the field.

After hours worth of running back drills and getting yelled at by his gym-teacher-coaches, Matty was at home, laying down on his bed. He knew how lucky he was to still be going to school and to still be alive for that matter. He was almost seriously hurt the other night, and his mind still lingered on the situation and what actually happened. He then thought about the firework accident, and how he should have died there too. He remembered the feeling of being surrounded by those flames. The heat felt almost soft when it touched his skin, and as polar as it sounded, almost like water. It flowed with him. The flames belonged with him. Matty reached for his desk and grabbed a lighter. He flipped the zippo open and the flame sparked out. Raging harder than it normally would. He ran his hand over, testing for pain, and when he experienced none, he stuck his whole hand on top of it, peered at his hand as it was enveloped by the controlled flame, and smiled.

One week later.

"We got a call from some hikers earlier this morning" A deputy said as his sherif, Sherif Booster McCormick arrived on scene. "They said it smelled like a BBQ so they checked it out, and damn weren't they surprised". The sherif and his deputy walked past the yellow barriers and into the forest.

"What is it" McCormick asked as he took out his gloves.

"Bodies" The deputy said as They both glanced over the flat pad of grass that was burnt through, all the way to red clay underneath. There rest four bodies, the delinquents, charred to a crisp and almost unrecognizable. The deputy pointed to one of the forensics on the scene. "Can we get these boys packaged and taken back to town, They smell great by the way".

"Yes sir" the forensic unit leader tip-toed over to the last body when he let out a shriek. "Sir, this one is still breathing."

The First Home Game

In the middle of the town hospital, lay a man, charred to bits and in a coma. How he got that way, none of the cops were sure. He had been picked up outside town limits in Stonebridge forest. The sheriff walked into the ICU. He called to one of the nurses at the reception desk and she pointed him towards the burn victims room.

"Anything yet" the sheriff asked his deputy who was sitting, watching the patient, waiting for him to wake up.

"No, not yet" he answered. "But we found his wallet in his pocket, we know who he is now".

A month later

The sun broke through Matty's blinders and hit him directly in the eyes. He reached over and hit his alarm clock before it was able to wake him up with his favorite Childish Gambino song which, thanks to his alarm, was slowly becoming his least favorite. Matty quickly got changed and headed into the kitchen to start cooking himself breakfast. His dad was already at work so he only needed to make an omelet for one. He grabbed a pan and tossed it on the stove. He reached over to turn it on and as soon as the flame sparked he cracked his eggs and tossed them on the pan. He looked over to find a spatula to flip the eggs, but he couldn't see any. He reached in with his hand and laid it next to the yellow eggs, feeling the heat but it wasn't hurting him. He flipped the egg with his hands, realizing how gross it was but rejoiced in the fact that he could do so without being burned. He finished making his omelet and slid the slimy creation onto a plate. But when he reached for the stove knob to turn it off, he realized, he had never turned the knob on in the first place. That fire came from him, it must have.

Matty finished his breakfast and headed for the door. He went to grab his jacket but he stopped, he had an idea. It was 40 degrees out, but he opened the door without his jacket anyways, and started walking. He wasn't cold, his insides felt extremely warm. In his t-shirt and jeans he felt as if he was in Florida at a beach of some sort. He received a couple honks from other students as they drove by, wondering what the hell he was doing. This time of the year and almost every season jackets were almost mandatory for the cold. He didn't give them any attention until a certain blue bug rolled up next to him on the side of the road. The window rolled down and Matty instantly knew who it was.

"Matty, are you crazy, it's like 0 degrees out right now" as she said this she reached over her console attempting to open the shotgun door for him. Matty couldn't help but check her out as she stretched for the door. He also couldn't help but laugh because she was too short to reach. "Get in, it is freezing". Matty finally gave in and got in her car. "well?" She asked, she seemed to really care about Matty and he actually liked it. Matty thought it was really cute.

"I felt fine, it's not even that cold." He looked at her and she just shrugged and realized arguing against Matty's physically toughness was useless. "You know I could have kept walking, you didn't have to drive me".

"Yeah, I could have" she answered, then she quickly added "But if you get to school early, we will have time for me to show you what I have on under this coat" She took one hand off the wheel and placed it on her jacket as she started unzipping.

"OK, how about you focus on driving" he grabbed her hand and put it back on the wheel, "And when we get to school you can show me".

"But where?" she asked, ecstatic at the idea. Matty pulled out his phone.

"I'll have my coach leave the locker room open and we can be alone in there"

They arrived at school and after parking, they headed to the athletic wing. Matty went first and he slowly opened the door, seeing it was unlocked he waved for grace to head over. They went into the football wing. It smelled like pure shoulder pads in their but neither of the teens cared. Matty grabbed her ass as he picked her up and started pressing his lips against hers. He unzipped her jacket so fast that he almost ripped it, they were gripping each other and taking off more clothes. It wasn't till their were almost naked that he heard a shower head turn on. They looked at each other in complete fear.

"Shit" Matty said as he grabbed for her pants "Put these on fast and get out of here" She giggled even though she feared getting in trouble.

"Ok, but let's do this again, and goodluck tonight, I'll be there cheering for you" Grace changed quickly and headed to homeroom.

Matty grabbed a towel and headed over to the showers, He looked, and no one was in it. He figured he was going to be late to homeroom anyway, so he hopped in and turned the water as hot as he could get it.

"Really, her?" a voice came out of the shadows. "What does she have that I don't" it was the girl from the fairgrounds.

"It was you?" Matty chuckled, "You scared the shit out of me, and nothing" He noticed she was wearing only a towel too. "So, I'm guessing you got my text then?"

"I told you, I always do, sometimes I just choose to ignore it" She came closer and Matty reached for the shower and turned it down, so it wouldn't scold her. She asked "How can you stand it being that hot, shouldn't that hurt" She stared at his body as he stood there naked in the shower.

"Hey, my eyes are up here, and nah, I got tough skin, where did you go the other night, you had me worried?" The tone changed instantly

"I'm sorry" She said, "I heard other voices and panicked, I got so scared" He knew how she felt. He didn't want to make her feel bad about getting spooked.

"It's ok, I got home safe anyway" He pulled her towel off and threw it on the ground. He grabbed at the body that he was used to spending nights next to under the covers. Scanning her up and down.

"Hey, my eyes are up here" She said, Matty just grabbed her ass tighter after that comment. "Did anything happen that night?" his reflection stared back at him in her gorgeous eyes.

"I'll tell you after this shower, this right here, is more important".

Matty walked out of the locker room in his tight white tee and jeans, now squeaky clean. He looked down at his phone to see multiple texts from his best friends. They read 'Yo, you coming today?' and 'you don't wanna drop out and die, come to school'. He knew which text belonged to which twin. The bell to start first block rang and Matty headed to class, bringing a hand full of excuses with him for his teachers.

The police station was quiet as usual. In a small town with the only crime coming from the local 'wanna-be gang', the station was usually quiet. The sheriff was sitting in his office, head on his desk, fast asleep. The deputy knocked on the door, waking him from his silent slumber. There were two people behind him. It was the hikers who had found the body, Mr. and Mrs. Polansky.

"boss , these are the hikers that found the bodies". The deputy helped guide them into his office before stepping out and closing the door. "I'll let you guys be".

"Hi, I'm sheriff McCormick", he stood up and shook their hands. "So thank you for coming in, I just have a few more questions I want to ask you two."

"Ok, we will answer anything we can" Mr. Polansky said whilst holding his wife's hand. They were both shaking and it was evident to McCormick that they were both still in shock from the incident.

"Ok, first question, how big was the fire that caused this incident?"

