Prologue. (Riley)
"I swear to god, Riley, if you don't turn that off and go get a bath, I will ground you for a week, and I mean it, so get moving." I hear my older sister calling out from the kitchen, and while it sucked that she bossed me around, I rarely questioned it. Our parents had died in an accident almost two years ago now, and my sister did her best to look after me, so I try my best not to be too annoying, but I'm only eleven, and I'm not a saint.
So usually when she tells me to do something, I do it, but this time I couldn't help myself, there was just too much going on. It's not every day that you get to see a dam burst open and flood an entire little town and the news had a helicopter showing us close-ups of the cracks getting slowly bigger and letting out more water, so I wanted to see what happened.
"Riley, if I have to tell you one more..." My sister's voice then calls out before pausing for a few seconds, as she walks into the room and suddenly sees what was on the TV. "What are you watching?" She then asks, and while I didn't want to look away, I reluctantly turn to look at her and can see that she was genuinely curious now and walking closer to where I was sitting.
"It's the news. There's a dam in some country that is about to break." I then reply with a serious expression, before turning back to the TV and seeing the helicopter zoom in on the dam. Just as another load of pieces breaks away and despite knowing this was a bad thing, I couldn't help but find it a little cool as well, because it was massive and when it breaks, there will be so much water coming out.
"I guess that's interesting, but I don't see why they're making a big deal out of it, a helicopter seems a little overkill." My sister then says in a curious tone, as I feel the sofa dip a little as she sits next to me and leans forward a little bit, which brought a small smile to my mouth because this was typical behavior from my sister. She would say something almost dismissive, and yet her actions almost say the complete opposite, and right now, I could tell that she was as interested in what was happening, as I was
"There's a village nearby, and they haven't got all the people out yet, and they don't know if they have enough time, it's crazy, Lily." I decide to then say in response, as my smile fades and I start to think about the fact that as cool as seeing the dam break might be. People were going to die, and there could be kids my age or younger there, and they must be so scared, I know I would be if I was there.
But like always, my sister always seemed to know how I was feeling and I was grateful to feel her arm going around my shoulders and then pulling me against her. I just loved her so much, because if it weren't for her, I would probably have ended up at our aunties house, and that would have been horrible. She had never liked me and the few times I have had to stay with her. It was like all she could do was tell me off and find some excuse to smack or spank me.
So as much as some people might think it's weird, I live with my sister, who is basically like a mum to me in a lot of ways, although officially, she is just my legal guardian, especially since she is only twenty-one now. To me, she is my hero, and I will never forget what she has done for me. She didn't have to take care of me, but she chose too, and even though I have my moments, I try my best not to make her regret doing it, because even thinking about our aunt, sends a shiver how my back. Which quickly results in my sister pulling me a little tighter and gently stroking my arm.
"I still want you to get ready for your bath, Riley, I know it's not a school night, but if you want to spend the day with Aidan tomorrow, then you're going to get up early to get your chores done." My sister then says, and just like that, as much as I love her, I can't help but be a little annoyed. It was one thing to appreciate and understand that she was taking care of me, but as I have said before, I'm still a kid and being told to take a bath and go to bed, especially when I am watching something interesting, isn't exactly the easiest thing to just accept.
"Do I have to go to bed straight away?" I decided to ask in response, even though I wanted to protest and I guess I am still doing that. I wanted to see what happens to the dam and the only chance I have, is if I don't act like a sulky kid. Which believe me, is harder than it sounds, especially as she had just reminded me that she said no to my best friend sleeping over tonight. Not that I was that annoyed by it, but it had been a couple of weeks since the last time we had a sleepover, and I was hoping we could have one this weekend. But I get to spend all day with him tomorrow, so I can live with that, even if it does still annoy me slightly.
So I had to try and play this right and knowing my sister, I thought I had a decent chance of succeeding, as long as I didn't try to push my luck too much. I was hoping to at least stay up for another hour after my bath and from the way my sister was now staring at him curiously, my hopes rose a little bit more because I could tell that she was interested in what was happening on the news now and to send me to bed. While she watched the rest of it, especially since I was already watching it, would be unfair and my sister, was always fair to me, even if sometimes at the time it didn't seem like it to me, after really thinking about it, she was as fair as she could be.
