Unlikely Heroes

News of Devon's party had spread like wildfire, and there was no doubt that Brett would have been invited. He was always invited. Of course, Cal and Leon couldn't complain. They were always invited with him, even if Cal wasn't a fan of big parties. He wasn't sure he was even going, thinking about it as he sat in his car, still not having left the school parking lot.

He'd been thinking a lot about that damn van and the effect it had on him and Mikaela. She'd been practicing, but he'd been pretending like it never happened. He looked around, making sure no one was nearby when he held out his hand, trying to make the static feeling come back with no luck. He sighed and shook his head, trying once more, but this time he felt a vibration. For a moment, he was excited. Then he realized it was just his phone receiving a text. He pursed his lips and took it out of his pocket, reading the message on the screen.

Come by the apartment when you're out of school :)
-Jessa

He wrinkled his nose, but tossed the phone into the seat next to him and started the car. It took a lot of energy to be around Jessa, sometimes. He was about to back out of the space when someone shouted, making him slam the breaks.

"Calvin!"

Leon ran around the car to the passenger window, seeing Cal frozen with his knuckles white from holding tightly on to the wheel and his eyes wide as saucers. Leon seemed confused, poking his head through the open window.

"What's got you all shaken up?" he asked.

"You ran in front of my car!" Cal almost yelled. "I almost ran you over!"

"Nah, you're my best friend, you wouldn't do that," Leon laughed.

"Not on purpose!"

"Anyways," he said, "I wanted to catch you before you left. Where are you going, anyways? You usually hang out for a while before you head to work."

"I wasn't going to work," Cal mumbled. "Not yet, anyways."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm just visiting Jessa for a bit."

Leon raised an eyebrow, giving him a half grin. "Jessa? Who's Jessa? She sounds hot."

"She's my sister, dipshit," Cal snapped, catching Leon off guard.

"I thought your sister's name was Shirley," Leon frowned.

"It is."

"I'm confused."

"It doesn't take a genius to figure this out, Leon," Cal sighed. "My dad failed to pull out three times. The first time, Shirley happened. The second time, Jessa happened. The third time, I happened. Get it now?"

Leon blinked and stared for a moment, then grinned and nodded. He really was thick skulled, sometimes.

"Anyways, what did you need?" Cal asked.

"Your car."

Cal drew back, staring at Leon like he'd been insulted. Leon was ready for this, but shifted awkwardly under Cal's piercing stare.

"Tracy Hughes thinks I have a car," he explained. "This car, specifically. Look, I said I'd give her a ride to Devon's thing, and I've really got a chance. Can I please borrow your car?"

"Borrow Brett's car," Cal said.

"Brett drives his mom's minivan," Leon protested. "Come on Cal, I'll be careful with her. Please?"

Cal pursed his lips as Leon begged, eventually giving in in frustration and getting out of the driver's seat, letting Leon take the wheel of his precious car as he slid into the passenger's seat.

"It's just for tonight, I swear," Leon promised. "I'll get her back to you tomorrow morning without a scratch."

"Just get to the freeway and I'll tell you how to get to Jessa's," Cal grumbled. "Don't go over seventy, don't try anything fancy to impress her, don't try to parallel park in a tight space, and Leon I swear to god if you fuck her in the back seat I will personally beat you to a bloody pulp. I haven't even christened her yet."

"Yeah, I got it," Leon promised. "Keep her safe, keep her clean. Got it."

Cal criticized Leon's driving the entire way, until he finally pulled up in front of the sleek high rise building in the city that Jessa lived in. It took all his energy not to freak out when leaving Leon in the driver's seat.

"I'll see you later tonight, then?" he said.

"Yeah," Cal said, annoyed. "I'll be the one showing up in Brett's mom's minivan."