"There was no fire" Mrs. Polansky answered without hesitation. This comment took the sheriff back.

"Excuse me, what do you mean" The sheriff didn't understand how there wasn't a fire when they found these bodies burnt to a crisp.

"There was no fire when we got there, I'm a scientist sheriff , I work with the fire protection agencies around here and I'm telling you, those bodies have been burning for maybe months now". The sheriff was wrong, they weren't scared of what they saw, the couple was scared of whatever did this. They were worried about the future, about their safety.

"What does that mean" He asked, developing frustration and worry at a rapid rate.

"It means, whatever did this produces a fire hot enough to have kept them burning for months." The sheriff was in disbelieve and was unsure of what she meant. "No forest fire can do that sir, not even flamethrowers can get that hot, they must have all died instantly, like on contact, nothing can survive this heat.. It's unfathomable"

"But one of them did."

Back at the hospital the sole survivor of this incident laid in a hospital bed, fingers twitching.

Back at the high school, Matty laid bent over at his desk, fast asleep. It was fourth block and Matty and Julie were supposed to be working. What he didn't know was that Julie had invaded the work study room with her mob of friends. And instead of doing the laundry like she was supposed to, she sat there talking to CeCe and Madelaine until their fiendish gossiping woke him up. He slowly opened his eyes and noticed the girls sitting there looking right back at him. There glaring was powerful and something that Matty didn't really appreciate too much.

"What are you guys doing here?" Matty was confused but not completely surprised by their presence. They tended to swarm around together but he had yet to see them come hangout at the work study.

"Nothing, just talking" stated Madelaine.

"Oh Matty, are you guys gonna win tonight" CeCe asked eagerly, it was clear that the two side girls had a thing for Matty. It was even more evident because for the last month Julie had tried to jump his bones everyday.

"Yeah are you gonna start?" Julie said as her and CeCe scooted in closer towards Matty.

"He won't start, he is a third down back and is mainly used for passing situations and outside pitches." Madeleine's answer was a slight curveball to her minions as everyone in the room, including Matty, were confused as to why she knew so much about his position. She finally spoke up with a couple stutters. "I.. I.. know a lot about football ok" The girls answered with a resounding 'oh' and they looked back at Matty for his answer.

"Well I think we can win and I would really like to beat Horn High, it should be a good game, are you guys coming?". Matty knew that they had a real chance to beat them. He just didn't want to sound too confident in front of Madelaine. He didn't want to hear any insults that she might throw out.

"Yeah we might, speaking of coming, where did you go after the fair Matty, I thought you were gonna come back to my party, you protected us from Parker. I wanted to reward you." after CeCe said 'reward you' Matty could see Madelaine stick her tongue out in disgust from the corner of his eye. Madelaine added on

"Yeah Matty, you go home? Where you scared to come party?" all three girls were now in his face, expecting an answer. Matty had to answer wisely to avoid any criticism.

"Yeah sorry I didn't make it, I had to get home, didn't want my dad to be up all night worrying" He knew that his dad wouldn't ever be awake for him when he got back. However, he didn't want anyone to know what really happened that night. The bell rang and fourth block ended, it was time for Matty to head to the locker room and wait for his game. The girls wished him good luck as they walked out the door.

"I don't know why you gave him so much shit for not coming, you didn't come either Madi" CeCe called out her leader as they walked down the hall.

"I told you already, I couldn't make it, I had way too much to drink that night." They continued down the hall and out of sight as Matty moved past crowds of students towards the locker room.

Matty noticed his best friends stopped at their neighboring lockers. They were fighting like always, this time over a sandwich their mother had made for one of them and not the other.

"It's our first game and you guys can't stop fighting for one day?" Matty said as he slid in between the twins, putting an abrupt halt to the fighting.

"This is how we get excited for the game Matty, you know that" Mark said as he threw a quick slug to the side of Matty's shoulder. They all joined in, in one massive wrestling match, and like usual the Twins decided to team up and take Matty down together. After a couple minutes of breath taking battle Matty sat down on the locker room bench, out of air and defeated

"knock it off with the twin attacks, will ya." Matty picked his backpack up, which had fallen during the rampage, and tossed it into the bottom of his locker. "Come on, let's go eat. "He added. The boys dipped out the side door of the locker room and into the cafeteria to receive their team meal.

It was minutes before the game and the team was sitting in the locker room. 50 students all wearing the same white and red home uniforms. And as they all sat there gearing for war, one student had his mind on other things. Matty loved his life and his friends. He loved playing football and messing around in school. He thought about how much this 'accident' might change him. He didn't know to what extent it would affect him, but he felt strength, he felt power, and it was all extremely inviting.

Mark walked in holding the team sledge hammer with his brother right behind him. Mark wore number 54 and his younger twin brother wore the reverse. Mark was covered in eye black and shooter sleeves, decked out in flashy gear. Bryan wore nothing fancy and nothing extra. His game day routines and attire personified his emotions to a point. They both had the look of war in their eyes, ready to play their hearts out. Matty took notice of this as he too found his heart start to race and the blood start to pump. Matty felt heated, and he liked it.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the General's first home game, I am your announcer Mr. Pete, and I will be here all night to keep you entertained and to inform you about our delicious concessions and their deals" As the announcer introduced himself to the audience, the audience acquainted themselves with the cold, metal bleachers they were all to familiar with. It was a Friday night and as usual the whole town was there. Stef and Gracie had come to see the boys play. Even Madelaine and her popular crowd were there. All of them in the student section, being rowdy and causing trouble. Everyone was there, Matty knew everyone from the town would make it, everyone but one. It didn't usually get to him too bad, he knew his dad had to work a lot to support them, it wasn't his fault and he understood that. Still, the sight of seeing the entire town there didn't sit too well with him. Maybe he was just jealous of his best friends, maybe since it was his senior year it finally mattered to him. He didn't know what it was exactly, but it made him angry.

"You good Matty?" Bryan's pat on the shoulder surprised him. "Come on man stop staring at the pretty girls in the stands, it is game time." The boys ran over to the sideline as the national anthem started playing. And as it came to an end the boys strapped back on their helmets and got ready for action. And for the first time in his life, Matty heard Bryan get excited at something. "Let's go boys, senior year, this is it, play to win, fight for one another."

As the second quarter started Matty stood on the sideline as the defense went to work. The middle linebacker tandem of Bryan and Mark was unstoppable and was the main reason for their deep run into state playoffs last year. Matty watched as Mark and Bryan worked together to blow up lead blockers and stop the running backs in their tracks.

The speakers buzzed "And there goes our all-conference linebackers, making another play. Its third down, the Generals and the rams are tied at 10-10. Roger Rasmussen lines up behind the center in shotgun for the rams, it's 3rd and 3. It's a run. He hands it off to Smith,the running back, and Bryan Izzo meets him in the hole, stopping him in his tracks. And here comes Mark Izzo, it's a strip. Mark recovers the ball. General's ball, General's ball." Mark and Bryan started to run off the field.

"Put this one in Matty, we got 20 seconds left." Mark yells to his best friend as he jogs into the offensive huddle.

"Ok we got two plays left if we play this well enough, Matty block for me, lets run roll out right QB sweep." Keenan Hare, the QB broke the huddle as him and his offense lined up.

Speaker buzzes "Looks like it's a QB keep, he is going down the sideline, and he is stopped on the 50-yard line. With 13 seconds left what will they run?"

Keenan came back to the huddle, he looked at Matty and Matty nodded back. "Ok guys, lets run HB screen right, we do this all the time, we got this. Matty, get us a TD.

"It's my job" Matty gave a signature laugh as they broke the huddle.