"You can stay up for a little while, Riley, but only if you promise that you won't make a fuss when I tell you to go to sleep, okay." My sister then says softly, and while I would be lying if there wasn't a part of me that wanted to push my luck, I wasn't stupid, and maybe it was a bit of a sneaky move, I decided to hug her quickly. I knew she loved when I showed her affection, even if it wasn't always without an ulterior motive, I still enjoyed those moments too, even if I would never admit that to anyone, well, maybe Aidan, but only because we don't have secrets, we know everything about each other.
"I promise." I then say with a sincere smile. I mean sure, maybe the hug wasn't entirely innocent if that's the right word, but the smile was and seeing her smile in return, that just gave me a nice warm feeling inside and this time I did genuinely hug her out of love. It might not be the same as the hugs I used to have with Mum and Dad, but it was enough, and it helped me cope with them not being here anymore, well not entirely, but it was enough not to let it ruin my life and stop me from carrying on with my life.
But just as I start to get up and walk towards the door, my attention is quickly pulled back to the TV, as the reporter on the helicopter begins talking in a stunned tone. "I don't know if you can all see this, but it appears that the dam is about to fail, and big pieces of the dam are falling away, and the water escaping is increasing. Our sources nearby the village are informing me, that there are still people being evacuated, and they need more time, but they don't have anymore, and I can see... I can see something..." I hear the reporter saying before the feed suddenly starts to break up for a few seconds and then go black, before coming back on and when it does. I just stare at what we then see in a mixture of confusion and disbelief and even the sound of my sister gasping in shock, can't take my eyes away from the damn obviously breaking and the water spilling out. But what's shocking, is the fact it's not going anywhere, well it's trying too, but it just seems to be stuck.
"Oh my god, look, Lily, look, there's someone in front of it, look." I then say in amazement, as I suddenly look towards the bottom of the screen and see something or to be more precise, someone, appearing to be floating in front of the burst dam with their hands and arms raised up, and I just can't believe what I am seeing. It's insane, and even though I knew it was real, there was a big part of me that began to wonder if this was all some sick joke or hoax, where someone is trying to become famous or something. Which admittedly is more than a little impressive, is also pretty sick, I mean even though I'm not even a teenager yet, even I can see how wrong this would be if it were all some messed up hoax. But before I can give it any more thought or hear my sister's response, if she even heard what I had said, the reporters start talking again.
"I hope everyone can see what I see, because I am not sure I can believe my eyes right now. There appears to be someone floating or flying in front of the damn, and I don't know how, but they appear to be somehow holding back the water, using some invisible... some sort of telekinesis maybe. I just don't believe what we're seeing, but we're going to try and get a little closer and see if we can identify who or what it is, but the pilot is having trouble keeping control as we get closer. So stay with us, because we could be seeing something that will change the world forever." She states in what I assume is as professional a tone as she could manage. Not that I think anyone would care, because right now, anyone who is watching this right now, just like me, will be staring straight at the figure floating in the air because this was life-changing. If this was real, the reporter was right. It could change the world. It could change everything.
"How is this even possible, it has to be fake." I then hear my sister say and even though we could both obviously see it happening, even I was still having trouble believing it. It was like something out of a film, except this person wasn't wearing a suit or uniform and as the helicopter seemed to get as close as it could, and the camera couldn't zoom anymore than it already was. I felt my heart tighten and I let out a loud enough gasp, to get my sister's full attention as she turned to me with a worried expression. "What's wrong, are you okay?" I then quickly hear her asking and repeating several times as I see her slowly standing up and walking towards me.
However, my focus was on the person floating in the air in front of what had to be millions of liters of water, well maybe not that much, I don't know how much water there was, but even though the image wasn't clear, I recognized him anyway. I had known him too long not to be able to recognize my best friend, even if he was wearing a big coat and a hat, which would make identifying him almost impossible unless you just happened to be the person who had brought him those clothes for his birthday less than a month ago.
"It's Aidan." I then find myself saying, before being forced out of my almost stunned like trance by my own words, This may be a crazy situation, but I had seen enough superhero films, to know you never give away your friends identity if he's a freaking superhero. That's a rookie mistake, even if it were just my sister that I told, he would be pissed at me when he finds out. I know I would be if it was the other way around, although as I thought about it, I can't believe he never told me he had superpowers, we didn't have secrets, or at least I didn't know we did, and this was a big freaking secret. But my sister's voice quickly brought me back out of my thoughts.
