Unlikely Heroes

"How is this possible? Statistically one of us should have beat her by now."

Mikaela sat primly next to Cal, looking smug as she crushed them all at Mortal Kombat for the fourth time in a row. Cal was watching her with his eyebrows raised while Brett gave them a statistics lesson and Leon was yelling at his controller to get its head in the game.

"Actually," Mikaela said casually, "it's one hundred percent probable that I can kick your sorry asses any day of the week."

"Did you just trash talk us?" Cal asked.

"Not at all, Calvin. I was merely stating a fact."

"Okay, it's on."

Mikaela laughed at the determined look on his face as they started playing again. It was an intense battle that involved the guys shouting and cursing a lot, then groaning in defeat as Mikaela beat them again.

"In your face, losers."

"You're a really sore winner," Cal said.

"But I'm still the winner." Mikaela grinned. The doorbell rang and Leon raised his video game controller in the air triumphantly, elbowing Brett in the nose in the process.

"Pizza!" he declared. He scrambled to his feet and darted off to answer the door while Brett massaged his sore face with a scowl and followed him.

"It's like he's still six years old," he muttered. Cal leaned back on his elbows and studied Mikaela.

"What?" she asked.

"I never in a million years would have guessed that you'd be hanging out with me for all the world to see, or that you'd be playing video games with us."

"More like whooping you at video games," she corrected. "There's a lot you don't know about me, Cal Bennett."

"Do I get to keep learning? When it comes to you I think I can be a pretty good student."

"Maybe," she replied coyly. "But I'll assign a lot of homework."

Cal perked up. "What kind of homework?"

"You'll find out later. You never know, there might be a pop quiz."

"You're using school work to make dirty innuendos and somehow it's really working."

Mikaela laughed, leaning over to plant a kiss on his nose. Brett and Leon returned with the pizza, Leon waving an anchovy-covered slice at Brett, who looked slightly sick.

"Keep that shit away from me. It reeks."

"You reek," Leon retorted. The guys finally gave up on trying to beat Mikaela at Mortal Kombat and the four of them sat around eating pizza until Leon decided to try and slip ice cubes down Brett and Cal's shirts. Mikaela sat back and shook her head as the three of them started cursing and wrestling over the ice cubes.

"Shouldn't you be intervening as the only responsible one here?" Cal asked.

"No, I'm actually thinking of throwing some mud on you and charging people money to watch this," she replied, grinning. Mikaela was surprised to find that she was reluctant to leave when it started getting late. Leon and Brett told her and Cal goodbye as they left, giving Cal stern instructions to behave himself. He flipped them off while Mikaela snickered. They disappeared back inside the house as Cal walked Mikaela to his car, catching her hand and pulling her against him before she could open the door.

"I'm glad you came," he said quietly, resting his forehead against hers.

"I am too," she admitted.

"It's pretty hot, you being all nerdy and talking shit."

"Yeah?" Mikaela smirked. "Maybe I should kick your ass more often then."

"Don't get cocky about it, Miss Chase." He smiled and bent his head to kiss her.

"You're staying with me tonight, right?" she murmured when she finally pulled back.

"Absolutely."

"Good. Cause I was the undefeated champion tonight and I feel like celebrating."

Cal hurriedly opened the passenger door. "I love celebrating," he said. Mikaela found it hard to believe that scarcely a month and a half ago she had thought Cal was the bane of her existence and now she was tangled up under her sheets with him and never wanted to be anywhere else. She rested her chin on his chest, tracing her fingers over the tattoo on his shoulder.

"Someday I'm going to ask you why you chose this design," she murmured. Cal cracked one eye open and looked at her.

"Is that the day I can ask how you got the scar on your side?" he asked.

"It's not a very interesting story," she said, carefully focused on not flinching. She had never told anyone the truth about that scar. She felt safe with Cal, but she was still hesitant to tell him anything about her father and the things he did to her. She was afraid of Cal thinking she was too damaged, or pitiful.

"Everything about you is interesting," Cal replied, kissing the top of her head. Mikaela disagreed but she smiled, kissing him before snuggling down with her head on his shoulder. The next day he drove her to school, seemingly still a little weirded out by the amount of attention they drew walking across the parking lot together. Mikaela, however, was used to always being stared at and whispered about so she almost didn't even notice.

"Aww, look at those two. Young love," Leon said as they approached. Cal wrinkled his nose.

"Stop trying to make it weird."

Leon snorted. "It's already weird. Everyone stares at you guys like you're an exotic new species or something. It's creepy."

"Maybe they're all body snatchers," Mikaela said. "And we're the only ones who haven't been snatched yet. So they're waiting for their moment to strike."

"Please don't encourage him to be more paranoid and ridiculous than he already is," Brett said as Leon's eyes widened. Mikaela sat with them at lunch again, ignoring the mystified stares of her usual crowd. She had cheer practice after school so Cal promised to wait for her and drive her home.

"You don't have to go out of your way to take me home," she said.

"But if I do, I get to be with you longer."

Smiling, Mikaela kissed him and they made out until she had to go to practice. She noticed that Sadie wasn't there, even though Mikaela had seen her around school that day. Sadie finally made her appearance after practice was over, storming into the locker room as Mikaela was changing back into her normal clothes.

"You backstabbing bitch!" Sadie said shrilly, flinging the door open so hard it banged the wall.

"Nice to see you too, Sadie. Practice ended like twenty minutes ago though."

"I hope you rot in hell, Mikaela," Sadie snapped. "Cal was mine. And you just couldn't stand it so you had to go and steal him!"

"Yours? Interesting. I don't recall seeing Property of Sadie stamped anywhere on his body. And I would've noticed, because I've seen every inch," Mikaela replied smoothly. There were a few scandalized giggles and someone whispered, "oh, snap."

Sadie looked livid, her face practically purple. "You think you're so hot. But one day Cal is going to see what a gold digging, used up whore you are and realize you ruin everything you touch and he'll come running back to me. Everyone knows this won't last for long."

Mikaela remained impassive, not letting on that Sadie had struck a sensitive nerve. She slipped her tank top on and shimmied into her jeans. A dead silence had descended on the locker room and everyone waited to see what Mikaela would do. She closed her locker and gathered up her bag.

"What's the matter?" Sadie taunted. "No comeback because you know I'm right?"

"If I'm such a used up whore, and he still chose me over you, then what does that make you?" she asked sweetly, shoving Sadie's shoulder hard as she walked by. She stalked out to the parking lot, feeling a sudden and irrational urge to cry. Cal was leaning against his car and looked up at her approach. But his grin faded as he saw her face.

"Hey, are you all right?"

"Yeah," Mikaela said, forcing a smile. "I'm fine."

"What happened?" Cal asked, seeing right through her. She shook her head.

"I don't wanna talk about it," she muttered. "Can we please just get out of here?"

"Sure." Cal helped her into the car after kissing her forehead.

"So, Super Dork," Mikaela said, trying to keep her voice from wavering. "When are you going to produce your fancy police scanner so we can do this whole super hero thing properly?"

"I'll take care of it soon," Cal promised, reaching over to take her hand. "You want me to stay over with you for a while?" he asked softly.

She nodded and was thankful Cal didn't ask her any more questions as they drove to her house.