Speaker buzzes again "Looks like we have shotgun formation here, they are going for it ladies and gentlemen. Hare drops back, and it is a screen, to Matty "the Flame" Kray on the left side. He is running, can he make it?

Matty grabbed the ball out of the air, came to a steady stance and took off, he juked left and right and made the outside linebacker miss, all that was left was the safety. He burst past his linemen and headed right down the middle.

"Oh my god, look at him go" Gracie and Stef were jumping up in down in the student section. The whole student section was going crazy. The stands were jumping up and down.

Matty heard the screams and had his eyes set on the safety, Matty ran at his left shoulder and planted, he spun back towards the middle of the field and as he moved past the safety and left him in his tracks, the safety gave one last effort and dove for his legs. And as he clipped the bottom of Matty's cleats, he lost his footing and Matty stumbled to the ground on the 1-yard line, with zero seconds left on the clock.

Speaker buzzes. "Ahh so close, stay here for the second half of this exciting game, and go buy some concessions, please."

"F*$&" Matty spiked the ball on the turf in anger. Matty ripped his helmet off as he walked over to the sidelines, angry and upset.

"Hey so close buddy, you will get it next half for sure." The twins said as they welcomed him to the sideline for their halftime team meeting.

"Get it next time Matty" Madelaine screamed from the student section, and Matty was confused and could have sworn it was her who had said it.

Matty sat down on his helmet and listened to the coaches go on and on about stuff he didn't care about.

Speaker buzzes "Incase you were in the bathroom or at our delicious concessions, here is what you missed. There is 1 minute left in the 4th quarter and your Generals are down 20-17, Can they pull it off? We all hope so"

Matty watched again as he best friends did their best to keep the score close, they battled all game and he couldn't pull through earlier. That needed to change. Matty strapped his helmet back on as the other team came up on 3rd and 13. Matty walked over to his head coach.

"Coach Boulder, let me return this punt" Matty asked as he stood, anxious for an answer.

"Kray, if you think you can return this one and get us in good field position then go ahead, you owe us a big play." Matty ran onto the field as fourth down got called out. He had a fire in his eyes and something was different. He passed his best friends without saying a word. He ran to the punt returner spot and stood there, waiting for the snap.

Speaker "And the snap is up, the punter boots it to the general's 25-yardline, Kray is back there to return it, lets see what he does with it.

Matty watched the ball in and as he pulled it into his chest, he felt something, he noticed the player in front of him a little faster then he should have. As the tackler closed in on him, Matty reacted unnatural fast as he stepped to the right and blew by the tackler. He took off down the side, jabbed left on a defender and cut back to the middle. He saw the hole opening once again by his blockers and he hit it, leaving everyone in the dust expect one player. At the sight of the same safety from earlier Matty was enraged, he headed in a straight line towards the end zone and as he ran he felt himself heating up more and more. He looked the safety straight in his eyes and the safety's face was filled with fear. Matty punched his left hand out and stiff armed the safety straight into the ground. He coasted past him into the end zone and the crowd erupted. The cheers in that stadium could be heard from the next town over. Matty's best friends ran over to him as Matty looked up at the clock and read zero seconds. And as his best friends picked him up in a craze, he peered into the crowd and gave a personal smile to a very special girl, that stood in the student section, she was the only person who had come for just him and it meant the world. And as the boys headed off the field to celebrate the win, Bryan lagged behind, he was overhearing a conversation that intrigued him.

"Bry guy, hurry up" Mark waved to his younger bro.

"I'll catch up, see you in the locker room" Bryan walked over to the other bench to hear the other team's head coach as he yelled his lungs out at the ref.

"Look at this helmet, that isn't possible, helmets don't heat up and melt, they did something take the touchdown back, they cheated." Bryan observed the helmet on the ground, it was steaming, and the facemask was warped out of shape, it was the helmet of the kid that Matty had stiff armed. And as the refs explained to the coach that it was possibly a helmet malfunction. Bryan didn't think so.

Homecoming Week

Three weeks later

The boys were sitting in homeroom, it was the monday of homecoming week and they were preparing for the game, the dance, and Madelaine's after homecoming house party. It was a tradition for the boys to attend these events each year and being senior year they wanted to make sure they didn't miss out on anything. Two of the boys, Matty and Bryan still needed dates and they were sort of panicking. Mark however was bragging about going with Stef.

"So are you slackers gonna get some dates or just go with each other?" Mark threw his snide comment knowing it would bother both boys. An emotion that the boys had never seen before came to Bryan's face.

"I'm gonna get the hottest date" Bryan stood up as his said this, shocking the whole homeroom and waking everyone up. "Yeah, you know what, I bet I can get the hottest and most popular date"

Mark fired back almost immediately. "Yeah, why don't you ask Madelaine then?" This came as a shock to everyone, even Mark who had said it.

"Don't do that Bryan" Matty realized he sounded very rash when he said this. "Uh.. I mean don't do it ya know, she is mean, you won't have fun.

"I'm doing it, and she will say yes, and you too with have to show up in mom's car, while I arrive in a limo." Bryan was serious and maybe for the first time ever, he was going to actually achieve something that wasn't football or side comments. Matty had to think, he still didn't know who he was gonna ask, but then it came to him. The Twins turned to Matty and Bryan asked "Why don't you just ask this secret girl you been dipping out on us to hang out with?"

"How many times do I have to tell you, there is no girl" Matty couldn't tell them about her, it was complicated and he felt as if he needed to keep it a secret. "I know what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna ask Gracie. It'll be perfect, she is cool, I already know her and I know she will say yes" Matty also knew how much action this would get him and how fun it would be to go with her.

"Dude I don't wanna see you dancing with my girlfriends sister" Mark made a disgusted face as he berated Matty for having a thing with Gracie.

"Not my fault she's a hottie" Bryan and Matty laughed.

"Dude, not cool haha" they joined together in laughter as the bell dismissed them from homeroom.

Fourth block came around and Matty and CeCe had nothing to do in their shared work study block. Madelaine and Julie had arrived and were spitting gossip and talking about the upcoming game and dance. They bothered Matty about getting a win, and the girls started talking about their dates for the dance.

"So Madelaine, what's it gonna be like going with Bryan" This came as a shock to Matty, for he didn't know Bryan had asked yet, and he 'really' didn't know that Madelaine had said yes.

"Should be fun, he may be a little emo, but he is a high school All-American Linebacker and that's pretty cool" Madelaine gave a look back at Matty as she spoke about his best friend.

"What! you are actually going with Bryan?" Matty said from across the room. Matty griped the table and none of the girls noticed but his hands started to burn an imprint into the black tabletop. "You better treat him well, he is my best friend" Matty gripped the table even tighter and before he knew it, the room's sprinklers went off and the girls started screaming as it poured all over them and everyone ran out of the room. Matty sat in the rain, and as it came down, the raindrops seemingly just bounced off, the heat kept them off his skin and kept his body dry.

Matty ran out of the room into the hallway and stood next to the group of girls, the gazed at him in complete puzzlement as he was completely dry, and they were the exact opposite. Matty chuckled nervously. "I guess I'm just too fast for the sprinklers."

The bell rang to end fourth block and Matty was lucky enough to receive an off day for football. He decided it was time to ask Gracie to the dance. He took a quick pitstop through the school greenhouse and picked a couple of fresh flowers, without getting caught. He headed towards the parking lot when he spotted gracie putting her backpack into the passenger seat of her Bug.

