Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

What is it to be a teenager?, Karen wondered looking at a blank page on her notebook. She stared at it, played with her pen, moved strands of her hair and revised the pages of the pieces that were already finished and published. She did everything, except write. She had been assigned this new article for The Fogwell Bulletin, and she hated it.

She remembered the day Jeryn Hogarth, the chief editor of their high school newspaper, told her to write her first piece of writing. Karen had just arrived from Vermont with her family and was excited about the perspective of a new life in a place where nobody knew her. Her grades were good and she wanted to be a significant part of the community, to make a difference, so she thought joining The Fogwell Bulletin could be a good way to start.

As soon as Jeryn saw her credentials, she told her they wanted her to write an article about the school welcoming program. She could offer the best insight as she had just joined the school. And she did, keeping the perfect balance between praise and criticism.

Everyone was impressed at her piece of writing and at how she had described the place: These prison-looking buildings hold the knowledge and wisdom that will give us the power to pursue our happiness. None of us should take it for granted, we will need to fight for it.

She had earned her position in The Bulletin, everyone agreed on that. And everyone seemed to enjoy everything she wrote, at least for a couple of months, until Jeryn decided that they were done with all those political and social pieces she had been writing since she joined. You never know whose hands could hold our bulletin, she had said, your articles could jeopardise my future career and that’s a risk I’m not willing to take.

It was then when she started to be assigned the most frivolous and trivial pieces. But she knew she had to bite her tongue and keep on the hard work. It was Jeryn’s last year at Fogwell’s High School and Karen thought that she might get a better position once Jeryn was gone.

What is it to be a teenager? The question kept echoing inside her head, there was no way she could avoid it, so she had a look around from the bench near the library where she was sitting. She was surrounded by a few loners and several groups of teenagers, all of them different and unique in their own particular way. But none of them was that difficult to read if, instead of passing by, one took the time to watch.

Sitting on the library steps there was this fashionable blonde that everybody loved. She was classy and self-assured but it was impossible to know if that was who she really was or just a role she had learned to play. Karen thought the latter could easily be the case. The girl was known as the most charming voice at the school radio station and she could hang out with whoever she wanted to, but she preferred to spend most of her time with that angry-looking girl whose face was always hidden behind a camera. That other girl was one of a kind.

Jessica, that was her name. Or so she had heard. She did not really know. The girl was not that approachable and every time she had tried to talk to her, Jessica, if that was her name, had rolled her eyes and made sure that Karen knew how unwelcome she was. However, she had the feeling that she was not as tough as she looked. There was too much effort for it to be real.

Karen was observing them from a safe distance, but she could feel Jessica watching her even when she was not looking. So Karen’s eyes went back to that part of her notebook where she kept notes for those articles she was not supposed to be writing anymore. She knew she needed to earn Jessica’s trust to be able to work on them. That girl had the ability to have eyes everywhere. And possibly not only eyes, but pictures too. No wonder Trish, the radio girl, was always the first one to know about everything that was going on.

Apart from the two girls, a bit farther, in the park, she could see this cool looking guy that had the superpower of charming every girl he met. He was always asking them out. You wanna go grab a soda? were probably his favourite words. And his sodas were known as the some of the best in town. Even that clever girl who only got As in Biology and who was chatting with him was interested in them. He had indeed some kind of charm.

It was funny to observe how the flirting was different in each of them. Soda man had no intention to hide what his aim was, whereas the girl was feigning indifference and laughing at his cliches, but going nowhere. She was obviously interested too.

Not far from them there was this couple she had recently seen kissing at the canteen. She would have never pictured them together, but now that she knew they were, she thought they looked adorable. They were practicing some martial art Karen was not familiar with. Her movements were more learned than his, but somehow his were more natural, as if he had been born to be making them all day. The girl kept smiling at him but his eyes were closed most of the time. You could tell that whatever this was, he was really into it.

Walking towards the couple there was this boy she had met at her History class. She remembered he had made a presentation on Martin Luther King Jr. that had been perfect: balanced and rational. He had avoided all sentimentality and focused on showing the facts that proved that the American society of that time needed a man like him. She was sure he would be an excellent politician or maybe a cop one day. Brett, that was his name, was now talking to the couple that had stopped their weird dance and was discussing something with concern. They looked worried but then the girl said something and they all looked excited. Her boyfriend was so happy that he went to hug Brett, but Brett raised his hand to stop him and shook his head.

At that moment Karen’s attention went somewhere else as she saw two of her classmates rushing towards the library. She knew their names, Foggy and Matt. They were funny to watch, always pretending to have control over the situation when they were all hormones and lack of confidence. She had seen them in the Debate Club and they were both pretty good at it. However, their eloquence would go out of the window whenever she congratulated them after a debate or asked them anything in the English Literature classes they also attended. But even if they had not talked much, since the very moment she met them, she knew one of them was the funniest and the other one the cutest boy at school.

She shook her head trying to get rid of certain thoughts that were getting too used to being inside her head. She had things to do, an article to hand in the very next day. Thinking about the cute guy that was passing by was something she did not have the time to do. Back to work, she said to herself.

What is it to be a teenager?, she wondered again. All the teenagers she had been observing were different and yet, she had to find out what they had in common because each of them was supposed to fit the same pattern, the one she had to write about. She sighed, took her pen and started writing some of her thoughts: What is it to be a teenager? Do people see who you really are? Can you see it yourself? Look in the mirror and have a good look at yourself. Now think about this: regardless of who you are now, who would you like to see in the mirror one day? That is the question we should never forget.

Chapter Text

“Man, what the hell were you thinking?” Foggy asked as they hurried away from what Foggy would soon call the crime scene.

They had agreed that the library would be a good place to hide, but had decided to take a detour around the science lab first to avoid the people in the park.

“What did you want me to do?”

“I don’t know, Matt. What about... not that?!” Foggy yelled at him.

Matt shushed him and shook his head.

“I had to do something. And it was just an empty can, it’s not a big deal.”

“Say that to the guy who is biting the dust.”

“He’s fine… And nobody saw us.”

“So what? They have those machines, man, they use them to get your DNA, your fingerprints, your… who knows what!”

Matt let out a laugh.

“Foggy, nobody is going to go that far. It’s not as if he were injured, I told you he’s fine.”

“He’s fine… He’s fine…” Foggy said mimicking Matt and trying to convince himself at the same time. “And how do you know that?”

“Because I can hear his heartbeat.”

“God, you’re weird.”

Matt sighed rolling his eyes.

“Plus he’s talking to Brett now and he says he’s fine, see?”

“Brett? You mean our Brett?”

“No, I mean your Brett,” he corrected him laughing. “But he’s leaving. He says he needs to go somewhere.”

“My Brett, right,” he paused, “Why is it that I’m always everyone’s favorite, Matt? I guess it’s because there’s no way I can hide my charm.”

Matt burst out laughing.

“You can laugh all you want, but that’s only because you can’t see me, Matt. I’m... delicious.”

“I’m sure you are.”

“You can bet I am.”

Matt’s face changed as soon as they turned around the canteen and got a bit closer to the library.

“What?” Foggy asked him, perfectly aware that Matt had noticed something. “What is it? Is he dead now? Oh, God. Don’t tell me he’s dead, he can’t be dead, is he dead?” He mumbled.

Foggy always knew when something was going on. He was Matt’s best friend and he knew all his secrets. Matt had told him about how he had gone blind, about how his father almost got killed when he was done fixing his fights, even about how Matt had all those super weird senses that got on his nerves sometimes… and of course he also knew that, no matter how much he denied it, Matt had a crush on that blonde from Vermont who was probably falling for him too.

“Everything’s fine, Foggy,” he said knowing he was convincing no one.

Foggy had no super senses so it took him a few more minutes to see the reason why Matt was getting nervous and now unsuccessfully trying to suppress a smile.

“Oh! I see what’s going on. I’m not the only one who is delicious here, am I?” He asked brushing his shoulder against Matt’s.

Matt tilted his head and let out a brief laugh.

“Oh! She saw us. Don’t tell me her heart’s beating faster again!”

Matt just shrugged and tried to hide that smirk Foggy could see whenever she was around.

“You’re such an asshole.” Foggy said faking to be mad at him.

“I know.” Matt added laughing when he felt Foggy shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

His super senses were very useful most of the time, but they just could not help him with that. It was all over his face, there was no way he could deny it. He was hopelessly falling in love with her.

Chapter Text

Karen was on her way to The Fogwell Bulletin when she saw some people holding leaflets. A few of them seemed interested in whatever was announced, but most of them were just throwing them away.

“Excuse me, what’s this about?” She asked a girl who had just thrown hers to the nearest bin. “Is the school organising a dance or something?”

Karen was not a party girl, but she had learned it was easier to make people talk whenever a social gathering was mentioned.

“I wish! It’s just those guys over there. They are recruiting nerds to teach them self-defense or something,” said the girl with disdain.

Karen had to control herself not to speak out and to focus on the job in hand. She had a look at the direction the girl had nodded and saw a group of people fluttering around the couple she had seen practicing martial arts the previous day.

“Self-defense?”

“Yeah. It seems someone almost got his ass beaten up yesterday.”

“Almost?”

“A guy threw a can to the thug,” she said laughing, “and then—”

“Wait, who threw the can?” Karen asked showing an enthusiasm she only had when there was something interesting to write about.

“How the hell would I know?” She answered with a frown. “Maybe they do.”

The girl referred to the same couple as before with a jerk of her head.

“I’ll go and talk to them, then.”

Karen turned around and headed towards them.

“Thanks,” she added waving at the girl who was now shaking her head.

Karen walked the distance between them and took the leaflet the boy was offering her.

“Interested in taking defense lessons or learning martial arts?” He asked but turned around before she had the chance to answer.

“We’re opening a dojo here at school, have a look at this leaflet if–” he said to a couple of students who were passing by. The boys scrunched up the paper without having a look at it.

“This is frustrating,” he said without realising that Karen was still standing there.

