Sorry for the delay, but school has been pounding me with work. I still feel horrible, though.
This chapter is pretty good, I think, but the chapters won't really start getting good until after the observatory incident.
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Daniel thought he had been nervous the first time around, but meeting Mollie Lee a second time when she had no idea who he was? Now, that was nerve racking.
And now, here she was, a small Korean girl that had yet to hit her growth spurt but still towered over him (much to his annoyance). She wore her usual ripped up jeans and boyish T-shirts, her black hair pulled back, in a low ponytail. Even back then, she was beautiful.
Daniel shook his head and dropped the ball, watching as Georgie squealed, picked it up, dropped it, and repeat.
"Hey," he said, going for a proper introduction versus the awkward conversation they'd had last time. "I'm Daniel, Daniel Corrigan. You are?"
"Mollie Lee," she answered, shaking his outstretched hand. "Your family moving in with Ms. Stewart?"
"Yeah, she's my gram. She's sick, so we're here to take care of her," Daniel told her, trying to keep a close eye on Georgie while talking to Mollie. His little brother was still happily playing with his ball by his side.
Mollie nodded and pursed her lips.
"You live around here? " He asked, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.
"Across the street," she told him, vaguely, while stabbing a thumb over her shoulder.
Daniel nodded and turned to check on Georgie, only to see that his little brother had vanished.
"Georgie, come back!" He called to his sibling, who was dashing after his blue ball, sprinting into the road and in front of a car that wasn't stopping or slowing down. "GEORGIE!"
He knew Mollie would save him, but that didn't stop from his mind going into overdrive and his heart beating faster that what should be possible.
He hadn't taken a single panicked step before Mollie was at his side with Georgie in her arms. It still amazed him how fast she was, and he knew she would only get faster as she grew older.
He took Georgie from her and started thanking her, his words coming out faster than Mollie could fly.
"Thank you; thank you so much, Mollie," he gasped with relief.
She simply nodded, not saying a word for a moment, before stating, "You should keep an eye on your brother; I think he likes trouble."
Daniel smiled and nodded. "He sure does, but then again, don't all kids attract trouble?"
She smirked in agreement. "Got that right. I better get going; it's almost lunch time. See you, Daniel."
"See you, Mollie."
And they parted ways, but Daniel knew that this would not be the end of their friendship. They would become friends, and later on, she'd become his girlfriend. Things would be just like they were before Plunkett and his bodyguards messed everything up.
He would make sure of it.
The next day, Daniel called his goodbyes to his family before rushing out the door to the bus stop.
He wasn't going to be late; in fact, he'd be fairly early, but he was so eager to see Rohan again. Daniel hadn't realized how close he'd gotten to the tiny, sophisticated kid with glasses too big and senses too strong until he'd lost him.
Daniel arrived at the bus stop before the other two, and he decided that now was the perfect time to continue planning. He'd been thinking a lot about the future the night before while trying to sleep and failing miserably. What should he change and what shouldn't he?
Well, he couldn't change the Observatory Incident because although it involved him falling through a hole in the wall and nearly dying, it was what made him and the Supers friends and what got the ball rolling.
Simon's birthday. He was definitely planning on stopping that; as much as Simon got on his nerves, he wasn't about to let the sarcastic, annoyingly proud boy get his powers sapped and all the memories of his friends stolen.
He definitely wouldn't believe Plunkett this time, which would prevent Eric's kidnapping, Mollie's injuries, and a whole bunch of other things that nearly tore the Supers apart.
Now, what about the battle at the Old Quarry?
Daniel was just starting to debate that when he heard footsteps. The first time around, he wouldn't have jumped or even heard the foot falls of two people, but after all that had happened, Daniel had become more alert. His kidnapping later this year taught him how to use his other senses to stay on his toes. The whole power stealing stuff taught him that everything is not as it seems. And he'd also learned to be careful who you trust. This resulted in a paranoid boy with ears and touch that rivaled Rohan's senses.
Speaking of Rohan...
"You must be Daniel," Rohan, in all his little tie and thick glasses and incredibly shot glory, stated, holding out his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Rohan."
"Nice to meet you," Daniel stated. "Hey, Mollie."
She simply waved, but he hadn't expected anything special, not even a hello. Mollie didn't trust easy, and Daniel had earned that trust much easier than anyone else had. Eric once told him that Mollie ignored him for a week after the pair joined the Supers- Mollie a few weeks after Eric. Daniel had started laughing because Mollie had trusted him more than she trusted Eric. His friend had then proceeded to say that it was only because Mollie liked Daniel. Daniel had promptly shut up.
"Oh, no, " Rohan suddenly said.
Clay and Bud, Daniel thought but bit his lip to prevent the names from slipping off his tongue.