"You shouldn't dress that good Gracie, you are gonna make all the other girls jealous." Matty knew how to smooth talk her, he had been doing it all summer. He was pretty much an expert now. "And I know that skirt is too short, definitely not regulated school length"

"Oh Matty, stop it handsome, what do you want, you wanna make out, let's get in the backseat, yeah?" Gracie liked her lips as her blond hair bounced off her face in the wind. "What are the flowers for?" Matty smiled

"They're for you, would you like to go to homecoming with me?" Matty was met with a hug immediately after those last few words slipped out of his mouth. Matty hugged back, and then picked her up with his hands around her ass. He went to open his mouth but it was met with a kiss before he could speak, they made out for a couple more minutes before breaking apart. "I'm going to assume that is a yes, haha"

"Hell yeah, can't wait, ima go buy a dress right now!" Matty kissed Gracie goodbye as she closed the door to her car and left the parking lot. Matty waved and as he turned to start his walk back to school he noticed two things, a certain car that had been parked watching his actions for way too long start to peel out of the school parking lot and that something smelt like it was burning. Matty looked down at his shirt as it started to smolder a tiny bit. He ripped it off before it started to light up in flames. He made a mental note to himself 'Emotions might cause Flames'.

"What an odd day" Matty threw his backpack over his shoulder and headed home.

Friday of Homecoming week.

The gang was eating lunch in between 3rd and 4th period at their usual table when Madelaine approached them, surprisingly without her entourage, and sat down next to Bryan.

"Ok team, here is the plan. The limo will pick us up at my house after pictures at exactly 6 o'clock, then we'll head to my favorite restaurant, Leo's Italian Cuisine. After that we will take our time and arrive at the dance at exactly 11, 2 hours fashionably late to be exact. Got it, kay." And like that, she was already walking down the hallway headed back to class, with her high heels clacking against the amplifying floor.

"So that was fun, how come you guys didn't tell me you were all going with her?"

"How come you didn't tell me you were taking my sister?" The Izzo twins 'Ohed and Awwed' as Matty sat embarrassed and red in the face. Stef smiled and sad "It's ok Matty, Im not mad, I'm happy you guys are going together, just no funny business or I'll kill you" Matty started to smile as Bryan kicked him from under the table and gave him a look that meant 'you make any jokes and Stef will actually kill you'.

"Yeah me and Grace are gonna have a great time though, you guys just try and have fun at concentration camp Addison". The bell rang and everyone grabbed their bags and headed to fourth block.

"See you guys at the game, play great my boys" Stef cheered as she skipped down the hall to her math class.

Matty burst into the bathroom, he was wheezing and trying to hold his breath for as long as he could. For every time he exhaled, he could feel it. There was a fire brewing inside of him and as his fingertips heated up and his head felt on fire he had a feeling as if he was a ticking time bomb, a couple seconds away from exploding. He had ran into the locker room during the start of halftime. It was an intense game and the emotions were getting to him.

"Matty you in here" Bryan had opened the locker room door to check in on him. "You ok? Halftime is almost over. We can win this, we need you."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be out in a minute, see you out there" Bryan left and Matty looked back at himself in the mirror. "What is happening to me?" Matty grabbed at his hair in frustration and screamed. And as he brought his hands down in fury he noticed something. He looked down at his palms and a small flame was emitting from the center of both his palms. His eyes were burning bright orange with a small white center. He closed his hands and eyes, and as he opened them, the flame was gone.

"Matty now, let's go" Matty grabbed his gear and headed out towards the field with his best friend. He was beyond confused with what had happened in the bathroom, but he had made up his mind to not let it keep him from winning this game.

Matty's team burst into the locker room, yelling their heads off and celebrating the nail-biter-Homecoming win. They had beaten their cross-town rival, and everyone was going ballistic. Everyone except Matty, he sat in the corner of the locker room, already changed and ready to be by himself. He needed some alone time to think this over, and as his best friends turned around to celebrate with him, he was already gone.

Matty left the locker room and headed for the woods, that's where he first received this 'gift' and it doubled as a secretive location. Matty picked up a bike from a neighboring house and started pedaling. Once he arrived at the woods he headed towards the spot that it all went down. He dropped the bike and headed towards a dead tree that stood in the middle of the grass patch that the car had been parked next to that crazy night.

"Come on now, how does this work" Matty flexed hard and tried his best to ignite a flame from his palm. But to his dismay, nothing. "ok Matty think, it's obviously some kind of hard magic system, you have seen shows like Avatar the Last Airbender, you should know how to bend this fire. Maybe it's even like Dragon Ball Z." Matty stared back at the tree, having no idea how to start up the flames. He imitated the 'Kahmah-hameh-ha' and 'the spiderman wrist flick' but nothing came out. "Dammit, I haven't seen enough DBZ, how does Goku do it"

"Maybe it's emotion" Matty jumped back at the sound of another voice. It was bryan, he had followed him all the way out to the woods.

"What the hell are you doing here" Matty was shocked that it seems Bryan knew about the whole thing.

"I figured something was going on with you, just didn't know what it was until today at halftime. I picked up ideas about it on the way. I started thinking at the EOS when you literally blew up and were perfectly fine, then when you melted that kids face-mask with a stiff arm. Oh and also that morning after the carnival, when the stove top combusted" Matty shrugged and knew he couldn't hide it anymore. "So? How do you use it?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out" Matty yelled back at his best friend. "It comes and goes, and the closet I have been to controlling it was earlier tonight. I'm constantly warm, all the time, the fire is inside of me."

"How did it happen?" Bryan sat down on a nearby stump.

"The night of the carnival, I was in the woods.."

"With a girl?" Bryan interrupted him

"No, with Gary's gang. And they were beating the shit out of me" Matty remembered the haymakers he ate that night. "And it was painful"

"Shit dude, what happened after that"

"I was hit by lightning" Matty laughed. It was a crazy night and he tried his best to keep the girl out of the story, he didn't want Bryan to know about her for more than one reason.

"Geez dude, that's heavy, I'm sorry, well hey, ima help you learn how to throw fireballs or whatever." They both laughed at stood up, Matty walked back to facing the tree and got in position. "Ok, so I think it's emotion, you have always been in a state of high emotion when these fire incidents have happened. So let's get you emotional. You suck"

"Haha I don't think that's gonna help haha"

"Yeah but it was funny" Bryan scratched his head "Okay, why don't you focus as hard as you can on that night. Think about the pain of the punches, think about the pain of the lightning bolt, think about how you were scared you wouldn't be here anymore." Matty closed his eyes and focused

"I'm feeling it" Matty's hands started to glow with a tiny aura of heat around them.

"Think about the girls you would leave behind, think about the friends you would leave behind". Matty opened his eyes and they faintly glowed bright orange, Bryan could see a thin aurora that ran around Matty's silhouette. "Think about your dad, think about your about me and Mark, and Steff too. Matty?" Bryan paused before he finished his sentence. He weighed the possible outcomes of what he was about to say before proceeding on. He looked Matty right through his glowing eyes. "Matty, think about your mother". Matty closed his eyes and the ground shook, pebbles started to float and bounce off the dirt and right when it seemed like the ground was going to crack, Matty let out a roar and ignited the tree with the streams of orange and red flames that flared from his palms. Matty turned back to face his best friend, the tree was burning like a furnace, and when Matty snapped his fingers, the flame went out.

"I think I got it" Matty smirked as him and Bryan started whooping and cheering.

"What do you think you are gonna do with this"

'Whoop, Whoop', was the sound of a nearby cop car.

"F #k, let's get out of here" And as the boys left the forest, they grabbed their bikes and crossed the open patch of grass, unbeknownst to them, stepping on a strip of torn-down crime scene tape.

Homecoming Dance

"Matty, come out here, now" Matty ran downstairs after hearing his father call for him. He was wearing a white button down, with navy blue chinos and a blue tie. He was almost ready to call grace and have her pick him up. "Hurry up will you" Matty walked outside to see his dad's old ford truck, cleaned and washed.