“Oh, you’re still here. Hi, I’m Danny,” he said with a broad smile.

“Hi, I’m– I’m Karen, Karen Page, I write for The Fogwell Bulletin. You said you’re opening a dojo?” She asked as she took her little notepad from her backpack and started to take notes.

“We’re offering free lessons for anyone interested, yes,” the girl next to him answered observing the way Karen was writing everything down.

“Does it have anything to do with the recent bullying incident?”

“Why? Are you interested?” The girl asked, raising one eyebrow with contempt. “I thought you were done writing anything that actually matters.”

Karen sighed and put her notebook down.

“Look, it’s not that easy. I don’t get to choose what I write about.”

The girl snorted.

“I really want to help,” Karen added and paused, trying to come up with a way to earn her trust. “Look, what’s your name?”

“Colleen, why? Are you going to write an article about me now?”

“Look, Colleen, I know this is not a coincidence,” Karen said, raising the leaflet and showing it to her. “You know what happened near the lab yesterday,” she added, “and I know you are trying to help so maybe– maybe if you tell me what you know, I can get to write about it.”

Colleen looked at Danny and rolled her eyes knowing what he was thinking. She sighed.

“I hope you’re right,” she said shaking her head when she saw his smile.

“Ok, what do you want to know?”

And then Colleen told her everything she knew while Karen took notes at full speed.

It had been subtle, most people had not noticed, but there had been a slight increase in the number of visits to the sick bay, which had led to an increase in absences too. This was not something people talked about in classes or in halls, and of course nobody had written about it in The Bulletin, but Colleen knew. She was a volunteer at the peer counseling program and everyone there knew things had been getting worse lately. She had tried to convince the bullied boys to talk to the headmaster, but they were terrified. They knew there would be consequences.

She had not known how to make the bullies stop until she heard about the can incident. If some random guy had managed to stop one once, maybe they just needed the confidence to confront them. If she taught the kids some of the skills she was learning herself, maybe the bullies could be stopped.

“And that guy–?” Karen asked Colleen.

“I don’t know anything about him, but I’ll tell you one thing. From that distance either he was very lucky or he’s a hell of a shot.”

“I need to find him.”

“Well, good luck with that, I tried it myself but–” she shrugged, “maybe an interview is more appealing than volunteering in a musty old gym.”

“I doubt that,” Karen said, closing her notepad. “Thanks for everything. I’m going to keep on digging and then—” she paused, “then I’m going to fight for this article.”

“I know you will,” Colleen answered, offering a smile for the first time. She smiled back and nodded before she left.

*
***
*

A few minutes later Karen was at The Fogwell Bulletin talking to Jeryn and trying to convince her that the article was worth writing.

“I’m sure this is big.”

“Maybe. But you still owe me that piece about the price of fizzy drinks at the canteen.”

“Sure. Fizzy drinks. How could I forget? But I have the feeling that these thugs—”

“Thugs are common. I’m more interested in the vigilante. Was it his first time?”

“What?”

“Was it the first time he tried to solve a problem his own way?”

“You make it sound like he did something wrong.”

“Well, he did act outside the regulation. And I bet he’ll do it again. So have you figured out who he is or not?”

“Not yet.”

“Find him. Find the vigilante. Then we’ll talk.”

Karen left the room feeling more admiration for the vigilante than ever. Vigilante. It was a crazy idea but she wanted it to be true. Someone brave enough to do whatever was necessary to stop what needed to be stopped. She knew she would not be able to stop thinking about him. The vigilante of Fogwell’s High School. She had not been this excited since she left Vermont. She needed to know everything about him, to talk to him. But she had to find him first. And how could she find a hero who was hidden in plain sight? She knew who could help.

*
***
*

“You’ve come to the right place,” Trish said when she heard Karen explain everything she knew.

Karen sighed in relief and leaned back in her chair. It had been a long day at school and she was exhausted.

Once she handed in her article and convinced Jeryn to give this story a chance, she went straight to her Math exam, which was followed by five other classes that included an oral presentation for Ellison’s English Literature class she had had to revise over a quick lunch. After Ellison’s brief but sincere praise and his guidance on her next assignment, she had to rush to the radio station. Trish had just finished her show and Karen had her Debate Club session a few minutes afterwards, she would hate to have to miss it. She loved that club.

Trish’s reaction was everything Karen needed. They had only chatted a couple of times before, so she was not sure if she would be interested in this kind of story, especially since it involved trying to get Jessica to keep an eye on it too. But she could tell Trish was as excited as she was.

“I don’t know if Jeryn’s right about the vigilante,” Karen said, “but even if she isn’t, you can tell there’s a story here.”

“You can bet there is. And we must do something about it, help those kids who can’t help themselves,” Trish answered enthusiastically.

Karen nodded, a broad smile on her face. She could not be happier to have found someone who cared as much as she did, someone ready to expose the facts and probably to support the vigilante Karen could not stop thinking about.

“And,” she said as casually as she could pretend, “about that guy…?”

“We’ll figure it all out, don’t worry. I’ll talk to Jess, maybe she can—”

“Maybe I can what?”

Neither of them had realised Jessica was there, arms crossed, leaning on the door frame.

“Oh, hi!” Karen said gulping and tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

As usual, Jessica was doing her best to show an apathetic facade. She had the ability to discomfort a lot of teenagers at school, some even found her fake self-assurance intimidating. But that was not the case of the brave and stubborn Karen Page. She was eager to work with her. If they managed to convince her to work with them.

“I— I was telling her—” Karen mumbled but Trish interrupted her.

“We need you to sniff around, get some pics. We may have a vigilante operating at school, Jess.”

“Yeah, I know,” she answered nonchalantly until she saw their questioning faces, then she raised her hands and said “Seriously? Don’t you know he struck again?”

“What?” Karen and Trish shouted in unison.

“He’s back. The guy who threw a can at that asshole, he’s back.”

“Oh my god!” Trish yelled, looking at Karen.

“I knew it!” was Karen’s answer when she managed to get her voice back. She had been speechless for a few seconds. All she could do was cover her mouth with both her hands and think about who that guy could be. Because he was real. They knew that now. He was real.

She was more excited than ever.

“Tell us all you know,” she demanded without thinking.

Jessica raised one of her eyebrows offering Karen her distinctive look of contempt.

“Sorry, I got a bit carried away.” Karen apologised laughing. “Please?”

Jessica rolled her eyes at her and explained what she had just heard.

Chapter Text

“What the hell was that, Matt? You can’t go around saving people.”

Matt smirked. He knew pride was a deadly sin, but he could not help feeling a little proud of what he had done. On their way to the Debate Club he had seen a bully harassing a younger boy and he had decided to confront him. That bully would not harass anyone else any time soon.

“Throwing a can to that asshole was dangerous, but this thing you’ve done now is— is… Are you out of your mind?”

“I’m blind, Foggy. No one is going to think it was me.”

“I know you’re blind, you idiot. But I’m sure they’ll end up knowing it was you. Even if you had that stupid scarf all over your face.”

“Nobody saw me.”

“You can’t know that.”

“Quiet, there’s a couple around the corner.”

Foggy was silent for a few seconds, until he saw that Matt was all smiles again.

“You’re loving this, aren’t you?”

He shrugged.

“Seriously, man, you can’t tell me to hide behind a bush and then go hit a guy unconscious—”

“Except I did.”

“Except you fucking did, yeah.”

“I did.” He said smiling again.

“Erase that stupid smile off your face.”

He didn’t.

“And how the hell did you even do all that parkouring? When did you learn to do that?”

“I’ve been practicing.”

“Of course, you’ve been practising! That’s such a perfectly reasonable explanation for how you’re able to do such reckless yet awesome daredevil shit.”

Matt laughed.

“I thought you were just doing some boxing.”

“Yes, that too.”

“So all this time you’ve been at the gym you— Wait,” Foggy said and stopped walking.

Matt could tell Foggy was getting angry. He could feel it in the way his breathing and his heartbeat had changed. His body temperature was also rising above the usual levels. That was not a good sign.

“You had it all planned!”

“No! How– How would I even know that that boy was going to–?

“I know that! But you brought that scarf in case you had the chance to do... whatever that was.”

Matt snorted.

“You can’t do that, Matt. You– You need to stop. It’s dangerous,” he said with real concern.

“I know,” he said, grabbing his elbow so that they would go back to walking again.

“I’ll be careful.”

“Careful is not enough.”

“I promise everything’s going to be fine, Foggy.”

“I need a better promise than that.”

“You’re gonna be a hell of a lawyer, you know?”

“Of course I know, that’s why I won’t let you distract me with that innocent face of yours. You won’t get away with this that easily.”

“It couldn’t have been me. I’m blind, remember?”

“And an asshole, I remember that too.”

***

Some minutes later.

***

There was quite a stir at the multi-use common room where the debate sessions were held. Everyone could hear it from outside the building, Matt heard it from across the yard. He slowed down his pace and tilted his head. Foggy rolled his eyes knowing his friend was not listening to him anymore. He sighed.

“Is it her?”

“What?”

“The reason why you’re not listening. Is it her?”

Matt furrowed his brows pretending he did not know what Foggy was talking about.

“You damn well know. Your favourite blonde! Is she inside already?

“No, I mean, yes. But that’s not it.”

Foggy ran a hand through his hair. He was getting this new habit now that, despite his mom’s complaints, he was letting it grow. She would insist that Theo would soon start imitating his big brother and refuse to get his cut, but Foggy always said that he was doing it for science, an experiment to see how it worked with girls. She really hoped it was just a phase.

“Matt, you never listen to me when she’s around. Why don’t you just ask her out? Who knows? She may even say yes.”

Matt let out a nervous laugh and shook his head.

“She’s talking to Marci now–”

“Oh! Now you got my interest.”

“And—” he continued without paying much attention to Foggy’s words, “they’re talking about a couple of incidents that make them think— they think there’s a vigilante at school.”

“I told you!” he yelled and then repeated his words in a lower voice when Matt shushed him, “I told you people were going to start talking about it! About you!”