"What is Aidan? What are you talking about, Riley?" I hear her asking, and I can't blame her for her confusion and the concerned look on her face right now, but at the same time, I can't help but feel a little relieved. It was obvious that maybe she didn't make the connection to what I had just said and the floating figure currently on the TV. So maybe I won't have to explain to Aidan how I blew his secret identity within minutes of the first time he appeared to the world, which was a relief.
Right up until a few moments later, when I see my sister look at me and then to where I was looking a couple of times. "No way, it can't be, he's only twelve years old." She then says in a slightly dismissive tone, but I can see it on her face as she looks from the TV and back to me a couple of times, that she was realizing not only what I had said, but that I was right, because while I had known Aidan my entire life. He was just a couple of months older than I was, so she had looked after him and even bathed him and stuff when we were little, so she knew him too and also the fact that I was eleven years old. So when I say I brought him the clothes he was wearing right now, what I actually mean, is my sister brought them, while I was with her, so she would recognize them too.
"It's him, Lily, I know it's him." I decide, and while I wanted to try and lie, I knew she wouldn't believe me, I am rubbish at lying, especially to my sister, she knew me too well. So I decided just to be honest. I trusted her, she wasn't stupid, and she liked Aidan a lot, so I didn't think she would ever do something to put him in danger. I knew she wouldn't, and as I watched her thinking over what I had said and even taking a few more looks at the TV, the reporter began to talk again and once again. It got both of our attention, especially as we knew it was Aidan on the screen, even if the rest of the world would have no idea. For all they knew, by the quality of the video, it was an adult and the thought of it being a kid, I doubt that would even cross their minds.
"We're now getting reports from our sources in the village, that they've almost completely evacuated and only need ten more minutes to clear everyone away. But as we speak, whoever this mysterious person is holding back the water, they appear to be struggling as they're slowly being pushed back and some water is beginning to get through, I just hope that they can hold on for a little bit longer, that's all they need to do." The reporter states and while her concern was obvious, I was beginning to get scared. I could see Aidan being pushed further and further back and he was almost touching the ground now, so I just wanted him to stop and get to safety. But as a few large pieces of the dam suddenly start to fly out of the water and past my friend. I suddenly feel arms around me, and as much as I wanted to focus on what was happening, I was glad that my sister was here and I was happy that she was comforting me as almost five minutes pass.
"It's okay, Riley, it might not be Aidan..." My sister then begins to say, but as I try to interrupt her, she just gives me a little squeeze and carries on talking. "I know it looks like him, and the clothes are a big coincidence, Riley, but it's on the other side of the world, and the picture isn't that great. So even though we both think it is, it might not be, so please don't get upset, you can give Aidan a call..." She then tries to say, before being cut off by the reporter talking loudly again and despite what my sister had been trying to say. I knew it was him and seeing what was happening now, was terrifying.
"We have just been told, that even if the efforts of the mysterious person stops now, the evacuation should be complete by the time the water reaches the village. But with no way of telling the mysterious person, we can only look on as more pieces of the dam emerge from the wall of water and... OH, MY GOD... OH, MY GOD... I think a piece just hit the mysterious person, but we can't confirm anything, whatever was holding the water back, has failed and..." The reporter states in a panicked tone, but as I feel myself go limp, and tears flow down my cheeks. A loud noise from upstairs and what sounded like water drowned out whatever the reporter was now saying. I could feel my sister tense up before slowly releasing me and I can only look towards the hallway in confusion as I somehow managed to take a few steps towards the door, just as my sister was doing the same thing.
Chapter One. (Riley)
"What the hell." I half mumble to myself as I slowly wake up and try to get my bearings, but even though I haven't opened my eyes yet. I already know something isn't right and as I try to move, I can't help but tense up in surprise for a few seconds, before quickly guessing what was happening. This wasn't the first time this had happened, and unless I somehow got through to my best friend, I doubted that it would be the last time either.