"Dad, what is this" Matty looked at the truck and then back to his dad.

"Well seeing as I don't need my truck tonight and I got off work early, I thought you could use it to drive cute little Grace to the dance." Matty was in shock.

"Haha you mean it? No take backs ya know"

"Yeah I know, now get out of here before I change my mind, you are going to be late." His dad stuck his knuckle out as he always did. Matty raised his fist up and met his dad's fist. It was the closest thing to a hug that him and his dad had but somehow it seemed more special to Matty, afterall it was all he knew.

Matty got in the truck and started driving towards Stef and Grace's house. He picked up his phone to call her. She answered after the first ring.

"Hey Matty"

"Hey Grace, my dad gave me his truck for tonight, I'm coming to pick you up" Matty turned left at the stop sign as he neared her neighborhood.

"Ok awesome, can't wait, Stef and the boys already left with Madelaine's posse. Hey matty?" Matty parked the car in front of her driveway.

"What is it Gracie?"

"I have something to tell you tonight" And on that note Matty got out of the car and rang the doorbell, thinking about what she had to say.

Matty and Gracie finished dinner at Spitony's Pizza, it was Matty's favorite restaurant and the only semi-decent restaurant he could afford. He paid the bill and they headed to the dance. After a quick drive, they made it to the highschool and signed in at the front door. They danced for an hour or two when Matty's best friends finally showed up with their dates. Bryan walked in with Madelaine's arm wrapped around his.

"Who is ready to dance"

BACK AT THE HOSPITAL

"Sir, he is finally awake." Sheriff McCormick was awoken by his loyal deputies. He had been visiting the hospital twice a day for the last couple weeks attempting to find any answer he could about the flames that killed three men and put another one in a deep coma.

"Is he saying anything? What is he saying" This was the first breakthrough in the case and the Sheriff was eager for answers. Gary opened his eyes and started to move, he pointed with all the strength he could and waved for the sheriff to come closer.

"What is it? Who did this to you and your gang? We need to know." And the sheriff got as close as he could to Gary. And when he did, Gary let out a whisper that froze the sheriffs face still.

"Matthew Kray killed them, he is very dangerous"

BACK AT THE DANCE

The whole gang was dancing on the gym floor and having a blast. There were lasers and discos balls, and if any of the students were to step too close to the speakers they would surely go deaf. Matty and Gracie had been dancing for almost three hours and finally she turned and pulled Matty away to the bleachers. He followed the lead of her hand and they finally came to a stop on the first step where the had dropped their personal items

"So Matty, there is something I have to tell you" Matty looked puzzled and that's because he was, this seemed like a serious conversation and Matty wasn't ready for it. He didn't see Gracie as anything more than a friend. He just didn't feel for her in a serious way "Look I know you care so much about me, and I have been obsessed with you for basically like forever, I want more, because I love you, and I know you love me too, I can tell." Her smile was met with Matty's frown and eventually his frown spread to her. Matty knew he pushed this fling to far and he hated that he hurt Gracie, but he just didn't feel the same. He looked her in the eyes and she could see the regret. "What's wrong?"

"Grace, I don't really know how to put this softly, I don't love you, I'm sorry" The slap that landed on Matty's left cheek could be heard by every student in the gym thanks to the very coincidental pause in music. "I'm sorry Grace" and with that Gracie sprinted out of the gym, tears streaming down her face. Matty turned and looked at his best friends for support, but the looks they gave back were filled with hatred and disappointment. Bryan turned and ran after Gracie, exiting the gym and heading into the courtyard where she stopped to cry.

"Grace what's wrong" Bryan took his coat off and wrapped it around her shoulders to keep her warm. "It's freezing out, how about we go back inside".

"He doesn't love me back, why not? I thought he loved me" Grace continued to cry and Bryan sat down next to her.

"Grace, look, guys are dumb, we don't really see girls emotions very well. Matty probably couldn't tell how you felt, I don't think he meant to hurt you. I think he just thought you guys were friends who were hot and liked to mess around or something" She stopped crying for a second and looked up at Bryan. "Guys display how we feel in a very visual obvious way. Now do you really think he loved you, or were you just hoping he would?"

"I guess you're right" She sniffled and wiped her eyes clear of any fallout tears that might be raining down. "But what about the flowers that he always put on my car? What about the time he kept me safe when I got drunk for the first time this summer at your house?"

"Those are both good points, I'm more confused however, on why you thought those were him." Bryan smiled and shrugged as Gracie realized this whole time it was Bryan who had been performing these acts for her. He was the one who had taken care of her and sent her flowers for her birthday. She felt so foolish for not realizing sooner.

"It was you? This whole time? Why didn't you say anything?" and in that very moment, Bryan let out a laugh, that was so sincere, and so honest, that Gracie could instantly tell that he meant what he said. Bryan scratched the back of his head and blushed

"Now, I don't love you, and you don't love me, yet. But I'm going to kiss you and then we are going to dance for the rest of the night, just you and me." Bryan leaned in and as his lips met hers she melted in his arms. They stayed like that for what seemed like hours and then headed inside. "Plus, I think with matty, there is the classic case of 'another girl'"

Bryan and Gracie walked in holding hands and brought even more confusion to the gang who had stepped to the side to argue.

"Um… I guess it worked itself out" Matty scratched his head and started to smile for his best friend who seemed to be extremely happy for the first time, as Stef hit him on the back of the head with her purse. Madelaine jumped up and started giggling at the sight of the new 'couple' holding each other. She walked over as fast as she could

"The plan worked!" and the confusion that had just worn off the gang was immediately brought back. "I'm so happy for you Bryan!"

"Okay, I think I speak for all those here, I'm completely lost." Bryan opened his mouth to answer Matty when the fire alarm started echoing through the whole gym like a WW2 bomb siren. The gym speakers buzzed on and Mr. Fish, a science teacher who was chaperoning the dance started to speak.

"Please students remain calm, this is just a drill, there is no fire, please start to exit out of the Gym's side doors as quick as possible" The flock of students started to file out as fast as they could. Matty and his friends turned and started walking towards the exit, when Matty noticed something in the darkness of the Gym. flashlights and red lasers shone through the crowd. He watched as the red lasers came from every direction and they narrowed in and came to a collective point on his chest. As his friends exited the gym, Matty stood there in fear. He had no idea why the cops were approaching on him and he really wasn't looking forward to finding out either. 'Could it be related to his incident?' he didn't know what to think.

"Matthew Kray, put your hands in the air and don't move" The SWAT team crept in as sheriff McCormick spoke to Matty through a bullhorn. "Turn around and put your hands behind your back while we put the handcuffs on you" Two officers grabbed him from behind and locked his wrists together. "You are being placed under arrest for the murder of Mars Fitzgerald, Dean Daniel, Henry Horace, and the attempted murder of one Gary Garrison."

"WHAT!" Matty was in shock, he was trembling and his hands continued to shake as the cops behind him slid his wrist into the cold metal restraints. "I didn't kill them, I don't even know where they are at, you can't do this!"

"Actually Matthew you did, and we can do this" the sheriff grabbed Matty's arms as the cops walked behind him, guiding him to the exit.

Outside stood all the students, they wrapped around the outside of the courtyard in a giant circle, looking back at the gym. Every student was confused as to why there was a fire drill, none of them had seen a fire, certainly not the gang. Bryan looked around for Matty and couldn't spot him anywhere.

"Where is Matty at guys?" They all looked around in confusion. Madelaine answered first.

"He was right behind me guys I swear I saw him". They searched throughout the crowd, yelling his name as loud as they could. Finally they all gave up and met back at the entrance.