Matt bit his lip and lowered his head trying to hide a cocky smile.

“And why the hell are you smiling now?”

“Marci thinks the vigilante should consider the legal consequences of his actions—”

“You should.”

“Yes, sure, but Karen—” he blushed as soon as he mentioned her name.

“Oh, god, don’t tell me she—”

“She says she admires what he does and would love to see him in action with her own eyes.”

“Oh man, so now you are having fans and the first one is none other than Karen Page?”

Matt shrugged. He was too shocked to say anything. Foggy shook his head and went on muttering.

“Just what you needed. Just what you fucking needed.”

Chapter Text

“So... you mean we have our own vigilante at school?”

“That’s what it seems, doesn’t it?”

Marci nodded and Karen smiled. She could not hide how much she was loving it.

“Well, this adds a little spice to our boring school life,” Marci continued, “but if he’s any clever, and from what we know I doubt he is—”

“Hey! Why do you say that?” Karen asked, frowning.

“He should consider the legal consequences, Karen. This could end up badly for him, even if he’s trying to do some good.”

“He is. The guy he knocked out today is a thug. I bet he saved some kid from getting beaten or mugged.”

Marci paused to study Karen’s face and smiled.

“Oh my god, you are falling for him!”

“I’m not!”

Karen said but her blushing face betrayed her.

“Yes, sure.”

“I just admire what he does,” she added, trying to keep a calm tone. “He must be brave and kindhearted to do something like that. God, I’d love to see it with my own eyes,” she confessed.

“I bet he has a nice butt.”

“Marci!”

“What? As if you hadn’t fantasized about that? He must be athletic to do what he does.”

Karen covered her mouth laughing harder than she had in a long time.

“I hope you get the chance to confirm it. The school deserves to know all the info you can get.” Marci said enjoying seeing her friend like that. “And I hope he has a cute friend so we can go on double dates, wouldn’t that be nice?”

“It would,” she sighed.

“I haven’t had a date in ages. How long is it since you last had one?” Marci asked.

“Does having some pizza with Malcolm Ducasse while doing a project count?”

“That bad, huh?”

“That bad.”

“Oh, there you are!” She heard a high pitched voice saying. “Karen! It’s me, Jess!”

She turned around and saw Jessica approaching her and carrying the fakest smile.

“Oh, hi! How come you’re—”

“I’ve been thinking about what you said and you’re right!”

Karen furrowed her brows.

“About joining this club, you silly!” She said, patting her shoulder as she sat by her side. “How can I know I’m not interested if I don’t give it a chance? So I’m an observer today, here at your Debate Club! And—”

“Jessica, I told her,” Karen cut her nodding at Marci.

“What?” She asked with a broad smile.

“She told me about your investigation,” Marci explained.

“Oh, thanks god,” she said, sprawling her legs open as she leaned back. “I hate it when I have to pretend I’m nice.”

“That was you being nice?” Marci asked, laughing and getting a questioning look from Jessica. “Girl, your nice voice was killing me,” she added.

“Do I look like I care?”

“Who’s this new friend of yours again, Karen?”

“Oh, well—” Karen started saying when Marci cut her off.

“She’s blunt,” she said, looking Jessica up and down, “I like her.”

Jessica snorted and rolled her eyes.

“I had the feeling you two would get along,” Karen said, laughing.

“Whatever,” Jessica muttered, trying to look as indifferent as possible although she’d always liked Marci and her don’t-mess-with-me attitude. “Is it always this noisy here?” She added, trying to change the subject of the conversation.

“Not really. They must be all gossiping about the vigilante.” Marci answered nudging Karen, who let out a laugh.

Jessica had a look around the room analysing the different groups of people who were chattering and laughing.

“People are so annoying.” She complained and sighed at the thought of having to talk to some of them.

“Oh, look who’s coming!” Marci whispered, ignoring Jessica’s words when she saw Foggy and Matt entering the room.

“I hope we get to be in the same group this time,” Karen whispered back, she did not want them to know she was interested.

“There are some free chairs over there,” Foggy said a bit louder than necessary so that Matt could not refuse to go where he intended.

Karen tried to suppress a smile when she realized Foggy was leading Matt towards them from across the room.

“Sweet Christmas, I’m gonna have a look around and see what I can find out before I get a sugar rush,” Jessica announced as she got up.

“Sure, go do your thing, Jess, I’ll—”

“Yeah, yeah. You do yours,” she answered and paused to study her face. “Jesus Christ Karen, even a blind guy could see you if you blush like that,” she whispered, nodding towards Matt.

Jessica saw how he lowered his head and one corner of his mouth rose slightly, probably against his will as he got rid of it in less than a second. He was too far to have heard them talking and it was obvious he was not listening to the chatty boy next to him, so why that smile? and why hiding it?

She was used to studying people’s gestures, so she crossed her arms and squinted, her eyes fixed on him. Matt raised his head again and knitted his brows, his jaw much tenser than a few seconds before. His body language had changed so subtly that not even his friend seemed to have noticed it. She had seen that same expression every time she had been caught observing someone who had lowered his guard. What is it that you’re hiding, Matt?, she thought to herself.

“So… do you know what topic we’re discussing today?” Karen asked, trying to hide that all her senses were focused on him.

“I think we should approach the right of vigilantes to do what they do, don’t you think?” Marci asked. “Hot breaking news.” She paused. “Jess?”

Jessica shook her head, she had been too caught up in her own thoughts to realise they were talking to her.

“Sorry, what?” She asked curtly before she noticed the boys were standing next to her.

“The debate, we could discuss the recent events.”

“That’s an excellent idea, Marci!” she exclaimed using her nice voice again. “I’ll ask around and see what the rest of the club thinks about it,” she added, winking an eye at her.

“Talk to you later, then?” Karen asked her.

“Of course, besties. Bye, girls!” She answered, smiling and waving as she left.

“Bye, Jess!”

“You can sit here,” Foggy told Matt as he led him to the chair where Jessica had been sat, right next to Karen.

“Hi Matt,” Karen said.

Matt let out a soft hi and offered a shy smile.

Karen always had that effect on Matt: no matter what he had heard her heard saying, he was always speechless by her side, his confidence vanished and not ready to come back until she was long gone.

To make things worse, Jessica’s presence had caught him off guard. He always tried to be careful when she was around, he knew she was good at discovering people’s secrets but he had not expected her to be there, she never was. He only noticed she was in the room when he realised she was observing him. Because she was. The movement of her arms, her breathing, her heartbeat, they all fitted the pattern. There was just one thing missing: the click of her camera. So she was playing a role. But why? What was she up to now? And why was Karen involved in it too?

“Girls, what did you do to that girl? It’s the first time I see her smile!” Foggy said, laughing and sitting next to his friend.

“Jessica? She’s nice once you know her,” Karen answered.

“Oh no, my survival instinct tells me differently, and I appreciate my life, thanks very much,” he said, making them all laugh.

“Maybe you should consider joining the self-defense classes, then?” Marci suggested.

“This may take you by surprise, Marci, but I don’t think a gym is my natural environment.”

They all laughed again.

“I could always teach you some basic boxing moves,” Matt said, trying to sound natural despite his nerves.

“Oh, you box?” Karen asked.

“His dad used to be a boxer. How cool is that?” Foggy was quick to say.

“Oh, he teaches you?” Karen asked again, determined to make Matt speak.

He chucked and shook his head.

“Truth is he doesn’t want me to box.”

She smiled and nodded. She thought about all those articles she kept writing even if she knew they would never be published.

“It’s hard to stop when all you want is to go on, isn’t it?”

He answered nodding and tilting his head to offer her a broad smile.

She took a deep breath and bit her lip. Maybe words were not necessary when you had a bright smile like his.

Chapter Text

A green smoothie and a chocolate milkshake, that was their weekly treat. After the hard work of every debate session, Matt and Foggy would reward themselves with their favourite drinks in their favourite place. Josie’s Café was far enough from Fogwell’s High School to make sure none of their classmates were there. That way they could speak freely without worrying about being heard. Today was no exception, especially since it had been a pretty intense discussion and there were things they wanted to talk about.

The topic that had been chosen, “Self-defense should be taught in school”, had made everyone talk. All the students had an opinion on the school regulations and most of them agreed that the problem of bullying was far from being solved and needed a different approach.

One student argued that the school was failing spectacularly if some students had had to open a free dojo to make their classmates feel safe. Another one soon replied that at least they were lucky to have the vigilante doing the dirty work for them. But not everyone agreed.

Matt would have had more problems accepting the criticism if it had not been for Karen.

“I can’t believe she’s so excited about this whole vigilante thing.”

Foggy’s words brought a smile to Matt’s face. He could not believe it either. Hearing her talk about it was like a dream come true. Far from criticising him, she accepted him, even admired him. He would have never dared to expect so much. And the fact that she wanted to see him fight was making him wonder what it would be like to feel her eyes on him while he was beating some thug’s ass. Probably too much to ask.

“That girl has issues,” Foggy added and took a sip of his chocolate milkshake.

His words brought Matt back to the real world. He sighed and leaned his head down. He was about to speak when Foggy left his drink on the table and cut him off.

“Just like you! Perfect match!”

Matt let out a laugh and pressed his fist against the one his friend was offering him.

“You think?”

“Nope. I don’t think so, I know it,” Foggy insisted. “If you could see the way she looks at you. And the way she tries not to look at you,” he added, laughing.

“I wish,” his friend answered with a sad smile, taking hold of his smoothie. Some things were harder than others to miss, and Karen was a really tough one.

“You two are so cute,” Foggy said smiling. “She couldn’t keep her eyes off you, man. All along the debate, I swear.”

Matt’s smirk made him smile.

“And you—” Foggy nudged him, “it’s so funny to see you losing it and getting all nervous when she’s around.”

“Me? What are you talking about?”

