The party was in full swing when Elsa arrived.

Everyone was having a grand old time. I'll admit, it was nice seeing everyone back together again after the summer. I had a smile on my face that had little to do with the stories that Tony was repeating for the thousandth time to a thoroughly engaged audience. He had a way with people that made it so easy for them to like him. He told the best stories, even if he did tell them time and time again. It's really no wonder that he's always been one of the popular kids. I just sat by him, drinking in the atmosphere that surrounded us and joining in with the laughter by automation.

I was seated near the balcony, a floor above most of the festivities, where I could still see everything going on without being completely involved. I could see a game of Beer Pong, various card games in action, a few circles of idle conversation and finally Nicholas off in the kitchen, entertaining guests in his own way and serving drinks. As normal as I tried to be, that was something that I simply could not join in on. Drunken teenagers surrounded me, but I was more than comfortable drinking water out of my plastic red cup. I didn't want to risk turning invisible in front of all these people just for the sake of a slight buzz. Besides, I'd much rather remember the whole night (unlike Nicholas who had a consistent habit of forgetting anything that happened after Midnight).

The door opened and I could see Elsa walk in shyly as one of the tall boys announced her entrance to the crowd. The entrance hall seemed to fill instantly with people who wished to talk to the new girl. I sat still with Tony on the couch, a fair amount of people still invested in the story he was telling. This one was about the time that he broke his arm while trying to give me a ride on his bike. I actually experienced this story first-hand so I permitted myself a look to the front hall at the crowd of people surrounding the little blonde haired girl from Norway. She was nodding and answering in short sentences as she tried to take her shoes off and actually enter the party. Nicholas, slightly intoxicated, made his way through the thicket of people towards Elsa, leaving a wake of free space behind him. He offered a hand to her and guided her to the kitchen where he had his assortment of drinks. I could see the crowd follow her, eager to continue their idea of conversation with the pretty girl. From my vantage point I could see Nicholas unsuccessfully offer her alcohol before she was able to convince him that she just wanted water. A twinge of pride pulled at the corners of my mouth, forming a discreet smile as I took a sip from my own beverage of choice.

"Right Vi?" I heard Tony address me, breaking my concentration on the floor below us. Mouth still full of water, I switched my gaze to him, swallowed and offered my articulate response.

"Huh?" I replied, to slight chuckles from Tony's captive audience.

"It could have been a lot worse right?" He jogged my memory of the biking accident that happened not 6 months ago.

"Yeah, Tony almost landed on his head, but I-" I paused before almost revealing that I had saved Tony using my powers. "I caught him before he hit the concrete. He was really lucky to have me around." I winked at Tony in an effort to shrug off my potentially horrible blunder. He rolled his eyes in response and the others laughed heartily. This was one of the few things that I could thank alcohol for: my friends' short memories and good attitude.

"To be honest, I blacked out so I don't really know if Vi was the hero or she just likes to pretend she is" he slyly smiled at me as he made his retort. I stuck my tongue out at him. If only he know how hard I was trying every day not to be a hero.

My mind wandered back to Elsa as Tony continued his story. Why was everyone so amazed by her? In the past week she had opened up a slight bit more, but that meant that she had gone from ignoring greetings in the halls to offering a small "Hi" in response before continuing on her way. She hardly talked in class; speaking only when the teachers called on her to answer a question (She always had the right answer). We had two classes together: Physics and Biology. Initially I thought she was quiet because she spoke hardly any English, but my theory was debunked the first time I heard her answer a complicated Physics question. Her voice was mature, light and devoid of any foreign accent, at least to my ear. The class was just as enamored with her as ever after being introduced to her voice. It seemed that there was nothing she could do that was imperfect to these people, yet she was still shy and quiet most of the time.

Noise rose from the kitchen and I turned to see the drunken mob excitedly closing in on Elsa who was backing closer and closer to the counter in a feeble attempt to escape the crowd. Her hip nudged the counter and she stumbled slightly, one pale hand grabbing the sink for support as the other reached up to her neckline in a gesture of panic.

Then I saw it. I think I was the only one who did, thankfully. Where Elsa's hand touched the counter, I saw a blue shimmer spread from her hand towards the sink half full of water and unwashed dishes. The shimmer was in the water and from where I was sitting, it looked like Elsa had just frozen the inside of the sink.

She's a super. It explained so much. The shyness, the water, maybe even the way people were drawn to her. She's pretty much a celebrity already I thought, remembering the sight of my parents on the covers of magazines and such when I was little. Some people just looked like they belonged on TV and she was one of them.

Coming back to the situation at hand, I saw her eyes widen as she realized what she had done unconsciously. In an effort to distract her audience from the partly frozen sink she ran straight through the crowd, pushing stunned admirers aside on her way to the door. Clearly in a frenzied state, Elsa pulled open the door ran outside barefoot. I didn't even realize what I was doing before I was out the door too, holding Elsa's shoes and chasing her down the sidewalk.

"Elsa, wait!" I yelled to her, causing her to slow down and turn around to look at me.

"Thank You...uh"

"Violet" I finished for her, panting as I handed the shoes over.

"Violet, um...thanks." she continued as she knelt down to put the shoes on.

"I saw what you did back there" I continued once her shoes were neatly tied up. The girl looked up at me with fear in her eyes. I could tell she was thinking of running again.

"No, don't worry!" I reassured her breathlessly. "I'm the same as you."

Her look of fear became a look of confusion as I reached out my hand. She took it, stood up and met my gaze.

"Wh-what do you mean?" she asked shakily as I motioned for her to look down at our hands. Well, her hand. Mine was invisible, but she could still feel my fingers lightly resting on hers. She jerked her hand away suddenly and the look of fear returned to her eyes. I raised my arm to show her the quick reappearance of my hand.

"Where do you live?" I inquired to the stunned girl who just kept staring at me.

"C'mon Elsa, I'll walk you home. It's not safe for a pretty girl like you to walk alone at night, even in the suburbs." She relaxed slightly, blushing a tiny bit before she nodded. As she turned around, I heard her mutter "Thank You".

She didn't say another word.