"Aidan, get the fuck off me you prick." I decide to say as loudly as I dared to. My sister might be a heavy sleeper, with two rooms between us, but by how dark the room was after opening my eyes, I knew waking her would not end well for me. Even though my friend, did deserve to get it from both barrels. "Seriously, get off..." I then begin to say before pausing and sighing as I suddenly realize that he wasn't just draped over me like he usually was when he does this.
"I swear to god, if you don't get off me, you will regret it, Aidan." I quickly state firmly, as I feel him shift a little and then slowly release me. Before seeing his goofy expression come into view, and despite myself, I can't help but pout like an idiot at him. Which I know he loves seeing, which just annoys me even more than I was already feeling at this point.
"Morning, Riley, what's up?" He then says innocently, but while he could fool anyone with that look. I had seen it too many times, and I wasn't going to play along with him this time. He might be my best friend, and I might love him like family, but I was seriously starting to get pissed off with his stupid little games, and he was going to listen this time.
"Don't even start, Aidan, you're meant to be sleeping on the airbed, this isn't even a fucking double bed and what's up? You know what's up, you fucking pervert." I decide to respond, as I slowly untangle myself from him completely and stand up from the bed. Which pisses me off even more, because he had barely even attempted to get off me, it was just another one of his stupid little games, and it was seriously too early in the morning to be doing this crap.
"Don't fucking grin, Aidan, this has to stop, I don't care if you're just messing..." I then begin to say as clearly and calmly as I could manage. I needed him to listen and understand, even if I was pissed off, I knew just shouting at him wouldn't do anything, but before I can finish, his expression and pathetic attempt to hide his amusement quickly distract me.
"What's so funny? I'm serious, Aidan, so for once in your life, just stop being a dick, there's no one around to impress, so just stop." I then say as I try to get control of the situation, but as I put my hands on my hips, he just cracks up laughing, and despite wanting to punch him, I knew that laugh, and it wasn't fake or put on, he was genuinely almost pissing himself with laughter.
"Grow the fuck up, Aidan, you... you better get the fuck out of here right now!" I then find myself saying in a mixture of anger and embarrassment, after watching him attempt and fail to form anything coherent in response and then following his stretched out finger. To find myself staring down at what he had evidently been staring at, and I could feel my almost burning as it turned redder and redder.
"Seriously, get out, Aidan, now!" I then almost shout as he ignores my earlier words, and while I didn't want to wake my sister up, especially since if she came storming into my room right now, I would never live this down. But even so, it was hard not to just shout as loudly as I could and let my best friend know what I thought about him right now.
"Oh come on, it's funny, Riley and you look so hot." I hear my soon to be dead friend say and I swear to god, if there was ever a time where I would seriously hurt him, it was right now, but even in my angered state, I knew that I couldn't hurt him. He might let me think I did, but I knew the truth about him, even if he wouldn't ever admit it, but right now, I had more important things on my mind, than my friends' secrets, no matter how big this particular one was.
"I mean it, Aidan, get out and go to the bathroom or downstairs, just somewhere that's not here because this has been going on too long, I mean it, you've crossed a line, Aidan, and I'm serious." I quickly fire back at him with a little venom in my voice, I didn't like being angry, not ever really and especially to him, but I needed to calm down, and I couldn't do it with him here, and I just had to make sure he stopped fucking around.
"Okay, maybe I..." He then attempts to say defensively, but I wasn't going to give him the chance to smooth talk his way out of this and even though he was trying to play it coolly. I could see the realization on his face and as I quickly cut him off with a cold hard stare and for once. I can see a bit of guilt and remorse on his face, which helped me calm down enough not actually to shove him out of my room, but only just.
"Shit, sorry, Riley, I was just messing around." He then says in a dejected tone, and while I did want to forgive him and laugh it off. He really did cross the line this time, and even though I could tell that he was genuinely sorry for pushing it too far. I couldn't help but feel relieved when he got up and walked out of my room, and a little surprised that he wasn't actually hard, he was hard when I woke up, I felt it and then saw it, as he was completely naked, which wasn't that unusual. I can't remember the last time he wore anything to sleep. So for him to be completely soft, that just reinforced the fact that he knew he fucked up.