“Oh, come on! Do you think you can fool me? I saw you two talking, and I saw your hands shaking when you got close to her to use that soft voice of yours—” Matt couldn’t hold it any longer and burst out laughing, “see? you know what voice I’m referring to, and you did use it to tell her... well, whatever you said. But she ended up giggling and blushing, just like you!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Foggy needed no superpowers to know he was lying.

“Sure, man. As if I was buying that.”

Matt shook his head smiling and took a sip of his drink.

“I just—” Foggy added as he started playing with his straw. “I just hope she chooses you.”

Matt frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“Well... it’s obvious we can’t be sure anymore when you have such a competitor.”

Matt was at a loss.

“But at some point she’ll just have to make up her mind, make her choice.” Foggy concluded with a shrug.

Matt tilted his head with a questioning face.

“What do you—?”

“Is she into you or is she into the vigilante?”

Matt burst out laughing again.

Foggy noticed that Josie looked askance at them, so he smiled broadly and waved at her. She shook her head in disbelief and went back to cleaning the counter. He loved that she was as rude to them as she was to all the other regulars, it made him feel at home.

“Don’t get me wrong,” he continued, “I’m sure she thinks you’re cute, but you heard her, Matt: he’s fighting for justice, he’s not a criminal, he’s a hero,” Foggy said faking concern.

Matt laughed and tried not to think about how those words had made him feel. Foggy would make such fun of him if he knew. And he would have every reason to do so because there was no reasonable way to explain why he was jealous. He knew Karen was talking about him, but still he was frustrated because she did not know that yet. Yet. He had wanted nothing more than to take her hand and confess. Exactly what he knew he should never do.

“You know she only said that because Marci insisted that what I— well, what he does is against the school regulations and against the law.”

“It is.”

“It may be, but—”

“No buts. Don’t you contradict my future girlfriend. She’s such a badass…”

Matt laughed again. He was happy to have noticed that Marci was as interested in Foggy as he was in her.

“And she likes you. You should ask her out.”

“Using my words against me. That’s so lawyerish of you…”

Avoiding the topic, aren’t you?, Matt thought, but decided to let it go. Considering what he knew, it was just a matter of time she asked him out.

“Anyway, talking about badasses… Didn’t you notice anything weird in Jessica?”

“Other than the fact that she can actually smile?”

“No, it’s that— it’s— I think she was observing us, well, me when we got there.”

“You serious?”

Matt nodded and Foggy grunted in response.

“Maybe that’s why she was there with Karen,” Matt suggested.

“If she’s helping Karen write an article about you, you’re done.”

Matt sighed. He knew his friend was right. That is why he had considered not telling him, to keep him out of it, safe. But Foggy was his best friend, there was no way he would lie to him, he deserved to know.

“That girl has supersenses or something, Matt, she’ll figure it out. You need to stop.”

And there were the words he was so afraid to hear from him.

“I can’t. Not until all this bullying stops.”

“You have to be kidding me, Matt. You know how these things go. It’s never going to stop. And we have plans, you and I are going to college together, remember? But it won’t happen if you get hurt or caught.”

Matt snorted.

“I know.”

“What kind of lawyer would I be if my best friend ends up in jail? Nobody would hire me!”

“It’ll be just a couple of weeks or so, until the people who have joined the defense classes learn a few moves and can face the bullies themselves. I’ll stop then.”

“Promise me.”

“You want me to cross my heart?”

“Do not make fun of me.”

“I swear,” Matt said crossing his heart.

Foggy let out a laugh shaking his head and then sighed and knitted his brows.

“What’s it, Foggy? Is there anything wrong?”

“No, it’s just that you may think you will, but I know you won’t stop anytime soon, so I guess it’s time for me to tell you.”

“To tell me what?”

Matt could anticipate his friend’s excitement but had no idea what was going on.

“Well, if you’re stubborn enough not to stop your daredevilism,…” he whispered, “then, I think we need to start designing your attire.”

“My what?”

“Your attire,” he said as he took a napkin and started drawing. “I knew you wouldn’t stop so I’ve been thinking of a ninja costume.”

“What the—?”

“Yep. And we obviously need to find you a logo to go with your stage name.”

He handed the napkin to Matt, who rubbed his fingers over the drawing and started laughing.

“The design needs improvement, but you get the idea.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me, Foggy.”

“Oh, come on! What’s wrong with a ninja suit?”

“Man, that theatrical summer camp has left you traumatized.”

“Why? I mean, it would work!”

“Isn’t the whole idea to go unnoticed?”

“Hell no! It’s to avoid being recognised. And who would take you for a ninja, Matt? I’m telling you: best disguise ever.”

Matt could not stop laughing, mainly because he was actually considering it.

“I’ve got it all covered, Foggy.”

“Don’t tell me you already got yourself a ninja costume without my help!”

“No. But I keep a black sweatshirt and a black scarf in my backpack. I can wear them if I have to, and then take them off again. No one will ever know.”

“You open your backpack all the time, Matt, people will see it.”

“And yet you haven’t, which proves my point, Your Honor.”

“Whatever. I’m still going to find you a logo.”

“No, you won’t.” Matt said trying hard to pretend he was annoyed when he was just loving it.

“No doubt I will.”

“I have the feeling these few weeks are going to be very pretty long,” Matt added laughing.

“Oh, man, you have no idea.”

Chapter Text

“Are you sure she told you she’d meet us here?”

Karen and Marci were sitting on an old and forgotten wooden bench that was hidden behind some high bushes near the gym.

“Yep. She’ll be here any minute.”

Karen sighed. She was eager to know what Jessica had discovered during the debate.

“And you would know that too if you had been listening, but you were too busy chatting Mr. Scruffy up, weren’t you?” Marci nudged her.

She was right. Karen knew they were on a mission that day at the debate, but the moment Matt sat next to her, she completely lost it. She found him too charming to focus on anything else.

“That’s not true. Matt and I were just… you know… talking about the vigilante. It’s important to know everyone’s opinion about him.” Her mumbling did not exactly support her reasoning.

“Matt and I, huh? Your vigilante’s going to get jealous seeing you making eyes at someone else.”

Karen started laughing.

“My vigilante is busy doing what he—”

Marci interrupted her rolling her eyes.

“Gosh, not again...”

“But it’s true, you know—”

“Matt’s probably a better option,” she said, trying to change the subject of the conversation. “I mean, he seems a bit churchy, but he can’t be that bad if he’s Foggy’s best friend.”

“He’s not churchy! He’s… righteous. And cute.”

“And he’d need a hair stylist by his side 24/7.”

“Oh, come on! His hair is adorable!”

Marci looked at her and raised one eyebrow.

“He’s fit, I’ll admit that much,” she conceded.

Karen licked her lips and nodded.

“But don’t you think he’s a little bit… I don’t know, dull? I can’t picture him doing anything fun.”

Karen closed her eyes and shook her head as if she was trying to get rid of Marci’s words.

“He’s so sweet. Have you seen the way he tilts his head when he’s listening?”

Marci sighed and leaned back knowing this was just the start.

“When we’re in the Debate Club, I love how he lets his head drop if he disagrees with something and is thinking about how to counterattack.”

“You know Foggy is the brains of them two, right?”

“It’s teamwork, Marci.”

“Yes, sure, whatever.”

“Foggy is great, I won’t deny that, but you can tell Matt’s brain is working at full speed when he’s like that.”

“So?”

“So he knows what he’s doing, and he’s really good at it. My favourite moment is when he knows how to answer back and puts his hands on his hips, licks his lips and smiles with his head up high.”

“Isn’t it then when I have to tell you to keep it cool because you bite your lip and can’t keep your eyes off him?”

“What can I say? That winning smile gives me goosebumps every single time.”

“You can’t be that obvious, girl,” she paused, “unless you make a move.”

“I don’t know... I don't want to scare him off. He seems so shy. He barely talks to me.”

“He talked to you today, right?”

“He did,” she said, smiling and daydreaming about him.

“You’re a hopeless case.”

“Maybe, but he’s going to be a hell of a lawyer one day, so maybe he'll represent me?” Karen said laughing.

“You can’t wait that long. I’ll set you up.”

“Don’t you dare!!!”

“You can’t stare at him forever, you need my meddling. I’ll organise the date.”

“What date?” Jessica asked straightaway the moment she arrived.

“None!”

“Her date with Matt Murdock.”

“I’m not—”

Jessica cut her off.

“You’re dating Matt Murdock?”

“I’m not dating him, I’m just—” She stopped talking thinking she'd better keep quiet before she said anything she would regret. “Let’s forget about him and focus on the vigilante, ok?”

“Sure, whatever,” Jessica said.

“Forget about whom?” Trish asked as she approached them.

Karen shook her head and sighed. It seemed there was no way to avoid the conversation.

“Matt Murdock,” Marci answered, nodding at Karen.

“Oh, are you guys dating or something?”

“You’re late, you said you were coming right after the program,” Jessica complained.

“I had to get changed for the defense classes. Karen, you should date him, he seems nice. And he’s hot.”

“You like him? He doesn’t look like your type.”

“Of course he’s not my type, Jess, especially since Karen’s dating him.”

“We’re not dating.”

“Yet,” added Marci. “But he’s so sweet to her, always using his softest voice.” She smiled seeing that Karen had started blushing. “And she’s just crazy about him, about the way he tilts his head and how he lets it drop, and his smile, and the way he puts his hands on his hips and licks his lips…”

Marci could not stop mimicking her, seeing the way she was blushing.

“Can you guys stop this? We have stuff to talk about.”

“Sure, the vigilante!” Trish added. “I’ve been doing some digging, but it seems people don’t know much about him.”

“Oh yeah, her second favourite schoolmate.”

“We don’t know for sure if he studies here.”

“He probably does,” said Jessica, “but I didn’t find out anything useful during the debate. So many people talking and nothing worth listening, jeez.” She added, shaking her head. “But give me a couple of days and I’ll get you some pics.”

Karen smiled thinking about the possibility of looking at those pictures and maybe discovering his identity even though they knew he was good at being in disguise.

“You know what?” Marci said. “Take a pic from behind.”

They all turned their heads to look at her.

