Chapter 3 Play Dead

If I just lie here and play dead–

"Cleanup girl, you're not fooling anyone. Get up." His voice was low and menacing as he stood over me. His shoes–some high end sneakers–were on either side of my head. Sighing, I opened my eyes and put on a sheepish smile.

"Hey, Guy."

His perfect brow furrowed. "Don't hey me. I saw what you did. What the hell are you doing, throwing up a house like that? Since when can Battlefield Janitors do that?"

I sit up, dusting myself off as I get to my feet. He's tall, but he still stops just shy of my breasts in height. Speaking of breasts, his gaze landed squarely on mine.

"Ahem." I quietly snap my fingers, breaking his concentration. His blush almost made my day.

"Cleanup girl, have you always been so...Amazonian?"

"That's what you wanted to say? And yeah, ever since puberty. Why? Curious about how well I could clean you up?" I lean forward, making him step back just a bit-face turning crimson. Guy normally has a flirtatious air–especially around fangirls. That said, he's probably not used to being the one looking up.

Come on, go for the bait. I need you distracted.

"I–I mean–hey stop that!" he growled. "You can't distract me with your body...no matter how nice it is."

At least he was honest about his feelings.

"Distract you from what? I should really get back to work, lots of buildings to clean up and all-" I turned on my heel. He used his speed to get in front of me, blocking my path.

Damn.

"Listen. I'm not gonna report you to Rupert or anything like that. I'm just genuinely curious." His palms were up, fingers spread. Guy meant it...at least he was trying to mean it. I think.

"Swear to me you won't snitch." I demand, squinting at him.

"I swear on my parents' lives." Well darn. He really loves his parents in public and supposedly in private.

Scratching my head, I walk a few feet and sit down on the nearby park bench. It groans beneath my weight.

My hair sways in the wind as Guy steps to my side, floating just above the bench.

"I don't bite, ya know." I say, smirking at how uncomfortable he is.

"No. You clean. And right now it's time for you to come clean."

"That's what I've basically been doing. Cleaning–"

"And spitting up real estate? What part of the cleaning process is that?" He crosses his arms, examining me with amusement in his eyes.

I'm not the only one with a nice chest.

"That's...it normally doesn't work like that." I admitted, gently chewing on my bottom lip.

"So you've done this before then?"

"Throw up houses? No."

Guy shakes his head, a soft smile gracing his pale pink lips.

"Not that. Giving people their homes back."

I blinked slowly, unsure of what he had just said. Turning back to the apartment, I confirmed that it wasn't a dream. I really had given them a new home.

"The weight of it still hadn't hit me yet, not really. Each of the janitorial staff can use these same abilities that I can."

"But not like you can...Sapphyra." He leaned closer to me, our hands dangerously close. I hated how softly he said my name, as if he was trying to get inside my head.

And I hated how my heart responded.

I snorted and leaned back, draping my arm across the back of the bench. He didn't move an inch–didn't flinch.

"Why does that matter to you? What, are you afraid I'll steal your thunder or something?"

"Thunder-you know this is just a job for me, right?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh...you mean your name isn't Guy?" I covered my mouth, hiding the smirk behind it. Of course, it was just a job.

He rolled his eyes, running his fingers through his short black hair. Leaning forward, he locked his fingers together and hummed softly.

"Why haven't you told anyone about this?" Guy nodded towards the house.

"You mean why haven't I exposed myself to mass ridicule and invasive experiments? Who knows?"

"Hey. You don't have to be such an ass about it."

"I'm sorry, are you allowed to curse off the clock?" I snickered at him, enjoying every moment his face turned red. It was nice seeing him not so...put together, so fake. He almost seemed real.

"I'm a grown man; I can curse when I want."

He stiffened as I leaned forward, wiggling my eyebrows. "Then do it right now."

"What? Why would I?"

"You wanna know about me? We go tit for tat then. Go on, let it rip, superhero!" Smirking, I nudged his side with my elbow.

"I...um...this is idiotic. Fucking–" He covered his mouth,eyeing the dirt for safety.

"There ya go! Look at you."

"Your turn, cotton candy dipshit." He smirked, shoulders sagging slightly.

"Hm. What can I really say? I thought about it...once. It's not just what I can do with my job, but I'm–"

"You're big and strong too." It was my turn to blush.

"What, did you really think you were hiding well every time you lifted tons of cement? My hearing's pretty good. I always knew about your..." he smirked.

"What? Knew about my what?"

"Your incredible power of suck." He giggles as my cheeks burn.

"It's called vacuum! Not suck! If you're gonna tease me, get it right."

"Or what? Your boss is gonna sue me?"

"He probably couldn't afford to sue you since the city has you by the balls." Guy squints at me, disliking my smug comment.

"It's just a job. I mean, I like saving people but the costume and everything...I could do without."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"Sapphyra. If I could talk to my boss would you think about it?"

"About what?" My throat tightened, making it difficult to swallow. I already knew what he meant; I just didn't want confirmation.

"A class change. You could be a superhero with me! Think about it. You and I want the same things–to help people. Giving that little girl her house back is going to be monumental for her, but you could do so much more!"

His eyes sparkled like a kid opening their presents on Christmas day. Not that we have christmas anymore.

Being a hero was never my dream...but it was a nice daydream–until the headaches rolled in.

I snorted up a few drops of blood, swallowing back another memory that refused to stay clear.

It would have been easy to get lost in his words, to hope with him. But I'd seen too much of what hope looks like when it disappears.

"Why don't you do more?"

There I went again-putting my guard up.

Guy's face fell. "What? I do–"

"No. Why don't you do more than just soak up the glory and take autographs? You knew I carried a little girl-her name is Penny, by the way. You've heard me lifting heavy shit out here-cleaning up behind your mess by the way-so why haven't you done more?"

I hop off the bench, feeling the anger rise from years of standing on the sidelines.

"Sapphyra, I try my hardest to keep everyone safe-including you." He stood up, floating high in the air to rise above me-a position of safety, no doubt.

"Tell that to the people you left behind!"

Oh god. Why did I say that?

His eyes widened, mouth set in a hard line. Guys chests rose and fell faster than I could keep up with. And then it stopped, steady and silent.

"I'll keep your secret." Was all he said as he turned away.

"Wait, Guy, I didn't mean–"

He flew away, done with my bullshit. My heart sank as he vanished from my sight.

I pinched the bridge of my nose,groaning as my work phone went off in my back pocket. As if today wasn't bad enough, it was my boss-and his calls were never casual.

"Fuck my life."