Disclaimer: Yeah, I own Degrassi, y'all. No, not really. How sad. The title of this fic belongs to Dillinger Four and their song "Super Powers Enable Me To Blend In With Machinery." I also don't own the Fall Out Boy lyrics mentioned in this chapter.
Author's note: After reading the bandfic one-shot By Super, I Mean You(written by the incredibly talented arctic_grey at LiveJournal), I just had to write this. This is an early birthday present for marieloveseclare, who is a comic book junkie and squealed when I told her about this little dorky fic idea of mine. Won't be more than four chapters, I'm sure. Wrote this just for fun, don't take it too seriously, etc. *This happens sometime during TBP, I guess.* Enjoy!
Eli's tongue is teasing Clare's skin, and whoa, she tastes amazing. Eli can't believe he's finally able to be with Clare like this, that he's allowed to kiss her, that he's allowed to see her naked. Naked.
"Eli," she moans loudly, and the air is getting thick, and he can't think...
The bell rings and Eli opens his eyes quickly, realizing three things at once. 1. He fell asleep during remedial math, which is probably not the best idea. 2. He just thought of his friend Clare in the most inappropriate way. Because he's just friends with her, okay, yes, thank you very much. 3. His skinny jeans are feeling uncomfortably tight around his crotch area. Fuck.
"Dude, let's go," says Adam, picking up his bags as the rest of the students scramble to get out of the classroom. "I'm starving. And if you keep falling asleep during math you're definitely going to fail."
"Um..." Eli doesn't know how to say this without being awkward, so he just drums his fingers on the desk. "I can't stand up right now."
"Why?" asks Adam, arching an eyebrow.
"Well..." Eli clears his throat and his eyes dart to his lower half but Adam seems oblivious. The teacher shoots Eli a dirty look before leaving, but he doesn't care and the classroom is soon empty.
"What?" blurts Adam defensively as Eli rolls his eyes at him. "As much as I wish I could, I can't read minds, so you better tell me what's going on."
"I..." Eli moves uneasily on his seat and winces, his face suddenly hot. "I think I sort of had a wet dream during math."
"Huh?"
"Dude, seriously, stop acting so stupid," says Eli closing his eyes, and he hears Adam let out a disgusted gasp.
"Oh, man, you got a boner?" squirms Adam, and Eli opens his eyes, glaring at his best friend.
"Shut up," snaps Eli, and suddenly, Adam starts laughing uncontrollably, his face extremely red. Eli doesn't get it why it's so funny, because he's freaking out. They're supposed to meet Clare and then go to lunch, but there is no way Eli will be able to face her, not like this.
"Give me your book," says Eli urgently, pointing at Adam's math book. Adam hands it to him, still laughing as tears start rolling down his cheeks. Eli stands up slowly, pressing the book against his crotch, and he looks around making sure they're definitely alone.
"Okay, just... walk in front of me all the way to the restrooms," mutters Eli, and Adam (finally) stops laughing.
"That won't look suspicious at all," mocks Adam, winking at him, and Eli has a sudden desire to throw the book at him. They walk out of the classroom, Eli holding the book with one hand and his backpack with the other, wishing that Adam would walk faster.
"Guys!"
No, no, no. Oh, no.
Clare is running over to them, a wide smile plastered on her face while she holds a piece of paper in her hand. Adam glances at Eli in horror, and Eli thinks that Adam shouldn't worry. He's not the one with a hard-on in the middle of the hallway.
"I got an A in my pre-calc test," grins Clare, waving the paper in front of them. "Are you still sure that you don't want me to help you with math?"
"Pretty sure," says Eli quickly.
"Not at all," interjects Adam just as fast. "Um, congrats, Clare."
Adam gives Clare an awkward hug and she responds eagerly, and then she looks at Eli shyly, as if waiting. Oh, well, Eli can't really give her hug at the moment, right?
"Yeah, we should celebrate tomorrow," mumbles Eli, pressing the book closer to him. "It's Saturday, after all."
"Okay," smiles Clare, blushing when she makes eye contact with Eli. Adam sighs exasperatedly, as he always does whenever Eli and Clare have a "moment," but Eli can't wait to leave.
"So, are we going to the caf or what?" asks Clare brightly, and Eli shakes his head.
"You and Adam can go," he says hurriedly. "I need to do something."
Adam snickers and Eli's hand automatically hits the boy in the arm, and as soon as Eli hears the sound of the book falling on the ground, he gasps. Wrong hand, wrong hand, oh fuck, wrong hand.
Everything happens in slow motion; Clare attempts to kneel down and pick up the book but before she does, her eyes focus on Eli's crotch and she squeals, covering her eyes with her hands.
"I'm sorry!" she exclaims, her tone horrified. "Oh, I shouldn't be here right now, not here, not here." She runs away, looking flustered, and Eli feels furious at himself.
"Damn it," mutters Eli, kneeling down and grabbing the book quickly. "I have to go." He walks away fast, his ears burning and his heart racing, and he finally spots the restroom. He sighs with relief when he notices that the stalls are empty, and he locks himself in one of them.