“What?” She added, “he wears a scarf to hide his face, but he can’t mask his ass, can he?”

“Marci!” Karen exclaimed, giggling.

“She’s got a point.” Trish added, shrugging. “It may not be as useful as an ID, but it may as well work to unmask our guy.”

“I need to update my resumé. Would you put unmasking butts under “Experience” or “Special Skills”?” Jessica asked and Trish and Karen started laughing.

“Actually, I think that goes under “inappropriate behaviour”, right next to your mugshot,” Marci pointed out.

Jessica tilted her head and raised an eyebrow at her. Marci’s answer was a broad smile.

“I love talking to you, guys, but I really gotta go. I don’t want to miss Colleen’s warm-up. I’ll keep on digging. See you tomorrow to see what we’ve found out?”

They all nodded.

“You know what?” Karen asked as they got up to leave. “This is nothing like Vermont and, and— I’m glad we found each other. I’m having fun doing this with you, girls.”

Trish smiled and nodded, but Marci and Jessica shared a sarcastic look.

“Karen, I’m not hugging you,” Jessica said.

Marci burst out laughing.

“You may not, but we sure will,” Trish said, dragging Karen towards her best friend.

“Don’t you—”

Jessica swore as they both laughed and put their arms around her, hugging her tightly. Marci crossed her arms and shook her head.

“I’m sure this counts as mitigating circumstances, Jess, if you decide... well, you know...”

Jess nodded as she resigned herself to being hugged and tried to suppress a smile from her face.

Chapter Text

After all the excitement she had been through the previous day, Karen was determined to take things much easier that Wednesday. She was going to attend her classes, interview some students for her current investigations and go home to work on that article on fizzy drinks that Jeryn was expecting her to write. The sooner she handed it in, the sooner she could concentrate on what she really wanted to write about. There would be no major distractions that day.

Marci seemed to have other plans, though.

“Karen—”

“Shhh.”

Marci sighed and shook her head.

“Do you really like Lord of the Flies?”

Karen nodded and Marci rolled her eyes when she realised Karen was more interested in the lesson than in chatting.

“It’s depressing,” Marci went on, but got no answer from her friend.

“Gosh, I’m bored,” she added a few minutes later.

Karen shrugged and gave her a knowing smile.

Marci kept looking here and there trying to find something that would free her from her boredom.

“I have an idea,” she said as she took a piece of paper and started writing. “Pass it on to Foggy.”

“What?”

“Will you just—?

“Ok, ok.” Karen whispered. “Foggy… Foggy…”

Foggy turned around and took the piece of paper Karen was offering. She saw him reading it and talking to Matt for a second. Matt seemed a bit confused and whispered something to Foggy, who answered with a so what? that sounded a bit louder than he had intended. That made him get a look of concern from the teacher.

“Sorry, Mr. Ellison,” Foggy apologised, giving him a helpless look.

Ellison grumbled and kept on with the class.

When Foggy saw he was off the hook, he turned to give Marci a thumbs-up, his face lit up.

“What was all that about?” Karen asked her, suddenly interested. She had the impression that whatever Marci had in mind, she was going to get involved in it somehow.

“Oh, you and I are having lunch with Foggy and Matt today.”

“What?!”

Some of her classmates started laughing slyly. She had a look around and took her hands to her mouth when she realised Ellison was standing right there, staring at her.

“Sorry,” Karen mouthed.

“Karen, please. Some of us actually want to learn,” Marci said, mockingly.

Ellison shook his head.

“I should reconsider making a career in journalism,” he murmured on his way back to the teacher’s desk.

Seeing Matt turn his head to smile at her made Karen forget her guilty feeling in less than a second.

As soon as the bell rang, all students were ready to leave for lunch; books, notebooks and pencil cases already gathered up. They did not have much time and there were always long lines at the cafeteria, it was better not to linger in class.

“I can’t believe I forgot my lunch again, damn it,” Marci said as she got her things inside her satchel.

Karen knew she was lying. There was no way she would have forgotten. Marci hated the food at the canteen. She would always say it was not classy enough. This was probably just part of her plan.

“I can share mine if you want, I don’t mind” Foggy offered on their way outside.

Matt’s expression mirrored Karen’s. Eating only half his sandwich? He would have to hear Foggy’s stomach rumbling all afternoon.

“Oh, that’s so sweet, Foggy. But— why don’t you just walk to the cafeteria with me? I’ll grab something there,” she said already holding Foggy’s arm. “You, guys, go ahead and wait for us on a bench. We’ll join you in a minute.”

“Oh, sure.”

“We won’t be long,” Marci announced as she turned around with Foggy, leaving Matt and Karen behind.

“It seems it’ll be just you and I after all,” Karen said, hoping it was not too much for him.

“Sounds like plan. And quite a nice one.”

Karen let out a smile.

“Would you mind if I hold your arm? Or I can take my cane if you—”

“Oh, absolutely,” she said, getting closer to him and guiding his hand to her arm.

He answered, offering the sweetest smile. Maybe he was not that shy after all.

They walked towards the bench without so much as a word. One could think it was because they were too nervous, truth is they were enjoying each other’s presence so much that they felt no need to talk.

“There’s a free bench over there,” Karen said after a few minutes. “They’ll be able to see us when they leave the cafeteria, although I’m not sure if they’re planning on coming back,” she added, laughing.

“They aren’t very discreet, are they?” Matt asked, grinning.

“No, they aren’t,” she answered, shaking her head. “I don’t know about Foggy, but Marci is quite straightforward.”

“You seem to know her pretty well. Have you known each other for long?”

“Not really, less than two months.”

He raised his eyebrows, genuinely surprised.

“I thought maybe you two had met before you moved here.”

“Oh, no. We met the first day of school. She saw I was a bit lost and she helped me out.”

“Did she? That’s nice.”

“I know. She came to me and told me there were a few sharks on guard and I’d need another shark to scare them off.”

“A shark like her?” Matt asked, laughing.

“None other than her. So, she spent most of the day with me and— I don’t know, I guess we got along.”

Matt nodded.

“I like her a lot. We have many things in common, and she doesn't mind me venting about my boring articles and getting all excited when I’m doing some research.”

He turned his head towards her, knitting his brows.

“For my articles. Right now I’m focused on our vigilante.”

“Oh!”

He gulped and did his best to hide his tension, hoping his tight jaw would not give him away.

“Yes… I talked to Jeryn, the chief editor of the newspaper, and I may write about him. Marci is being very helpful and supportive.”

“Oh, that’s— that’s great. I’m— I’m glad she’s helping you. And, well, she— she seems nice. I mean, I’m glad she’s nice.”

“Oh, she is. She may give the wrong impression at first, but once you get to know her, you just have to love her.”

Matt was happy he was succeeding at changing the subject of the conversation. Talking to Karen about the vigilante the day before, while they were waiting for the debate to start, had been hard enough. He had had problems to find the words with her and also his way out of the conversation. He was not prepared to have that talk with her. How could he explain what he could do? What would she think of him if she knew the truth? Talking about Foggy and Marci was much safer for him.

“No need to warn Foggy about the “shark sighted” alert, then?”

She burst out laughing.

“Oh, you have nothing to worry about,” she explained, “Marci’s great. Foggy’s lucky she’s set her eyes on him.”

Matt smiled at her and gathered up the courage to do some research of his own.

“What about you? Are you dating someone?”

She let out a soft laugh and shrugged.

“Not really,” she answered, shyly.

“You?”

He shook his head and smiled at her. She could not believe how obvious his flirting was after having been so timid since the day they met and so distant while they were chatting the day before. She was having a hard time not to jump on him.

“What was it like in Vermont? I’m sure you left some broken hearts when you moved out.”

She took a deep breath and bit her lip.

“There wasn’t much to do there, it’s a small town,” she answered, trying not to read too much into his comment. “And my family used to run a diner, so I would spend most of my day helping them or taking care of my brother. Not very exciting. I’m glad we moved.”

“Me too.”

And there it was again, that captivating smile.

“What about you? You said Foggy’s like a brother, so I assume you’re an only child.”

“I am. My mom left when I was just a kid, so it’s just my dad and I.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“It’s ok. That was a long time ago, and my dad’s a great guy.”

“And a boxer, right?”

“An ex-boxer.”

“Yes, I remember. But you’re reviving the tradition.”

“I am, but I have to do it behind his back or he’d kick my ass. He’s still a much better boxer than I am,” he said, laughing.

“Well, practice makes perfect. But you mustn’t forget to wear your gloves, Matt.”

She moved her hand towards his slightly bruised knuckles, but stopped herself when she saw him getting tense.

“Yeah, sometimes I forget to bring them and—”

“And you never know when you’ll feel the need to hit a punching bag, right?”

He nodded with a smile, Karen’s voice and words helping him feel better.

“It’s much easier for me. I can always carry a notebook in my bag,” she said, brushing her shoulder against his. “Nobody would consider it a weapon, but I think writing is my particular fight.”

“Oh, here you are,” Marci said as she surprised Karen leaning on Matt.

“You haven’t even taken out your lunch!” Foggy said, taking a bite of his sandwich and sitting next to his friend.

“I guess they’ve been too busy, right?” Marci asked Karen winking an eye at her.

“The cafeteria was so crowded, Matt. And I can’t figure out why because—”

Marci took advantage of Foggy’s vivid conversation with Matt to share a few words with Karen.

“You haven’t missed us that much, have you?” she asked, sitting next to her and pouring some dressing into her salad.

“I guess I could say the same.”

“Yeah, he’s fun. What about you? Are you still interested in Matt?” Marci asked, nodding at him.

“Shhh,” she whispered.

“So?”

Karen nodded.

“Great, because you’re going on a date,” she whispered into her ear.

“Matt,” Marci said before Karen could say anything, “I hope you don’t have any plans for Friday evening because I told Foggy that maybe the four of us could go to the movies and then grab something for dinner.”

“Yes, I’m all in!” Foggy exclaimed. “And you, man?”

“Sure. I’d love that, I mean, if you feel like it too, Karen.”