"Where they hell could he have gone?" Bryan was furious, and suddenly, Kyle Blottmeyer nudged Bryan on the shoulder. "What Kyle, what could you possibly want right now?"

"Is that him" Blottmeyer pointed to the gym doors as the cops marched out with Matty in front of them, his arms handcuffed and his head down.

The metal doors slammed open as Matty and the swat team pushed through them. He was scared and frightened, he didn't know what to say and do. His hair covered his eyes as he walked into the courtyard. It was completely silent, he almost forgot about all the students who had just vacated the gym. He looked up and noticed them all lined up on the outside of the courtyard. They stood there, silent. Matty could tell they were scared too, he didn't feel alone in his terror anymore. However, this didn't really help take any of his fear away. The crowd of students crept in closer as the cops and him continued to walk towards the entrance of the courtyard. It was then that Matty finally noticed his friends. They looked at him and he looked back. Grace and Stef were crying, Matty and Bryan were yelling and cussing out the cops. None of them had any idea of what was really going on. Matty was headed in a straight line right towards them, he almost forgot he was handcuffed. More cops came in to push the boys aside and too restrain them as Matty walked by. The cops had cleared a path that led right to the back of the swat van that Matty was surely headed for. And as Matty went to hang his head again he heard whispers and rustling around from the crowd. He looked around to see what all the commotion was about. Finally he turned to face forward again to and saw Madelaine standing right in front of him. There were tears in her eyes and none of the students knew what she was doing.

"Move out of the way young lady" The Sheriff commanded through his bullhorn, and as his focus transferred to the young redhead that stood in his path, Matty used it as a chance to break free, he stepped on the cops foot to his left and broke free of their grasp thanks to his new found 'fire' strength. And as every student was for sure Matty was headed straight to the woods to run and hide, Matty took a three step burst and came to an immediate halt right in front of Madelaine. His face was mere inches away from hers.

"Matty what are you doing, keep running" Bryan was screaming through the cops human barrier that was blocking him and his brother.

"What are you doing Matty, run" she whispered. Matty and Madelaine locked eyes, they still stood mere inches away from each other. All the students were watching and waiting, not knowing what was happening. Matty took that time to notice how when Madelaine cried it made her eyes even more green then they naturally were. They looked perfectly emerald, not too light, not too dark, just perfect. Her red hair flowed down her sides and was starting to curl back to its natural look. A single tear ran down her cheek. And it reminded Matty of the rainfall that had rolled down her windows that night in the woods.

"I have to do something" Matty leaned in and kissed her. And as they locked lips Madelaine brought her hands up and ran them through his light brown hair. The students gasped and after that, the world was silent. Matty felt like it was just him and her, alone, just the two of them, he felt like nothing else mattered. This feeling was quickly interrupted as the cops pulled Matty away from her violently, ending their magical embrace.

"I love you" Matty smiled as he began to tear up.

"I know" Madelaine traded him a smile for a smile and as the cops pushed him forward and parked him in the back of the van, she broke down. Madelaine fell to her knees and cried until the sirens of the swat van were far out of distance of the school.

"Madelaine, you ok?" Bryan and the gang approached her after they were released from the barriers.

"None of you knew, I'm surprised he kept it all a secret, I'm surprised he could, he did it for me ya know, at first I didn't want anyone to know haha" Madelaine was still sitting on her knees in the middle of courtyard but the gang thought it was good that she had started talking and even laughing. Stef sat down next to her and gave her a hug.

"So you and Matty have had a thing for a while then?"

"Oh so were you the girl at the fair, now that I think about it, you weren't at the after party at CeCe's house either" Mark chimed in after Stef's initial question. Bryan finally sat down too and now the whole gang including Grace was sitting talking to Madelaine.

"Is that when you guys started seeing each other, that night?" Bryan asked. Madelaine shed a couple more tears before answering the group.

"Yes, I was with Matty that night but no, it didn't start that night" The gang was confused as to what she meant. She stood up and as she spoke, it seemed the entire student body leaned in to catch a listen as well. "This is kinda hard to explain, I'm really surprised he never told you"

She wiped even more tears away, and those tears seemed to be the last. "Me and Matty have been in love our whole life, we just didn't know how much until that night" The gang was put into utter shock, they had no idea Matty had a secrete this big, he wasn't they kind of guy to lie.

"What, how?" They all had the same response to Madelaine's answer, and echoes of confusion could be heard from the mumbling crowd of student's behind them.

"I'll explain on the ride to the police station, we need to get the limo and go save Matty, can someone please call his dad." And the squad, along with Madelaine headed to the police station.

Police Station

Matty arrived at the police station. He was shaken and stunned, he knew he didn't kill anyone that night. It isn't something he was capable of. He sat and watched as the street lights started to shine throw the heavy metal doors as they swung open in front of the police station. And as he stepped down still cuffed the cops grabbed him by his arms and started to march him towards the station.

BOOM!

And in an instant everyone in the town turned their attention to the city hospital as the flames that were thrown from the unexpected explosion rose high over the rooftops.

"Get him inside and lock the doors, now. Deputies Cook and Shrill, go to the armory and grab what you can for the rest of the men and women in the station." The sheriff let go of Matty as him and a deputy piled into a squad car and drove off towards the explosion. The other officers walked matty into a cell and locked it, leaving him in there alone.

Matty had no idea what that explosion could have been. He thought to what the Sheriff had said. 'He mentioned Gary had survived the lightning that night, could he have received the same abilities? Could he have been responsible for the explosion.' Matty sat and waited, he had no idea what was going on and even worse he didn't know what to do next.

(back in the Limo)

"Ok so I called Matty's dad and let him know what is going on, our parents will be on their way too" Mark put his phone back in his pocket and everyone turned their attention to the redhead, who sat looking out the window, hoping Matty would be ok.

"It's a ten minute ride, with this traffic at least, why don't you tell us about you and Matty" Bryan was being pushy but that's because he was just as curious as always, and secretly wanted something to take his mind of this horrible situation.

"Ok so most people don't remember this from when we were younger, but I am actually adopted" Madelaine stopped as to let this information process.

"Ok yeah I remember sort of, that was like 1st grade or something right?" Mark was guessing but he was almost right,

"Yeah around that time. Ok so my birth parents, Parker and Gwen Heath, were scientist, they worked at the town reservoir, it was under control of the towns energy company, Bolt energy. They worked with Matty's mother. Funny thing is, My mom and Matty's were best friends, they grew up together and went to college together, eventually landing jobs at the same company. They were working on something big that would provide the town with an unusual amount of energy. But one year there was a company dinner party" Madelaine started to choke up a bit but then caught herself quickly. "On the way back there was a bad storm, they got caught in it and flipped the car in the middle of the woods, none of them made it out. They didn't even find their wreck for a couple days after."

"Madelaine I'm so sorry" Stef laid her hands on top of Madelaine's. Madelaine looked back up at the group and wiped her tears away.

"I shouldn't cry though, this is a happy story after all." Her mood instantly switched and through the last of the her tears, the gang could see the affection in her eyes. "So Matty and I were always forced to hang out and go on play-dates back then but after the accident, we stopped resenting each other. We didn't need to be forced to spend time with one other, we wanted to spend as much time together as we could. We were inseparable. We haven't gone a day without talking since. Even my new foster parents did everything they could to create time for us."

"Why the charade then, why not just be together?" Gracie interrupted from the back of the limo where she was being held by Bryan.

