Chapter 2: We could be Heroes…
"It's my turn to be somebody now, Nathan!" I spoke evenly and closed my eyes. I outstretched my arms like I had in my dreams and I stepped off the ledge. I noticed all too quickly that I was falling, not flying…
I was falling fast. This was it I was crazy. I shut my eyes tight. I'm sorry Rory. It was the last thing I thought before I felt someone grab my hand. I quickly opened my eyes to see Nathan.
"You're flying, Nathan. You're flying. How did you...?" I stuttered as we were somewhere between flying and falling.
"I don't know." Nathan replied as he tried to hold his grip. I could tell he was lying; I was about to call him on it but then my hand slipped from his grasp and I fell.
"No…NO!" I heard Nathan scream before I hit the ground. Everything went black.
--
When I opened my eyes, I didn't know where I was. I didn't know what had happened. Nathan was standing above me, he gave me a small smile of relief.
"Where am I?" I asked him, sitting up slightly.
"You're in the hospital." Nathan said matter-of-factly. I really hated that about him. He always knew everything.
"What happened?" I asked carefully, not knowing if I really wanted to know. Nathan paused for a few long moments.
"You don't remember?" He asked cautiously.
"No." I stated nervously.
"You jumped, Pete." He spoke quietly and turned his head to the right.
"Jumped?" I questioned. That couldn't be, I'm not suicidal, I never have been.
"Off the roof of a 15-story building. You tried to kill yourself. You were a little wound up yesterday, but I thought you were just you being you." Nathan spoke slowly and without shame. I knew he was lying through his teeth. Suddenly it all came back to me. The building from my elaborate dreams; I jumped to fly but I didn't fly, Nathan did!
"What are you talking about? I didn't try to kill myself. You were in the alley below. I jumped and you....you flew." I stuttered as I spoke, trying to contain my excitement, my confusion.
"I what?" Nathan asked unbelievingly.
"You flew up and you caught me." I said plainly. I knew what had happened, I'm not crazy. Well I am crazy; I jumped off a building hoping to fly, but still.
"You jumped, Peter. Twenty-five feet to a fire escape. I climbed up and carried you down. That's what happened. The rest is just crazy talk. Understand?" He treated me like I really was his younger brother. He was obviously annoyed with me so I nodded my head in agreement. He leaned down and hugged me.
"Glad you're okay, Pete." He said with his 'presidential smile' as he left the room.
I was left alone in the hospital. I knew what had happened, Nathan was just trying to cover it up. It wouldn't look good for the election if there were rumors about him being able to fly. I knew that he was all about his image; me jumping wasn't any good for him either. Since our little secret made us brothers, me being suicidal looked bad on Nathan's part. If word got out, it might hit the news. I thought for a moment about how disastrous that would be. My mom could see it and freak out. Luke could see it and get confused. Or Rory could see it and freak out and be confused. Either way it could not end well.
--
Night had fallen and they had let me out of the hospital. I was about to head home, but instead I went to the rooftop. I sat at the edge and smiled, looking down at New York. I wasn't trying to kill myself. I wasn't like that. I pulled out my cell phone and called Nathan. I told him that I was on the hospital's rooftop and that he needed to come right away. He told me not to do anything stupid and that he was on his way. I smiled in spite of myself. I stood on the ledge and waited for Nathan to come. I turned and noticed Nathan there.
"Don't do anything stupid, Peter." He said cautiously. I shook my head.
"Tell me what happened, Nathan." I demanded. Nathan didn't speak so I continued. "When I jumped. Tell me you flew. I want to hear you say, that you flew." I knew that it was true, but I had to hear him say it. He was all too silent. "Tell me or I jump again!" I took a small step backwards towards the ledge. "Good luck on your campaign when I'm splattered all over the ground below." I said and right before I took the last step he spoke.
"All right! You want the truth?" He wasn't happy with me and I could tell, but I had to know that I wasn't crazy. I grounded myself and nodded my head.
"We both flew." Nathan said carefully. This made me angry. I began to move towards him.
"I am sick and tired of your lies, Nathan!" I yelled at him and he looked down.
"Uh Peter?" He motioned for me to look down. When I did, I saw that I was floating in midair. I fell to my feet and ran over to Nathan, pulling him into a hug. I was beside myself.
"I did it…I can fly, we can fly." I stumbled around my words and Nathan pulled away and gave me a serious look.
"You can't tell anyone about this. If people thought I could fly, they wouldn't vote for me." Nathan stated sadly. I scoffed.
"Why the hell run for senator when we can do this? We can save the world, Nathan." I said confidently. I knew that it was a lot, but it was the right thing to do. If I was really this extraordinary, then I was meant to be a hero.
"You go save the world, Pete. This is what I want. Just…promise me you won't tell anyone about me." Nathan spoke with urgency in his voice. It was clear to me that the last thing he wanted was to be a hero.
"I promise. Besides, that's what brothers are for, right?" I laughed lightly and patted him on the shoulder. He laughed with me and nodded. I always remember Nathan as that kid who used to run around Washington Square Park with me, pretending to be a superhero. I was probably seven, he was ten. We would run around in our capes and fly off to save people. Those days were long gone now. I was nineteen now and hadn't felt the need to be there for anyone else except myself. I hadn't wanted to "save people" since I was a kid. Things change though; sometimes you become someone you never knew you could be before. I realized that I am not who I thought I was…I am so much more.