Although that small bit of understanding quickly disappeared as soon as I caught sight of myself in my full-length mirror on my wardrobe and the anger and embarrassment promptly returned. As I stared at the image of myself and the tent in my briefs, that to my horror and continued embarrassment didn't quite fully contain everything, and I was almost sticking entirely through the front opening. Which quickly snapped me out of my anger a bit and left me shaking my head at just how crazy and more than a little perverted my best friend actually was, because while I couldn't prove it. It wouldn't be the first time he had got me hard while I was asleep, just to tease me when I eventually did wake up.
But as I removed the inadequate briefs, I decided just to put on some shorts. Partly out of laziness to get fully dressed and partly because, well actually, just because I was lazy, and I guess being half decent, would make it a lot easier to have a serious conversation with my best friend and stop him from his usual attempts to tease me. Which I knew he would, he had been doing it for the past few months, so I couldn't see him suddenly deciding to stop now.
So when I heard a quiet knock on the door almost fifteen minutes after sending him out of the room, I couldn't help but be a little surprised. I mean I know he was feeling guilty, but I've known him almost my entire life, and he has never been timid. But even so, he deserved to suffer a little bit more, so I let him knock again without responding, but then he goes and spoils my fun, by making me feel guilty. Which is just fucking annoying, because I am the one who should be angry and stuff, not the one feeling bad.
"Sorry, Riley, can I come in please." I then hear him say barely above a whisper and like I said, I should be making him grovel and feel bad, but hearing how worried he seemed to be. Well that just cut through all that anger I had every right to feel, but despite that, I wasn't going to give him a free pass, no matter how sorry he was. He screwed up, and I needed to make things crystal clear because things were getting out of hand and if I didn't stop it now, fuck knows what he will eventually try and how I might react.
"You can come in, but you need to be quiet and listen to me, Aidan, if not, then I will talk to my sister and see if you can move back into your room now, even if it's still not finished." I decide to say in response, and despite knowing how harsh I just sounded right then, I had to follow through with this, and he needed to know I was completely serious. "Just sit down, Aidan, we need to talk." I then have to say, as he just stands in the doorway nervously, after opening the door and I again couldn't help but be a little surprised at how vulnerable he looked right now, and the fact he was still completely naked, didn't help either.
"First off, you know I love you, Aidan. You're family to me, you always will be, but I'm not gay, and you need to stop doing this kind of shit, it was funny for a while, and yeah, I admit that it's been fun when we've messed around and I know you enjoyed it as well. But neither of us is gay, and I am getting fed up with you insinuating that I am and constantly making little remarks and jokes, especially around my sister, because it's getting beyond a joke, Aidan. I am sick of it and this morning, don't even try to deny getting me hard, just so you could mock me about getting hard in bed with you because it's not okay and I am not putting up with it anymore." I then say with as steady a voice as I could. It was true that we had fooled around, we had fooled around a lot, and it was fun and felt good, but we aren't kids anymore, and he needed cut this crap out before it ruined our friendship.
"So you don't hate me?" He then says in a quiet tone, and again, his whole attitude and demeanor right now were throwing me off. He Has always the confident and self-assured one of the two of us, and even when he had been caught out doing something wrong or weird before, he has never acted like this. The only time he has ever been like this or at least close to this, is when his parents died, and even then, he has never sounded like this, and while admittedly, his parents where scum and didn't deserve to be mourned over. It still made how he was acting right now, more than a little worrying, and I didn't want to make him feel like this. I may be mad at him still, but he was still my best friend.
However, even saying that he still deserved a reality check, because I doubt many other people would take what had happened, well to be more precise, what has been happening, as well as I did. I mean technically, I think it breaks some sexual assault law, but despite him pushing it too far for too long, I knew that he would never hurt me, there was no doubt in my mind about that, because I felt the same way towards him. So this new side of him was not something I knew how to deal with, well, obviously I had to be careful what I said, but still, it was a little unsettling to think he could be this vulnerable, people like him, shouldn't be vulnerable.
"If I did, you wouldn't be sitting here, and I wouldn't be talking to you, Aidan. But you understand what I'm saying right?" I decide to say in response, while at the same time, studying him and trying to work out what he was thinking. Because not only knowing what I know about him and of course being best friends since before either of us could talk. Being insecure wasn't something he had ever been and certainly not in the past few years, so while I wanted to get all this teasing and taunting crap, out of the way.