"I think we both thought people wouldn't understand or support us ya know? We had different friends and led very different lives. It didn't start out romantic, we were just best friends. That night we took a leap and never looked back. And it may have all been one big lie, but I wouldn't trade any of it for the world. I spend almost every night in bed next to Matty and nothing is better than that. And yeah he can do some dumb stuff sometimes, sorry Grace." Grace nodded as she accepted Madelaine's apology. "I love him and I wouldn't want it any other way".

BOOM!

"WTF was that" Mark yelled and all of the other limousine passengers turned to see the explosion. Panic started to rise. However, Bryan sat back in the limo, cool and collective. "Bryan what is wrong with you, an explosion just went off, how could you not be freaking out." Mark was angry at the behavior his brother was showing

"Because that was probably Matty."

The limo finally arrived at the police station and the students filed out in a fuery. They were all listening to Bryan as he gave his ludicrous explanation that Matty had super powers.

"Dude you are insane" Mark yelled back to his brother as they walked up the station steps

"Why don't we just ask him then" Bryan insisted as they marched their way right to the front desk.

"We need to see Matthew Kray now" Bryan stated quite loudly at the officer who manned the front desk.

"Sorry, only family members can see him for the next 24 hours" The boys started to yell at the officer and complain about the explosions and other matters. Then finally Madelaine spoke up from behind the bickering boys.

"I'm family, check the records, Madelaine Ryann Heath Addison."

"She is good, checks out. Officer Cook can you take her back to visit Matthew Kray" The cop came to escort her back and she informed the group that she will get him out.

Matty sat on the bench in his cell, staring out at the hallway, hoping for a way out.

"Oh shit" Matty said out loud as he remembered the fire powers that he had acquired. He stood up, pointed his palms at the wall that separated him from the free world. He focused and attempted to draw on his new found abilities. And as he started to feel the slightest warmth emit from his hands he heard someone coming around the corner. And what he hoped was his friends, was actually a man, dressed in a tattered hospital gown. He walked up to the opening in Matty's cell. The left side of his face was burnt off, his left eye was the only thing still recognizable. It opened as he began to speak and both eyes glowing deep orange.

"Hello Matthew" The charred soul was Gary. Matty came to the conclusion that he must have been the one who told the cops about him. But that didn't answer why he was there. "You know, you murdered my gang, and destroyed my face. I should kill you right here"

"I didn't kill them! You were there, it was lightning, we… we all got hit by lightning." Matty was scared and felt like an animal stuck in its cage.

"Oh Matty" Gary snapped his fingers and flame ignited in his palm. "We both know it was more than just lightning."

"It happened to you too?" Matty stepped close to the edge of the cell but as he did gary grabbed his head through the bars.

"I wonder if I can burn you, my flames have to be stronger! It doesn't really matter, I'll just beat you to death if I have to." Gary let go of Matty's head and turned his attention to the cell bars, melting them into a soup with barely even a touch. He stepped through the melted bars and right up to Matty, who had his back pressed against the brick wall behind him. "Let's go back to where this all started, huh?" And with that final statement Gary threw a left hook so fast that even with Matty's super senses he never saw it coming. The first punch sent a painful shock wave through his body. And after Matty received a dozen more punches just like it, Gary picked him off of the floor and threw him over his shoulder as the busted their way out the back of the cell, into a stolen car and headed straight to the woods.

Madelaine ran around the corner, escorted by the cop and eager to see her lover. But when she reached his cell he was gone, and so was the majority of the cell.

"What the F #k happened here?" Officer Cook looked just as confused as Madelaine as they both stared through the melted cell, into the back alley as they witnessed a car driving off at high speed.

"I need to find him" Madelaine ran out of the holding area and back to the lobby where the gang had been waiting not quietly and certainly not patiently.

"He is practically my brother, why can't I see him!?" A very emotional Bryan was arguing with the cop at the check in desk when Madelaine came back into sight.

"He is gone guys, Matty left and his cell was broken into, I don't know what to do?"

"Well let's go find him" Mark chimed in to try and ease her pain but his brother soon contradicted him by suggesting that just him and madelaine go.

"Yeah just me and her will go, you guys need to be here for when our parents get here and incase he comes back. There is a massive fire breaking out in the city and this station is safe, especially for Grace and Stef, please Mark, watch them."

"OK, go find Matty, please." And with the plan set and everyone in place Madelaine and Bryan headed back into the limo and asked the driver to step on it.

"Bryan I wanted it to be me and you to go find him for a certain reason."

"Because I know about the fire right? You believe me about the powers now, don't you?"

"I saw his cell, the bars were melted and the brick was burnt and blown out of place, but Bryan I don't think that was him" Madelaine was tearing up again. "I saw blood on the floor, what I guess to be his blood" Bryan was confused.

"You mean to say, you think there is another one, like him? And now maybe this person is attacking Matty?" Madelaine shook her head yes. "Ok well then I think I know where he is headed." and together they both shouted to the driver.

"Head to Hill Forest"

Fair Fight

"Hey wake up" Matty and Gary had arrived at the center of Hill forest. The exact location that they were all hit by lightning. There was crushed up police tape on the ground and the smell of burnt flesh in the air. "You smell that? It's the smell of burnt rotting flesh. I was listening to the cops while I was in a coma and they said that it may take years for this smell to be washed away." Matty stood up, he was about ten feet away from the maniac who had only intentions of pain and suffering. "YEARS! Years till I can forget what happened to my friends, all because of you" Matty braced for the fight that was soon to come. "But I want to do this right, to do this fair. This is the only way I can avenge them." Gary walked over to the stolen car and grabbed his leather jacket and threw it on. And as he walked back he started to crack his knuckles and shake out his shoulders. "You and me right now, fist fight, maybe some fire, to the death."

"Look Gary, you don't have to do this. Look you are hurting, we can get you help. The lightning really hurt you and together we can get through this." And as Gary took his first swing at him, Matty realized there was no talking this out. Matty dodged his first punch and Gary's fist landed on a tree behind him, burning a hole straight through the next four trees behind it.

"Show me what you got Matthew" Matty shuffled back to behind the car.

"Come on Matty think" and as Gary approached the vehicle Matty used his knew found strength along with a fire boost from his palm to push the car at high speed suddenly towards Gary. However he noticed it quickly and jumped out of the way.

"That was pretty clever Matty, ok enough small talk and cool maneuvers, let's kill each other."

Gary threw his hands together and a flame spout out, Matty dodged it and step to the side and threw an upcut that connected with Gary's face and sent him stumbling back. Gary recovered quickly and threw a poor attempt for a hook. Matty ducked and hit him in the ribs as hard as he could. On his next punch however, his enemy anticipated it instantly. Gary grabbed Matty's fist out of the air and gave him a couple quick shots to the face. Matty fell to his knee as the blows kept coming. Gary threw slug after slug, each fist connecting harder and faster then the one before. Matty was beaten back and forth and the sure force of Gary's attacks started digging Matty's knees into the dirt.

"Now lets see if you burn" Gary stood over Matty, just like he did that first night. "This time you won't get away" The flames ignited and covered Matty. The heat was no longer his friend, Gary's flames were too hot to him. He didn't know how much longer he could take it.

"Matty" The scream came from none other than the girl he loved. The girl that had brought him to this spot. It was supposed to be a special night just the two of them.

FLASHBACK
Two children sat outside a hospital waiting room, standing against the hallway walls. A man was holding both small hands but sadly was only the father to the boy. For the poor girl, both her parents laid in a cold operating room in the basement of the hospital. A doctor slowly entered the room and approached the man.

"I'm sorry sir, there was nothing we could do. If we had got to them just a day earlier we might have had a chance" Matty's father wiped the tears away with the sleeve of his flannel shirt.

"I understand, what will happen to Madelaine?" the girl stepped closer to his leg as she grabbed his hand tighter.