“It’s a date,” she answered, smiling broadly and watching him smile as well.

“Great!” Foggy added. “So, Friday it is! And you know I love you, buddy, but it’ll be nice to take a day off for a change. Because you won’t mind describing the movie to Matt, will you, Karen?”

She was starting to wonder if Marci and Foggy weren’t more concerned about getting them together than about being together themselves.

“Of course not. I just hope I’ll know what I’m doing.”

“Don’t worry. You’re great with words, you’ll do an excellent job. Just don’t be too loud, we don’t want people throwing popcorns at us,” Foggy added.

“I’ll do my best,” she said, laughing.

“You don’t need to do that.” Matt whispered to her when Marci and Foggy starting debating about the movie they should watch.

“What? Describing the movie??”

“Yes, I can just listen to the dialogues, it’s fine.”

“Nonsense. I’ll do it. I’m sure it’ll be fun.”

“Are you sure?”

She imagined herself sitting next to him at the theater and getting a bit closer to whisper something into his ear. She had no doubt the plan was more than appealing.

“Yes, it’ll be a pleasure.”

Chapter Text

Teamwork was not exactly Jessica’s favourite modus operandi, but working with Karen was something she could get used to. The girl was proving to be enthusiastic and resolute. She had observed the students, interviewed those who were willing to talk in between classes and made a couple of lists in case they could help.

The first one was about the possible or probable future victims. Anybody could be on that list, Karen knew that, but it would be pointless to deny that some students were more likely to become targets. Karen was determined to keep an eye on them, especially on those who spent more time alone and were not attending the self-defense classes Danny and Colleen were giving.

Then, there was this other list that had required harder work and a deeper reflection as it named those who could be ruled out as the vigilante. Karen had listed there those who had been in a school trip that had taken place the day of the first attack, those that had an alibi supported by at least two students they were not friends with, and finally those who had an injury or a disability that prevented them from doing all the stunts the vigilante could do.

“This’s a helluva job, Karen,” Jessica admitted.

“It is,” Trish insisted.

“They’re not finished, I still have some work to do, but thanks,” Karen said with a smile.

She was standing next to the bench where they had agreed to meet after school, too nervous to be sitting down.

“My girlfriend is tenacious, isn’t she?” Marci added.

She was, but she had not only been determined in order to do a good job, it had also been a way to keep her mind busy and stop thinking about her plans for Friday. She was having a hard time concentrating after her chat with Matt.

“Thanks, I— I just wish I could have come up with a good description of The Man in the Mask. I’ll insist, but those kids are still too afraid to talk and—”

“The Man in the Mask?” Trish asked with a broad smile and a hint of jealousy that only Jess could detect. “They’ve already given him a name?”

“Oh, not just one. He’s... The Man in the Mask, The Man in Black, The Man Without Fear, and my favourite: Daredevil.”

“Because of his horns, right?” Jess asked, getting a snort of amusement from Marci, who almost spit the cola she was drinking.

“Horns? What the hell are you—?” Karen started asking but Trish cut her off.

“Ignore her, Karen. She’s just being sarcastic,” Trish said, rolling her eyes. “So... all those names in less than a week, huh?”

Karen nodded, still looking askance at Jess, who was shrugging and playing the innocent.

“That works in our favor,” Marci said. “With all these people talking about him, he’ll be full of himself and he may lower his guard.”

“Maybe, but we won’t see him today,” Jess continued, “everyone’s lying in wait.”

“Yes, we all are,” Trish added, “but he’ll probably show up tomorrow or the day after, right?”

“That’s my guess.” Jessica answered. “And I’ll be ready,” she added, raising her camera.

“We should all keep our eyes open,” Karen suggested. “Any hints about where he could strike this time?”

They all shook their heads.

“No more news to share?” Marci asked. “Ok, then... I guess now it’s a good time to tell you that Karen and Matt are going on a date!”

“WHAT?” Trish asked with eyes wide open.

“You gotta be kidding me,” Karen said, looking at Marci.

“I knew it! What were you waiting for to tell us, Karen?” Trish exclaimed genuinely happy.

“There’s nothing to tell.”

“The hell there isn’t!” Trish claimed.

“I don’t want to get my hopes up.”

“I saw him talking to you at the debate,” Jessica said, “that guy’s totally into you.”

“And you should have seen them at lunch today. God, they just wouldn’t stop flirting!”

Karen let out a soft laugh, and covered her cheeks with her hands knowing she was already blushing.

“The thing is I had arranged it so that the four of us would have lunch together—” Marci started explaining.

“Four?” Trish asked.

“Yes, the lovebirds, Foggy and I.”

“Oh, right.”

“But I told Foggy to come to the cafeteria with me so that they could be alone.”

“Oh, so that’s why you left with him?” Karen asked sarcastically.

Marci raised her eyebrows, questioning.

“You could as well have told me before.” Karen complained, squinting. “You were… You were a bit of a bitch, you know?”

“Oh, thanks,” Marci answered, smiling at her. “Anyway, as I was saying, we left them on their own for what... ten? fifteen minutes? And when we got there they had not even taken out their lunch!”

“Too busy making out?” Jess asked.

“What? No!” Karen grumbled.

“Too busy making eyes at each other,” Marci corrected her.

“That’s such a shitty pun,” Jessica claimed, making Marci burst out laughing.

“So when is the date?” Trish asked Karen, ignoring the other girls.

“On Friday. We’re going to the movies. And Foggy and Marci are coming too, it’ll be a double date.”

“Yes, we’ll all go to the movies and Karen will get to describe the film to Matt,” Marci pointed out.

Karen nodded trying to hide the huge smile that was lighting her face.

“Matt seemed quite happy about it.”

“So the guy is not that shy anymore, huh?” Trish asked.

“Apparently not.”

“By the way, what did you guys talk about? You’ve been so busy with your investigation you haven’t told me about it.”

“Not much… But he did ask me if I was dating someone and then told me that he was glad I had moved here from Vermont.”

“He’s going all out!”

Karen laughed.

“The truth is I can’t wait for Friday.”

“Me neither. Foggy is such a teddy bear…”

“I didn’t take you for the corny type,” Jessica said.

“Sweetie, we all have our soft spots, Foggy Bear is mine.”

“Foggy Bear? You’ve been talking about Matt and I when there’s a Foggy Bear to talk about?” Karen asked, laughing.

“Girl, we’re too obvious to be interesting,” Marci explained and both Jess and Trish nodded.

“Whatever,” Karen said when she realised her plan to divert attention had failed.

“So are you guys seeing each other before the date?” Trish asked, confirming how badly her plan had failed.

“Well, we have some classes together, but other than that…”

“You can have lunch tomorrow,” Trish insisted.

“I don’t know… I have to keep on digging and working on those lists. And then, there’s this article Jeryn’s been pushing me to write.”

“The one about fizzy drinks again?” Marci asked.

“Yep. I was planning on handing it in during my lunch break tomorrow, which reminds me I should be home and writing right now.”

“Fizzy drinks? You can do much better than that shit,” Jessica complimented her, which made Trish and Marci look at each other in astonishment.

“Did I just hear my rude, sarcastic friend being nice?” Trish laughed.

“Oh, shut up,” was the only answer Trish got from her.

“Thanks,” Karen said with a shy smile, “Actually I tried to talk Jeryn into publishing an article about the vigilante. But she says she’ll only do it if she has his name.”

“What an asshole,” Jessica muttered.

“Well, she’s running the paper and she has a point,” Marci pointed out.

“But that guy’s a hero!” Trish complained. “Even if we found out who he is—”

“I’d never reveal his name,” Karen cut her off. “What he does is much more important than any article I could write,” she added with a sad voice.

“Well he is a hero, but don’t sell yourself short, Karen. I’ve read your articles and your work can really make a difference too,” Trish said.

“No more than yours.”

“Jesus, you’re not going to start getting all sentimental again, are you?”

“And my rude, sarcastic friend is back!”

Jessica snorted as Trish punched her shoulder jokingly.

“She sure is,” Marci added, winking at her.

“Anyway, I really should get going, girls,” Karen sighed.

“Yes, it’s getting late.”

“I have lots of work to do,” Karen added.

“Let’s go then,” Trish said as she got up.

“Same time here tomorrow?” Jessica asked nonchalantly.

“I don’t know. It really depends on how my research into Daredevil goes.”

“So now you’re using your investigations as an excuse to avoid your girlfriends and meet with Matt?” Marci teased her.

“Not really. But I wonder if a certain Foggy Bear knows about his corny nickname. Maybe I should be meeting him instead to let him know about that,” Karen counterattacked.

“What an asshole idea,” Marci said. “I’m impressed,” she added after a short pause.

“Yes, the student’s surpassing the master,” Karen added, laughing.

“You think, huh? Then maybe I’ll find Matt and tell him about your fascination with this other guy, the hot and righteous Man in The Mask.”

“Oh, will you?” She added, mocking her.

Marci nodded and smiled knowing what she was about to hear.

“Too late,” Karen added, wiping the tears from her eyes. “I’m afraid he is well aware of it.”

Chapter Text

Karen wanted to be professional and focus on her work that Wednesday evening, but she knew it would not be an easy task. It had been a long and exciting day, and her heart was still racing. She would need to repress herself from thinking about everything that was going on lately.

She sighed, feeling relieved, when she finally opened the entrance door and heard her mom humming Something Stupid. Everything was so much better since they’d closed Penny’s Place and left Vermont. It had been a difficult, but liberating decision for everyone in the family. Home was no longer the suffocating place it used to be.

She caught a whiff of what they were having for dinner and peeped into the kitchen. Her dad was cooking her brother’s favorite, mac and cheese, and her mom was preparing the dressing for the salad she was going to make.

Karen greeted her parents and went to say hi to Kevin, ruffling his hair playfully as she left his room. He complained, as usual, but she stuck out her tongue from the door, making him smile.