And sure enough, two burly boys came loping around the corner in their mean eyed and 'better than you' way while Clay smirked upon seeing them.
"Crud," said Rohan. "It's Clay Cudgens. He and Bud must've missed the bus and decided to hike up here to our stop."
"Or they just decided to start their day off with a little 'fun,' " said Mollie. "Watch yourself around those two, New Kid."
"Yeah," echoed Rohan. "Same goes for all of us." Daniel watched as Rohan put on a nose clip, and wished he'd thought to carry one. Bud's stench was way worse in the past before he'd gotten more confident, if only by a small amount.
"Well, lookee here! It's Mollie and her girlfriend, Rohan!" Clay snarked and Daniel gritted his teeth, feeling the urge to punch the bully right in the nose, but he knew Clay would cream him.
"Just ignore them, Mol," Rohan whispered to her, but Daniel knew it was a lost cause. Mollie Lee was a firecracker waiting to go off, and she didn't wait for her cue; she did what she wanted when she wanted. And Daniel loved that about her.
Daniel shook that thought from his head. You and her are only twelve. It'll have to wait.
"Aw, yeah, Clay!" said Bud. "Rohan is Mollie's girlfriend, because Rohan is such a girl! Good one, man!"
Daniel raised his eyebrows. Bud really had gone along with everyone else, if he didn't even know what to say other than rephrase the statements of others. Sure, Bud wasn't the sharpest tool in the box, but he was smarter than that.
The air grew twice as foul as before, and Daniel openly covered his nose.
"Yo, Bud. Stand downwind, man. You're going to make me lose my breakfast!" said Clay.
"Sorry, dude. It gets worse when I get excited," said Bud as he stepped back a few feet from the rest of them.
Daniel knew that wasn't true. Bud's stench got worse when he was angry, like during the battle with the Shroud, or when he was upset. But his stench almost disappeared when he was happy or relieved; Bud himself had told Daniel that the reason he hadn't smelled on the bus after the Observatory was because he was relieved to see Eric catch him.
"So," said Clay, sizing up Daniel. "Who's this?"
"Daniel, Daniel Corrigan," he stated, boldly, staring Clay straight in the eyes, shocking the bully a bit. Older Clay wouldn't have been surprised; after all, Daniel had fought a baleful, menacing shadow and won; compared to that, Clay was just another playground bully, even with super strength.
"Daaaaniel, huh?" Clay sneered as he stepped closer. He was a good several inches taller than Daniel. "So are these your new best friends, Daniel? A crazy Buddha and a girl?"
"I'm Hindu, not Buddhist," Rohan chirped.
"Shut up, no one's talking to you," said Bud from several feet away.
Daniel tried not to glare at Bud for that comment. After all, he knew Bud wasn't really the bully he pretended to be; hopefully, Daniel would be able to get him to drop the act and be who he really was, not another Clay.
"So, what's the story, New Kid?" asked Clay, putting one of his long arms around Daniel's shoulders. "Are these losers your friends or what?"
Daniel didn't hesitate; he ducked out from under Clay's arm to stand beside Mollie and Rohan. "Yes, they are," he responded.
"Too bad for you, New Kid," he said. "Just for that, I think I'll take that nice new backpack you're wearing. I left mine at home."
He reached for Daniel's backpack, but Daniel danced out of the way. After playing tag with Mollie and Eric, he'd gotten pretty good at a game of side step and dodging. Put that on top of all the times Clay tried to corner him, and Daniel had learned strategies to prevent fights and get out of them should the need arise.
Clay reached again, and Daniel side stepped. After all these years, he'd learned Clay's fighting strategy. Clay Cudgens was all strength and no speed or thought. Daniel knew if he could bide his time long enough, the bus would arrive and he'd make it out unscathed.
Reach. Side step. Reach. Dodge.
"Stop. Moving!" Clay snapped, reaching again and stumbling when Daniel moved to stand beside the others.
"Gah!"
As if on cue, the bus rounded the corner and Clay glared.
"This ain't over, New Kid," before he began to match away.
"Clay, it's the last stop! My mom will kill me," Bud called after him.
Clay kept walking.
"Just get on," Daniel advised. "He doesn't control your life, and besides, the bus is already here." He gestured to the bus, which was a few mere yards away.
Bud hesitated, glancing between Clay and the bus, before the bus pulled up and he shrugged, following the other three onto the bus. Clay soon hopped on after seeing Bud had failed to join him in the long trek to school.
Daniel didn't fail to notice the shocked glances the two bullies and his new old friends gave him.
What did you think? Once again, I apologize for my absence, but I'm working on my schedule. Hopefully, I'll see you soon.