"The girl will probably end up in foster care Mr. Kray, I will put you in touch with social services.

Later that day

"Matty, I don't wanna go live someone else" she was scared and as any kid would in that situation, she expressed her fear.

"It's ok, I heard from my dad that you are gonna live in a big mansion." the young boy did his best to calm her down and to assist in soothing her pain.

"Will we still see each other, and have playdates" Matty gave her what was soon to become his signature smirk.

"I hope so"

More than a few years later. Madelaine's 14th birthday

Madelaine was sitting at her island, staring at her cake and presents. She didn't invite anyone to her party this year because she didn't want her friends to know about Matty. They would tease her and she didn't want that. Matty wasn't able to come because he was out of town, so all of her guest were absent. And she sat there alone.

"Honey why don't you open some presents" Mr. and Mrs. Addison were doing there best to brighten the mood.

"I don't want to, I hate this year and I hate my birthday." As Madelaine began to cry her doorbell suddenly rang. She rushed to see who it was. And to her surprise it was him. She opened the door for her best friend. "You made it!"

"I wouldn't miss this for the world, where is everyone huh?"

The day before 'That Night in the Woods'

The location was Madelaine's house and it was the supposed last party of the summer. The whole school had been invited and that included the gang.

"Bryan I'm surprised you wanted to come" Mark was teasing his younger brother so Bryan hit him with a quick clap-black.

"That sounds like something you say to Stef" And like always the boys started grabbing each other and wrestling.

"Seriously guys, we just got here, let's go have some fun" Matty and the boys walked around until they saw Stef sitting in the living room with Madelaine and a couple other of their school friends. She shouted to them, attempting to get their attention. They saw her and walked over and sat down in the circle of peers.

"So what's going on here" Stef grabbed Mark's arm and pulled him close.

"We are playing seven minutes in heaven baby, but it's more like two minutes haha" Stef immediately jumped up and suggested that her and her BF deserve to be the first, despite the rules.

After way more than two minutes they came back down stairs and it was time to spin the bottle and decide what two would be elected. CeCe grabbed the bottle and gave it a spin.

"Please be Matty please" the bottle landed right on Bryan and she grunted. "Fine whatever, let's go Bryan". Several minutes later they came back down. Julie grabbed the bottle next and repeated the 'Matty' incantation, only to watch her bottle also land on Bryan. Bryan laughed calmly.

"Sweet"

"This is dumb, I should respin, he already went."

"Sorry Julie but rules are rules" Madelaine took the bottle from her and they all sat and waited as Bryan went to heaven for the second time that night. After a couple minutes they walked back downstairs and Bryan looked at the group and gave a fake smile that lasted for less then a second. "Ok my turn" and as Madelaine spun it the suspense that lingered in the air thickened. The bottle came to a slow stop in front of Matty. He had spent many nights in the same bed as his secret best friend but it had never gotten romantic, He began to think, and maybe it was the truth or maybe it was the booze but his head and his thoughts started drowning in the idea of possible sexual actions with her. He was scared because he didn't know how she felt.

"Ew no, I will not go in the bedroom with Matty" Her classic popular girl was just as convincing as usual. Her friends began to whisper and giggle behind her.

"No you have to" Then they said in unison "Rules are the rules."

"Ugh fine whatever, we aren't doing anything. Come Matthew." Matty followed as they walked up stairs into her room. Matty followed her and closed the bedroom door behind him.

"When did you repaint?" But Matty didn't get an answer, instead Madelaine pressed herself up against him and was looking up at him with her bright emerald eyes. He looked back at her and they moved in slowly, and finally their lips met, and they melted into each other's embrace. They began to run their hands up and down each other when they heard the group yell at them from downstairs.

"You guys done yet" mark yelled as he was trying to be funny. Back in the room their embrace broke and they looked at each other.

"Mads that was amazing"

"I know right (Nervous chuckle)haha, makes me wonder why we didn't do it earlier"

"Maybe we should continue this some time"

"Yes, I'll text you, I have an idea for tomorrow at the fair, but right now we need to act like nothing happened" Matty nodded his head and they headed back down stairs yelling and screaming at each other and the group, pretending nothing happened.

"That was a very special night for me. But you ruined it didn't you. You won't ruin my life anymore" Matty turned to face his attacker, as he stepped up through the flames his eyes started to glow. But unlike earlier and unlike Gary's they were glowing blue. Matty reached up and clenched Gary's wrists. He gripped down and the flames stopped, his wrists started to crack and Gary fell to the ground. As Matty stood above his enemy for the first time he felt the true power of his newly gifted super powers. His palms opened up as hot blue flames shot out and blasted across his enemy.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" Gary's screams could be heard throughout the entire forest and once the screams finally stopped Matty relaxed the flames and closed his palms.

Matty's power relaxed and as he closed his eyes and reopened them the bright blue flames faded. Madelaine and Bryan ran over to their shared love and as he fell to the ground they were there to catch them. Matty tiredly opened his mouth.

"Man, am I still gonna get arrested." They all laughed and Matty slowly faded away.

The End

"I'm glad you both came in so easily" The sheriff sat at his desk in front of Matty and his father. It was two days later since the city fire and the massive forest fight. "I'd like to inform you that I have no idea what the hell is going on in this town. We found Gary in the woods after young Matthew and his friends called me and told me that he was the perpetrator. He admitted to everything and we have him drugged out his mind to keep him from stable."

"Well that's good then" Matty's father was abruptly interrupted by the sheriff.

"However, I don't know what kind of hocus pocus magic stuff is happening in this town but I will find out. Luckily for you, your girlfriends parents practically own this town and this station so I can't say anything publically or arrest you. They threatened to sue me and I'm smart enough to know they would win that battle. But I will be keeping an eye on you." The sheriff pointed to the door and Matty and his dad took that as a hint to get the hell out of there. They walked out of the police station both happy as ever.

"I'm glad you're safe kiddo"

"I know dad, can we get home kinda quick, I'm sure the whole gang is waiting for me."

"Sure buddy"

The truck carrying Matty and his dad rolled up to his house and as he looked through the window he saw his best friends standing on the sidewalk waiting to hear about what happened at the police station. Matty stepped out of the truck as the anticipation reached its max point. He stopped and took a deep breathe.

"I didn't get arrested" Matty shouted as his friends engaged him in a giant group hug.

Mark complained "Why couldn't you just say it like a normal person"

"Yeah or text us so we didn't have to wait out here in the cold" Bryan grabbed Matty and gave him a unexpected hug. "I'm glad everything is good."

"So when were you gonna tell us about Madelaine huh?" Stef questioned the young man as she began to crack her knuckles. "And don't think for a second I forgot about how you made my sister cry." The gang spent the rest of the day watching movies and hanging out. Treasuring every moment for they never knew if it would be there last.

Matty laid in his bed looking out his window, wondering what the rest of senior year had in store for him. He rolled over and moved the blanket out of the way so he could see the beautiful redhead that laid next to him.

"So you are a superhero huh?" They both laughed.

"I'm not a hero, just some kid who is basically a living flamethrower."

"Did it happen that night, in the woods" Matty took his time before responding.

"Yeah, when you left I confronted Gary and his gang, we were all hit by lightning, then I woke up and that's when I went running home and you saw me. I'm glad you left though, I want you to be safe at all times. And I don't know what was special about the lightning that night but that is how it all started, I guess."

"Maybe it wasn't the lightning that is special, maybe, you are special" Matty laughed and gave his now-public-girlfriend a kiss goodnight and as he rolled over he looked back through his window into the woods.

"Maybe, but I just can't help but feel like this fight isn't over yet"

The end