Once in her bedroom, she took everything she needed from her school bag and sat on her bed. She was hopeful she could write a bit now that she was far from her friends and their enthusiastic chattering, but their words kept echoing in her mind: I saw him talking to you at the debate, that guy’s totally into you; They just wouldn’t stop flirting!; We’ll all go to the movies and Karen will get to describe the film to Matt...

She was trying to take things easy, but the truth was that Matt was the only thing she could think about. His voice was stuck in her head, his smile the only thing she could see, and then there was their upcoming date. The butterflies in her stomach would not give her a break.

Too much excitement to let her concentrate on the boring article she had to write. However, Jeryn wanted her to submit it sooner rather than later, and Karen knew she had to make it right and score some points, determined, as she was, to talk her into the need of an article about the bullying situation and about the vigilante, the only person who seemed to be fighting against it. Maybe that way people would realise that Daredevil was just doing what the people responsible were failing to do.

Karen’s mind was so lost in her thoughts that when she was called to the table, she did not move or say a word. Her mom had to go upstairs to take her out of her self-absorption.

“Karen, haven’t you heard me calling you?”

“Sorry, mom,” she answered from her bed with a smile.

“Where’s your head lately, girl?” Penelope asked, complaining about her absent-mindedness.

Karen just shrugged.

“Tell me… What is it, an article or a boy?”

“Mom!” Karen yelled, grumbling, but laughing.

She jumped off her bed and walked towards her mom to kiss her cheek.

“Maybe a little bit of both,” she confessed in a whisper, leaving her mom smiling as she rushed downstairs.

Karen wanted to tell her about Matt and even introduce her to him. She was sure he would ace the test, but not just yet. Not until they had had at least a couple of dates. At least a couple of dates, she repeated to herself. So much for keeping her feelings and expectations under control. Damn it!

As soon as dinner was over, Karen went back to her room. Kevin and their parents stayed in the living-room watching TV, and she managed to get her work done. That article would not be awarded with a Pulitzer, but at least it would quieten Jeryn down.

After a few crazy days, she could go to bed without that annoying sensation of having a neglected task.

When she woke up the next morning, Jeryn and her possible future career as a journalist were the last thing to cross her mind. She had spent all night obsessed with one unavoidable thought: her date with Matt.

She had felt quite confident the day before, having lunch with him, chatting with her friends. But after sleeping on it… He could have any girl he wanted. Why her? He was so cute and sweet... And maybe she was too much of a little fierce for him. She knew he was a fighter too, she had seen him at the Debate Club, but still… She had to shake her insecurities off with a good cup of coffee and one of her mom’s delicious pancakes with maple syrup. Then, she directed her energies into the busy day she had ahead.

Thursdays were usually tough. She would start her day with History and Math, both of them inevitably sleep-inducing at that time in the morning, even more when she was sitting by the window, observing the cold weather from the inside. After that, she would have English Literature, and she usually enjoyed those classes. Ellison was her favorite teacher, but how could she analyze the use of symbols and imagery in the dystopian novel they were discussing when she could not stop thinking one minute about the vigilante, the next one about Matt?

She breathed out the moment she heard the bell rang. Lunch break. At last. But her happiness did not last long.

“Miss Page, may I have a word with you?” Ellison requested.

“Errr, yes, of course.”

She knew she would not have much time to speak to Jeryn if they talked for long, but she could not really say no to him.

“I’ll wait for you by the locker,” Marci said, trying to help her friend out.

“It’s ok, go and have lunch with the girls, I have to go and see Jeryn anyway.”

Marci shrugged and left the class, closing the door behind her.

“So… ” Karen said when she got to his desk.

“Yes, it’s… you’ve been quite absent-minded lately, Miss Page. Is everything ok?”

He had been arranging some papers since the class ended, but asked the question looking right into her eyes.

“Oh,” she smiled, remembering her mom asking her a very similar question some hours before.

“Everything’s fine. I’m sorry, I’ll try to be more focused from now on.”

“I’m sure you will, but…are you sure everything’s ok, Karen?” He insisted, showing real concern. “I mean, you’re not having problems with your classmates or with other students from the school, are you?”

“Oh, no, not at all. I’m quite happy here, actually.”

“That’s— That’s good. You’re a very promising student.”

“Thanks,” she said, using her softest voice.

“And I wanted to make sure no one was messing with you. That tends to happen to students who’re new, and—”

“Is this because of all the bullying that’s been going on lately?” She asked bluntly.

He scoffed.

“You know… You’ll be a great journalist one day.”

She smiled, but said nothing. She was waiting for his answer.

“That’s nothing new, Miss Page,” he added.

“And still, no steps have been taken.”

“What I mean is—” he sighed, clearly frustrated. “It happens everywhere and it’s— it’s not that easy to put an end to it.”

“Maybe… But I doubt most students would agree.”

She paused and wondered if she should better stop talking.

“And that’s why I’d like to write an article about it and show what they think.”

She was too passionate to bite her tongue.

He sighed again, and shook his head, but she went on.

“And also raise the question of whether we’ve ended up having a vigilante at our school because no one, and I mean no one was tackling the problem.”

He was loving her enthusiasm. The way she chose her words, emphasising what needed attention, straight to the point, no talking around. He could foresee the great future she could have ahead if she played her cards right. And that was exactly the problem. She was too committed to think about what was best for her. So even if he could not say she was wrong, he knew he should dissuade her. Or at least pretend he was trying to do so.

“Are you sure that’s a clever move?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. Or maybe not. But I’m not the kind of person who watches from the sidelines.”

“I never thought you were.”

She stood there, in silence, wondering if he was going to encourage her or to try and talk her out of it.

“Well, if you really want to do it, and I’m not saying you should, you need to talk to the chief editor of the bulletin first, and then, if you get the approval, I suggest you talk to the Directing Board.”

“They’ll never say yes to this.”

“That’s something you’ll need to discuss with Miss Hogarth, don’t you think?”

She nodded. She knew he was right, but she would have to find the way even if Jeryn did not want her to keep going. She just had to.

“Yes, I guess you’re right,” she sighed. “Thanks for your advice, Mr. Ellison.”

“Don’t mention it, which reminds me... I don’t want to see or hear my name anywhere, am I being clear?” He said, trying to sound threatening.

“Sure,” she answered.

Despite the distant tone of his voice, she could tell he was proud of her.

“Don’t worry, Mr. Ellison. This conversation has never taken place.”

He nodded and she could glimpse a slight smile on his face.

“Exactly. Good luck with your editor, Miss Page,” he said as a goodbye, and went back to his papers.

There were so many questions she would like to ask him, but she knew she should not push the conversation any further. Talking to her about an issue like this could put his position at risk.

“Thanks, Mr. Ellison. Have a nice day.”

She turned around and, as she was closing the door, she overheard him say she’ll be a hell of a journalist one day.

Ellison’s words gave her the final boost to fight to make things happen.

She walked down the corridor with determination, simulating the words she was going to tell Jeryn. She had to write that article, she had no other choice but to do it. It would be unethical not to. Those bullied students needed it. The whole school needed it.

She was so lost in her thoughts, that she did not notice the person who was leaning on her locker.

“Karen?” a familiar voice asked.

“Oh, hi Matt!”

She knew she was in a hurry, but being a few minutes late would not be that terrible if that meant she could talk to him for a bit.

“I didn’t see you. How did you know it was me?”

She immediately regretted asking, but he did not seem to mind at all.

“I wasn’t sure, but I thought I heard you mumbling?”

“Oh, shit. Yeah,” she laughed. “I tend to do that when I get anxious.”

“Anxious? Anything you want to talk about?”

And there it was: that sweet voice she only heard him use when they were alone. Her knees were already making it hard for her to stand up.

“It’s just— I need to talk to Jeryn and she can be quite bossy and—”

“I think intimidating is the word you’re looking for,” he added with a huge smile.

“Yes, I think it applies,” she said, laughing. “No one ever dares to say no to her. It’s hard to be the only one who confronts her.”

“It must be.”

“It’s like… she’s so used to controlling people, you know, and I’m far too stubborn to be controlled.”

He snorted.

“That sounds like a dangerous combination.”

“Tell me about it,” she said, sighing.

“Do you want to practice your reasoning with me?” Matt suggested, tilting his head.

“I wish, but I should probably get going to do the actual talking or I won’t have time to have anything to eat before the next class.”

“We could always skip it,” he proposed, shyly.

“That’s so tempting,” she answered and rested her hand gently on his forearm, “but “I’m working on this project at Science with Brett and he would get mad if we got a lower grade because I decided not to show up.”

Matt nodded and smiled. Her thumb was rubbing the cloth of his sweatshirt and he was having a hard time not to kiss her right there.

“But maybe,” she went on, “maybe we can grab a coffee later, if you—”

“Karen Page?” A female voice asked in the distance.

“Damn it,” she mumbled, turning around with a fake smile.

Matt was so absorbed in Karen’s soft voice, in the warmth of her hand on his arm, in the hypnotic swinging of her ponytail, that he had not noticed the unmistakable rigid moves of a certain power-hungry high schooler.

“Is that—?” He grumbled.

“Yep,” she whispered.

“Hi Jeryn, I was actually on my way to see you,” Karen said in an attempt to mitigate her obvious annoyance.

“Yes... I can see that,” she answered when she got by her side, appraising Matt from top to bottom.

“I’ve finished that article you wanted—”

“There’s something else we need to talk about,” she said abruptly.

“What do you mean?”

“No, not here, and definitely not now,” she added, nodding toward Matt. “Meet me after the classes. And don’t be late,” she concluded.

“Sure, I’ll be there as soon as I—”

Jeryn turned around before Karen had had the chance to finish her sentence.

It was making Matt furious to see Karen being treated like that, but he was sure she could take care of it. He opted for keeping a lighter tone and trying to cheer her up.

“I think I underestimated her when I said she was intimidating,” he joked, making her laugh, “I can think of more accurate terms to describe her now.”

“She’s such a pain…”

“To say the least… I guess coffee will have to wait, then,” he added.

“Oh shit, yeah… I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok. At least you have time for your lunch now.”