He puts the book aside and feels frustrated with himself. Clare will probably see him differently right now, maybe she'll think he's some sort of perv, getting hard in school. If she only knew...
As Eli unzips his jeans, he wishes he could be invisible, just for once.
Later
"This is awesome! Thanks, CeCe," says Bullfrog happily, flicking through the magazine eagerly. "I can't believe you found this, oh man."
"You're probably the only person who gets excited about vintage Billy Idol magazines," says Eli dryly, poking at his chicken with his fork.
"Well, I think the boy is moody today," chuckles Bulfrog as CeCe joins them at the table. Eli shrugs and attempts to eat, with no positive result. He's still thinking about the embarrassing incident in front of Clare. He thinks of texting her, but what could he possibly say? Hey, Clare, sorry that you saw me with a boner, no big deal. It's not like you caused it or anything.
"When I was at the record store looking for the Billy magazine, I couldn't help but notice all these comic books," asks CeCe, trying to lighten the mood as always. "If you could have a superpower, which one would you pick?"
"Flight!" says Bullfrog inmediatly. "Man, I could go everywhere, anytime. That would be so fucking rad."
Eli scoffs and continues to eat as his mother hums, thinking of an answer. "I think... I would do telekinesis," she says finally. "Imagine being able to move stuff around without effort! That would be nice. What about you, Eli?"
"Invisibility," says Eli monotonously. "That would come in handy. I'm not hungry, guys, I'll just go to my bedroom now."
"Are you okay?" asks CeCe kindly, and Bullfrog stares at him in concern.
"Tough day at school," says Eli neutrally, standing up. "Thanks for dinner." He leaves the kitchen and he hears his parents muttering behind his back, but he's used to it. They worry about him too much.
He gets to his bedroom and yawns as he unlocks it, cringing slightly when he turns on the light, because he sees the mess in his room. If he had the power of invisibility, he would find a way to make his stuff invisible as well. He turns off the light almost intermediately, which gives him a sick sense of comfort. He trips a couple of times on his way to his bed, cursing quietly at himself when he does. He quickly climbs into bed, pushing away some of the mess on his mattress. He doesn't even bother turning on his lamp, he just closes his eyes, wishing he could disappear. He keeps thinking of Clare, and wonders if she will ever talk to him again. What if she's too disgusted by him? He will have to avoid her from now on, and he doesn't want that. No, he doesn't want her out of his life.
But in case she decides to avoid him... Yes, invisibility would be nice.
I don't care what you think as long as it's about me... the best of us can find happiness in misery...
Eli opens his eyes and stares at the ceiling, not able to believe that it's morning already. He feels like he barely slept, and he reaches for his alarm clock to stop the music coming from it. His room is silent, and he moves around on the mattress, listening to it squeak. He thinks of calling Adam so they can hang out and play video games or something, something to distract him from yesterday's incidents.
Eli closes his eyes and covers his face with his hands, and when he opens his eyes, he expects darkness. But there is not darkness, he only sees his ceiling, and he freaks out. He blinks and sure enough, the ceiling is right there. But that's not possible, he just covered his face with his hands, so how..?
He blinks again and finally, darkness engulfs him. But it makes no sense, just a few moments ago he swears he could see right through his hands. He removes his hands from his face and stares at them, and he realizes that maybe he's just imagining things. Yes, that's it. His mind is playing tricks on him, that's all.
He gets out of bed and trips with a stack of newspaper, but he stands up quickly, brushing off the dirt on his jeans. But he can't see his legs. What the fuck?
He runs into his bathroom and tries not to pass out when he realizes that his reflection is gone. He's standing in front of the mirror and there's nothing, not a sign that a 16 year-old boy is standing in front of it.
"What is going on?" he breathes, and suddenly, he becomes visible again. He pinches himself to make sure that he's not dreaming. There are dark circles under his eyes and he blinks repeatedly, wondering if maybe the lack of food is affecting his mind. Because there is no way...
He stares at his hands curiously, concentrating, and he yelps when his hands start fading away slowly. He's invisible. He has the ability of disappearing. He feels dizzy with excitement and he doesn't dare believe it, because this doesn't happen in real life, but who cares?
"Fuck, this is..." His reflection has disappeared again, and he concentrates one more time, chuckling to himself when he reappears.
Eli feels his heart beating faster, his senses heightened by the surreal experience, and he can't stop smirking. He walks out of the bathroom and tries to run to his nightstand (not without stumbling), and grabs his phone quickly, dialing Adam's number frantically.
It takes Adam forever to answer the phone, but Eli keeps holding to it, excitement flowing through his veins.
"Hello?" mumbles Adam sleepily. "Eli, it's nine on a Saturday, fuck off."
Eli takes a deep breath, triumph pounding in his ears as he thinks about the right words to say to his friend without sounding like a complete lunatic.
"What?" mumbles Adam on the other line, and Eli frowns because he hasn't said anything yet. But he dismisses it at once, wanting to tell his best friend the good, crazy news.
"Dude... you're not going to believe this."