I also wanted to find out if he was actually okay, because if he wasn't, then I needed to help him, even if he had no idea that I knew his big secret and who he really was. I had promised myself that I would be there for him if he ever needed it, even if it did hurt a little that he hadn't told me himself, we've never kept secrets, so I've been waiting almost every day for the past three years for him to tell me the truth finally. But I do get it, I've seen enough films to know what reasons he could have, but I still wish he would tell me, I just want to help, especially now, because something must really be wrong for him to be like this.
"Yeah... I guess trying to make you slip up… well, make you, well you know, is not cool, even if it is a little funny, I get it and I will stop." He then says in response, and while it wasn't quite the apology I was looking for, it was close enough to what I wanted. It didn't do anything to push that feeling that something else was wrong out of my head, but unless I wanted to get into his whole big secret thing right now, I had to ignore that feeling and concentrate on what we were meant to be talking about right now.
"It's not just the gay thing though, Aidan, because I'm not gay and if you were just making little jokes or little remarks, it wouldn't be so bad, and I might just put up with it, and hope you just got bored. But you were climbing into my bed naked and touching me, even if it's nothing sexual. It's crossing a line, and you have to know that, Aidan, because if not, then I don't know. I mean, there's joking around and having a laugh, but what you've been doing, that's just plain wrong, and it's not even remotely funny anymore." I decide to say then, as I continue to study him carefully and the more I did, the more I wondered what was going on in that head of his.
"I guess it started out funny, but I get it, Riley, even if I did think you might be gay at first, it won't happen again, I promise." He then slowly says in response, and just about floored me with his honesty and although his expression hadn't changed much. I could see a bit of his old self, and while it was a little annoying, I was happy he seemed to understand what I was telling him, although only time will tell if it had sunk in or not.
"Just make sure it doesn't, Aidan, I don't want anything to come between us. You're like a brother to me, and I mean that." I decide to say in response, and while I wanted to ask why he thought I might have been gay. I didn't… well fuck it, we're probably never
going to bring this up again. "And just for the record, I have never been gay, Aidan, guys, do nothing for me." I then say with a little bit of a smirk, although as soon as I see his eyebrows raise a little, I wish I just shut up and ended the conversation.
"Sure, like you wouldn't want to get into my pants, lover boy." He quickly declares with a smirk of his own, which I wanted to smack right off his face. But let's face it, I would probably break every bone in my hand, if I attempted that, especially if he never saw it coming and didn't have time to relax and take the hit and there was no way I was going to risk that happening.
But even as that thought crossed my mind, I couldn't help but look at him and roll my eyes slightly. He might have been all guilty and full of remorse a few minutes ago, but now that we had cleared the air, he was already back to his old self, and I should have known that he wouldn't be able to help himself.
"Well first off, I'm about as much of a lover boy as you are, Aidan, because I haven't had a real girlfriend and neither have you." I eventually respond, after deciding to tease him a little, by not answering straight away and while it was petty, I didn't care, it was fun to mess around with him and annoy him for a change.
"And secondly, you would need to be wearing pants, for me to get into them, Aidan and I've seen the state of those, so there would be no chance in hell, I want to be getting into those." I then quickly adds with an even bigger smirk, and as I watched him process what I had just said. I could tell straight away, that he couldn't think of a comeback and seeing the look of annoyance spread across his face, was just what I needed to get my mind off the other stuff.
"You know, if you say anything this long after, it's just sad, Aidan." I then mockingly state with a grin this time, and although it was risky to tease him, he was always better at it this, than I was. I was going to make the most of being on top for a change and just seeing him looking like he was right now, made it even more worth it.
His next words though definitely caught me by surprise, and I wasn't prepared for them at all. Nothing we had talked about, seemed to have led to this, but I wasn't going to stop him from finally opening up to me. "look, Riley, I know I've been a dick and er… well, there is something else, something huge and I'm not meant to tell..." But just as I thought he was going actually to say the words that I have been waiting all this time to hear. The sound of the bedroom door opening cuts him off, and I couldn't help but be a little surprised to see my sister standing there, looking like she couldn't decide whether she wanted to be annoyed or amused, neither of which was ideal in my opinion.
To be continued...