"Josh!" I exclaimed. He grinned.

"That's my name," he said. I punched him lightly, but a smile found it's way to my lips.

Moments before, after the shocking news, I sat there stunned as Josh told me he had biked over to my house as fast as possible. In fact, the doorbell had been the sound that woke me up out of my daze.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

" I heard the news, so I came over here as quickly as I could," he replied. His warm blue-brown eyes reflected concern. "That was something, man. I mean, I'm glad you stopped the fire, but what's going to happen now?"

"I—I don't know..." My voice cracked a bit. I swallowed, but my throat was dry. "I... I'm scared. Josh, what if they find out? What will happen to me? Will I be safe?"

"Let's just take it one step at a time." My father walked up from behind me and put a hand on my shoulder. "We'll get through this... together. I promise, honey."

I smiled, grateful for his support, but something bothered me.

"Dr. Marconi said the investigation was still going on. Does that mean they might show up at me house for an interview?" I asked Josh, tugging him towards the staircase.

Josh got the message, and we went up to lock ourselves in my bedroom, but not before I felt Dad's eyes press into my back. I could swear he was grinning at the sight of the two of us together. I hurried Josh and I quickly up the stairs, closing the door to my bedroom behind him. Josh paced the room thinking. At last, he sighed.

"I'm going to be honest with you."

I nodded. Honesty was one of our policies.

"They probably will come for an interview. When they do, tell them what you know."

"Tell them about my powers?!" I exclaimed, aghast.

"If it comes to that. But it won't. I have a plan."

"Oh?"

We're going to come up with a cover story so convincing, they'll be blown away by how logistically obvious it was, right in front of their faces! Even if you told them you could control fire, that would seem so wacky to believe, after the story you had just told them."

"And if they don't believe my explanation?" I asked ambiguously.

"They will, trust me," Josh reassured. "We'll go over every detail, leave nothing out, and make sure you know it all. If you can tell me the story and I practically believe it, then we'll be all set, so when you do admit the truth about your powers, they won't buy a word of it. I wouldn't have either if I hadn't seen it for myself. It's like hiding in plain sight!"

"Oh, Josh, you're brilliant!" I threw my arms around him. After a moment's embrace, he pulled back grinning.

"I know I am."

I punched him lightly on the arm.

"Alright, here's what I'm thinking..."

An hour later, I had my backstory: I was a poor, innocent girl just trying to help her school and got caught in the crosshairs of the political debate about her heroic acts. I had walked into the fire zone bravely, holding my breath for as long as possible, went for the fire extinguishers—I had memorized their locations from seeing them every day—but then I couldn't get them working for a bit. When I figured it out, the flames were pretty much surrounding me, but I sprayed a patch on the ground while I doused the fire around my feet, hence the circular scorch marks. Then I, sparingly, went through, spraying the fire closest to me in concentric circles. There was a sudden surge, then I put it out in one sweep and passed out from exhaustion as a result of the adrenaline loss combined with the fire and holding my breath for so long.

"Don't forget the 'poor, innocent heroine, who is also very pretty' part," Josh reminded me, winking. I elbowed him.

"I am not saying that!" I scowled.

"Well, why not?" he asked, looking innocently hurt. I shot him a look, which only made him laugh. I gave in and smiled back. He looked at me kind of seriously. Our gazes met and held.

"We could always run away together if things don't go the right way," he said softly. Something in his eyes clicked. I didn't want this moment to end. He leaned towards me. I started to follow, but suddenly our quiet little world was shattered by a knock on my bedroom door.

"May I come in?" came my father's gentle voice from outside.

I hesitated, waiting a moment longer, but whatever magic had just been was gone. I sighed, smothering the sparks from my tank top, and opened the door.

"Sorry sweetie, but Josh has to go," he said with reluctance. "His mother just called. She's worried sick!" Dad raised an eyebrow at Josh.

"Josh...?" I began.

He grinned sheepishly. "I kinda just got up and blasted over here," he admitted, twisting his hands, a habit he'd picked up from me when I got nervous.

I rolled my eyes jokingly. "Of course you did," I said laughing. "And I suppose you didn't even finish eating?"

"No, no, of course I did," he said wide-eyed in a tone that made me laugh harder.

"I love you," I said, only half-kidding I grinned and followed Josh and my dad downstairs to the front door. Dad got a call from Mom and went to join her in the kitchen.

"Bye, Josh," he called over his shoulder as he left. "Nice seeing you."

"You gonna be all right tonight? I could always... sleep here with you," Josh added mischievously. I laughed. "Kidding," he winked.

"No, I think I'll be okay," I smiled.

"Ok, I'll catch ya later!" he said, jumping off the porch and starting down the driveway, climbing onto his bike.

"Hey Josh?" I called. He stopped and turned around.

"Yeah?"

"Be back tomorrow before the press shows up," I said cheekily. "You may have to do damage control if I mess up."

He winked. "No problem, Pyra. I'll be over at dawn to jump on you and wake you up!"

I smiled. "Just not too early, otherwise I might burn your handsome little face off!"

He chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind. Night, girlie!" Josh grinned and took off. I closed the door and went back inside.

"Hey Mom? Dad?"

"Yeah, sweetie?" Mom responded.

"I'm going up."

"So early?" Dad asked.

"Yeah, I'm tired," I replied, starting up the stairs.

"Ok sweetie, no problem," Mom said.

I changed into my pajamas, brushed my teeth, and snuggled in bed. My parents came to say goodnight, then retired to their bedroom. Tomorrow was going to be a long dad, and I wanted my rest. I turned over and fell fast asleep.

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WARNING: Long A/N! If you're only gonna read part of this, skip to almost the end.
Hey guys! So sorry it's been so long! I got caught up in all my schoolwork and *gasp* life outside of electronics and writing! Had a busy week and a half break and all that stuff. Musical's starting, winter training for crew, skiing, homework, projects, tests, midterms, and just a general lack of enthusiasm to write in the past almost month, which I suspect was probably writer's block. :( Anyways, how was y'all's break? Did you do anything special for the holidays? I always feel really guilty about not writing and updating. I read genie_us's rant in Why Wattpad Drives Me Crazy about when an author says, "Sorry for not updating in a long time I won't do it again," and doing it again, and I've read some of your comments on me losing audience bcuz I haven't updated in a while. I can't promise it won't happen again, but I'll try to do better in the future. I hope I'm not letting you down. (Btw, it is now 4:04 in the morning on Saturday as of the moment I am uploading this, to prove to you my dedication and my sincerity.) That is my New Year's resolution? What are some of yours? Speaking of which, how many of you actually read my message board? I post updates there a lot. Just sayin... :\ Well anyways, I hope you liked it! As usual, comments and advice are always welcome. For notifications on my most recent updating, follow me! If you enjoyed this chapter, show that little star some love and poke t with your cat claw as hard as you can (Mistyswirl is a warrior cats based name, if you haven't already guessed). Thanks for sticking with me!
-Misty out