Leon grinned and winked at him as he drove away, and Cal rolled his eyes, walking up to the lobby. He knew Leon was responsible, but he still intended on giving him a hard time. The doorman gave Cal an odd look as he came up the steps. By now, they recognized Cal and let him in, but not without eyeing his dark clothes, messy brown hair, and dirty shoes. When it rained, Cal always tracked mud in on purpose, just to upset them. The doorman didn't stop staring at him until the elevator door closed, and Cal was off shooting up to the fifty-third floor. There was another woman in there with him, but she stayed pressed against the wall, holding her purse tightly. Cal tried not to scowl, slipping out the elevator before the door even had a chance to open completely. He headed to the door at the end of the hall, knocking impatiently until a petite young woman opened it, her electric blue hair catching Cal off guard. He wasn't sure how she had the time and energy to style her short hair and put on such heavy makeup every morning, but Jessa refused to be seen by anyone unless she looked like a Grammy-winning pop star. Fake eyelashes and six inch heels seemed like a hassle to Cal, especially every day, but he didn't dare question her. He gave her a half smile and she squealed excitedly, hugging her younger brother tightly and ushering him inside the modern luxury apartment.

Being closer to Jessa's age, Cal was always closer with her. Shirley was ten years older than he was, and she often acted like she was above Cal. Which she was. Both his sisters were. Jessa, however made an effort to acknowledge Cal's existence in the family. She dragged him behind her like a puppy, sitting him right down next to an older guy, who didn't even bother sitting up straight or opening his eyes to look at Cal as he puffed his cigarette.

"Still a douche, huh Ricky?" Cal said, pushing his feet off the couch so he could sit.

"Still fucking your sister," Ricky smirked, flipping Cal the bird.

Cal's lips twitched to a smile as he threw a pillow at Ricky. He could always count on his sister's on and off boyfriend since middle school to make him feel like shit, but a good kind of shit. Like a morning shit after being backed up for a week.

"What did you need to tell me that was so urgent?" Cal asked. "Is it the blue hair? It was pink, last time I was here."

"Nothing, I just wanted to see my baby brother," Jessa said, sliding into a seat by the couch.

"Really?" Cal raised an eyebrow, not quite sure he believed her. "Did Mom tell you to?"

"No, of course not," Jessa said. "I invited you because I wanted to."

"That is such a lie, Jess," Cal sighed. "Who is it, Dad?"

"Yes," she admitted sheepishly. "Look, Cal, he's just trying to get in touch with you again. He says you're barely ever home, if you ever do come home. And when you are home, you steal food from the kitchen and hide in your room so you don't have to see anyone. When was the last time you sat down for a family dinner?"

"He hasn't been home for dinner in ages," Cal argued. "He leaves for work before the sun comes up, and he doesn't come home until around ten. And even then, he's still working. He's always on the damn phone. If he wanted father-son bonding time, I'm all fucking for it. All he has to do is make an attempt to talk to me. Tell him that. It's a little too late to go fishing or play catch in the park, but maybe he can make me like him at the least."

"He is making an attempt," Jessa frowned.

"No, he's not," Cal said, standing up now. "He sent you to 'talk some sense' into me, instead of talking to me himself. And if he does decide to talk to me, it'll be about getting a haircut and joining the military. Come on, Jessa, you know this is all true. I'm a fucking nuisance he doesn't have the time to deal with."

Jessa had nothing to say to this. Even Ricky looked at her as if to say Cal was right. His parents weren't involved in his life from the start. Shirley had been the only one who had the full of attention of both her parents, and Jessa was raised by them until Cal was born. That's when the nanny was hired. Cal didn't even know the tall, pretty blonde woman who dressed him up in stylish clothes like a toddler dress up doll was his mother until his nanny explained it to him when he was five at the request of his father. And even now, at eighteen years old, his parents were still expecting others to talk to and raise Cal.

Frustrated, he left the apartment. Jessa followed, trying to get him to stay, but he slammed the door and went back in the elevator before she could. Cal's family tended to leave a bitter taste in his mouth. They didn't know him very well at all. It was why he avoided them at all costs. When he got to the bottom of the building, he realized all too suddenly that he was stranded in the middle of the city, with no car. He knew Brett wasn't going to drive all the way out to get him, either. He sighed and decided on the subway, using that to get back to his home town and waiting on Brett from the station there.

Cal wasn't sure he wanted to go to Devon's party in that mood, but he didn't have much of a choice if he wanted a ride home. He spent most of the time just hanging around the living room and taking a few shots when they came around to calm his tense nerves. He was just starting to loosen up when Sadie came up and hugged him behind, standing on her tippy toes to kiss his cheek. He sighed and turned around to face her, a little too buzzed and tired to push her off.

"Where have you been?" she asked. "I was waiting."

"Don't wait for me," Cal told her. "You'll be waiting a long time."

"I'll wait as long as I need to," Sadie laughed, Cal's point going right over her head.

He rolled his eyes and ignored her for the most part, until she put her arms around his neck and pulled him down into a long, drawn out kiss. When he pulled away, he noticed Brett over Sadie's shoulder with his arm around some other girl with red hair, giving him a weird look as Sadie's lips brushed down Cal's jawline and neck.

"Come on," she said quietly. "Let's go find a room before someone else does."

"Right now?" Cal mumbled. "Here?"

"Why not?" Sadie shrugged. "It's been a long while since we've... You know. You look stressed. You could use a little comfort right now."

For a few moments, Cal considered it. He was tired and annoyed, after all. It was a good distraction, even if it meant Sadie not letting him go. He put an arm around Sadie's waist and she didn't hesitate to cling tightly onto him, eagerly trying to pull him away. They both jumped when a bunch of glass bottles broke in the kitchen, and Cal's first instinct was to look for Mikaela. He found her looking a bit shaken next to Trevor, who was trying to stop a nosebleed. Cal could easily guess what had happened. It was a bit funny to him that while he had no idea how to use his abilities and bring them up, Mikaela seemed to have the opposite problem. Her telepathy was a little too visible.

While everyone went to look at the shocking scene, Cal noticed Mikaela slip away, rushing outside. Sadie didn't seem to care, which surprised Cal a little. He was under the impression the two were very good friends. While Sadie was distracted, he slipped away as well, following Mikaela out into the backyard and seeing her cross her arms over her chest to fight the cold as she sat on a swing out on a swing set in Devon's backyard. Cal approached her slowly, and she just glared at him.

"What do you want?" she mumbled.

"I want to ask if you're okay," he said. "Since no one else is."

"I'm fine."

She looked away from Cal, down at her feet as he sat down on the swing next to her, trying to think of what else to say. Normally, he wouldn't care, but since he was the only other person who knew about her situation, he felt obligated to help her calm down before her telepathy brought the entire house down. When he looked up, he noticed Sadie was staring at them through the glass doors. She was wearing a smile, but there was murder in her eyes. He wasn't sure if the eyes were for him or for Mikaela.

"You wanna get out of here?" Cal suggested. "Neither of us have cars tonight. And I doubt you want to hang out here much longer."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Mikaela said, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"Alright," Cal shrugged, standing up and walking to the door in the fence leading to the street. "I didn't realize that you liked college meatheads touching your butt. You stay here and keep getting harassed, then. Farewell, Miss Chase."

He started walking away, and as expected, Mikaela followed him, pushing past him to walk ahead of him and lead.

"Fine, but you're paying," she said.

Cal smirked and shrugged, walking out with her. He wasn't sure how she walked so easily in those heels. They'd gone pretty far, all the way downtown, and she still wasn't limping. Or her feet hurt, and she was too proud to show it in front of Cal.

"You can walk barefoot, you know," he suggested. "You're still shorter than me, with or without the stripper heels."

She glared at him, still refusing to take them off, but the pain caught up with her when she lost her balance and tripped. Cal caught her, laughing when he realized he was right. She glared at him and shoved him away, reluctantly using him to keep her balance as she took her shoes off. They were alone, considering the hour, and the streets and buildings seemed eerily quiet. Cal shouldn't have been surprise when he suddenly felt the cold steel of a blade at his throat and his arm twisted behind his back.

"If your girlfriend here knows what's good for you," a man's voice said, "She'll hand over her purse and her phone."

"She's not my girlfriend," Cal grumbled. "I haven't hit that low yet. Just put the knife down. Trust me, you don't want to fuck with either of us."

In response, the blade pressed a little harder on his throat. Cal's eyes flit over to Mikaela, who gave him a slight nod. It took every bit of energy for Cal to remember how he'd turned invisible before, but he managed to bring the static feeling in, making it spread all over his body before he stepped back so the shocked mugger's was grasping into thin air, moving behind the guy and pinning his arm behind him while his knife shot out of his hand and into Mikaela's. She gave the frightened man a smug grin, folding the knife and tucking it into her purse.

"This is mine now," she told him. "You have ten seconds to run. Breathe a word of this to anyone, and we'll find you."

The mugger didn't hesitate to run.