“That’s right, we do!”

He smiled at how promising that we sounded on her lips.

“Would you like to–?”

“Yes,” he answered without thinking.

She burst out laughing.

“But Matt, you don’t even know what I was going to say?”

“I don’t care. My answer is still a yes.”

She bit her lower lip and took a deep breath as she considered moving her hand to hold his. But before she got to brush his fingers with hers, they were interrupted again.

“There you are!”

Matt rolled his eyes and Karen let go of his arm, both of them missing that intimacy immediately.

“What is it, Foggy?” He grunted, lowering his head and not bothering to hide his irritation.

“Well, first of all, save that grumbling tone for someone you can intimidate, Matt, you know it won’t work with me, and second, it wasn’t you I was looking for, you show-off.”

“What?” Karen asked with a questioning face.

Matt turned his head towards him.

“Yeah… You’ll have to get used to this, K. See? He’s a really nice guy, I mean, he’s my best friend…”

“Foggy…” Matt begged, knowing how difficult it was to keep Foggy’s mouth shut.

“No, I mean why—” Foggy did not seem to notice Karen’s soft voice.

“But sometimes he finds it hard to find the balance between his wounded handsome duck thing and his cocky tendencies.”

Karen had forgotten what she was was going to say and was trying hard not to laugh. Foggy always managed to make the funniest remarks, even if this time they were annoying Matt a bit.

“What can I say?” He continued. “He’s as irritating as he’s adorable.”

Matt ran a hand over his face. He had thrown in the towel and was patiently waiting for Foggy to finish his rambling.

“Are you done now?” Matt asked when he thought he could finally get the conversation back into line.

“Almost. I just came to tell you that Trish Walker’s looking for you, Karen.”

“Is she?”

“Yep. She said something about having paved the way for you and that you both needed to talk asap. Does that make any sense to you?”

Karen nodded and bit her lower lip wondering if Matt would get upset that they had to stop their conversation again. The third time in less than five minutes.

“It’s ok,” he said, as if he was reading her mind.

“Are you sure?”

He smiled and this time it was him who put his hand on her arm.

“Absolutely. Duty comes first. But just to be sure, we’re still on for that movie night, right?”

“Yeah, sure, it’s a date.”

Chapter Text

Karen found Trish at the exact same point where Foggy had seen her. She was on her own, sitting on a bench between the radio station and some vending machines.

“Hi, Foggy told me you were looking for me.”

“Yeah, you won’t believe what I just did,” Trish said with excitement.

“What? What did you do?” Karen asked, sitting by her side.

“I saw Jeryn on my way here and before I knew what I was doing I told her I was preparing a Daredevil special.”

Trish's eyes were wide open and she had a huge smile on her face. Karen, however, did not look that happy about it.

“What the—!” 

“Yes, yes, I told her I was doing some digging with a friend and that—”

“But Trish—” Karen grumbled.

“Trust me, it’s ok,” Trish insisted and placed a hand on Karen’s shaking leg, but instead of helping her friend calm down, that made Karen get up.

“No, it’s not ok, it’s far from being ok,” she complained, walking back and forth. “Don’t you see she’ll think I’m working with you? She’s gonna throw me out of The Bulletin!”

“It’ll be fine, Karen. I told her my friend had pictures she’d love to lay her hands on.”

“Oh! Jess?”

“Exactly. You have nothing to worry about. Jeryn won’t suspect you, she knows how important this article is for you. ”

Karen sighed and sat down again.

“I guess you’re right... Oh! So that’s why she’s suddenly so interested in talking to me!”

“Is she?”

“Yeah, she wants me to meet her after classes today. She probably wants my article on her desk before your program’s broadcast.”

“See?” Trish said, bumping Karen’s shoulder. “It’s worked! I knew it would. ”

“And are you serious about the program?”

“Of course I am. I’ll have to interview the student who first wrote about Daredevil.”

Karen burst out laughing. 

“Don’t laugh. This’ll make you even more famous in campus and you, my dear, are gonna grant me an interview.”

“An interview? What have I missed?” 

“Oh! Hey Jess! I told Jeryn a friend of mine had some pics of Daredevil and now she wants Karen to write the article.”

“Well played,” she said with a nod.

“Where have you been, by the way? You’ve skipped the first three periods again.”

“I’ve been doing some P.I. work and I’ve got some news.”

“Shoot,” Trish said.

“I may know who’s been doing some of the bullying.”

“What?” Both Trish and Karen asked eagerly.

Jessica started explaining.

“I was coming to school this morning and I heard two freshmen talking. One of them said he needed to get some money soon or Turk Barrett would kick his ass again.”

“Turk fucking Barrett?” Trish asked.

Jessica nodded.

“You know him?” Karen inquired.

“Yeah, he’s a B-list crook who used to come to our school,” Trish said. “But he got into some dirty business or something and got expelled. Wait, is he back?”

“No, but I think he’s been smuggling drugs here, and while he was at it, he’s been getting extra money from a few freshmen too. He knows the place and he said something about owing some money to a street gang or—”

“Wait, you’ve talked to him?” Karen said in astonishment.

“Not exactly, but I have my ways.”

“What ways?” Trish demanded.

“I went to his house and heard him talk on the phone.”

Both Karen and Trish were staring at her, immersed in her story. Jessica rolled her eyes and shook her head knowing she would have to tell them everything she knew or they would not stop asking her questions.

“Ok. So… I heard those kids talking and decided to see what I could find out about Turk. So I phoned Ms. Green.”

“The social worker?”

“Yeah. I told her I was an apprentice at Pop’s Barber Shop and that—”

“Wait, who’s Pop?” Karen asked.

“He’s an ex-con,” Trish said. “He’s been helping kids to stay away from crime.”

“And how do you know that guy?” Karen insisted.

“I don’t. Luke told me about him,” Jessica answered.

“Oh, I didn’t know you were friends with Luke,” she said.

“We’re not really—”

“They had a thing last year,” Trish explained.

“Well, yeah, I mean, who hasn’t?” Jessica answered back.

“I haven’t!” Both Karen and Trish cried out.

“Well… your loss.” 

Jessica’s friends burst out laughing.

“Well, you want me to tell you what I did or what?”

“Yeah, sure, sorry,” Trish apologized, but turned around to mouth an I’ll tell you later to Karen, who was still laughing.

“Ok, so yeah, I phoned Ms. Green and, well, I told her I needed Turk’s address because Pop wanted to send him a thank you note after all the hard work he’d been doing with the kids.”

“And she bought that?” Trish asked.

“Well, I can be quite charming and convincing. Plus some people still believe in goodness, and that makes them trusting,” she paused. “And a bit stupid.”

“Jeez, Jess. Do you always have to be that mean?”

Jessica just shrugged.

“So you got the address and went to his house to spy on him, right?” Karen asked, ignoring her friends’ chatter.

“Yeah,” Jessica said, relieved to go back to her story. “And I stood by a window and heard him talk to a guy named Wesley.”

“Wesley? Does that name say anything to you?” Karen asked.

They both shook their heads.

“I’ve never heard of him,” Jessica continued. “And I don’t know what they’re into, but Turk said he’ll give him the money tomorrow night, so I guess he’ll come back later today, maybe tomorrow.”

“That means Daredevil will strike again too,” Karen added, biting her lip.

“Yes, we’ll have to keep our eyes open,” Jessica added, looking at Karen, who just nodded.

“What do you mean you’ll keep your eyes open? Jess, don’t you dare to do anything stupid or I swear to God I’ll—”

“I won’t do anything risky, Trish,” she sighed, “I’ll just take some pics, ok?”

Karen looked at her friends and smiled. She couldn’t wait to finally see some pictures and maybe find out who Daredevil really was.

Chapter Text

Matt spent the rest of the school day thinking about Karen and the few minutes they had shared in the hallway. He reproduced each second in his mind and told Foggy about them later, analyzing everything: the changes in her voice (wasn’t her voice softer when she talked to him?), the slight movements of her hand (he felt he was losing it when she touched his arm, why did he have to arrive when she was about to hold his hand- if she was about to hold his hand?, he was sure she was about to hold his hand), her temperature (because she was blushing, he wasn’t dreaming it, right?), her scent (headier and sweeter than the best perfume) ...

Quiet as he was, he could not stop rambling about her. Such was the crush he had on her. Foggy could see that. It was obvious that Matt was overwhelmed with emotions, so he suggested maybe he should go hit the punching bag to let off some steam, and Matt did.

The gym was one of his favorite places. It did not have the best facilities, but it felt like a safe place. It had a few workout machines, a small area with a tatami and a dark corner where he could hide and box. The place was a bit more crowded than usual that afternoon. He did not like to box when there were people around as he had to pretend he did not know what he was doing, but he really needed it that day. There was no way he could go home without throwing a few quick jabs first.

So he got the adrenaline going, had a quick but restorative shower, and was chatting with Colleen and Danny, who were also there trying to teach a few freshmen some martial arts, when he heard Karen’s voice.

“You’ll have my article on your desk before she makes her special, Jeryn.”

He smiled at how self-assured and firm she sounded. He would have to tell her how much he liked that one day, if he ever found the courage to open his heart to her.

“Don’t let me down,” he heard Jeryn say.

“I won’t.”

Of course she won’t, he thought.

“I have to go, guys,” he said, taking his bag.

“Ok, but just reconsider it, ok?” Danny insisted. “I have the feeling you’d be a great fighter.”

“Me?” Matt answered laughing, “You know I’m blind, right?” he added, smiling.

“And who says you need sight to see?”

Matt raised his eyebrows. He could feel Colleen rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

“I think I’d better—”

“Sure, you said you gotta go,” Colleen said, helping him out of the conversation.

“Well, see you around, then,” Danny added as Matt hurried outside to make sure he would not miss Karen. She was already saying goodbye to Jeryn and he wanted to meet her before she caught the bus. He could hear it approaching in the distance.

“Matt?” She asked a minute later when he pretended to run into her.

“Oh, hi Karen! Waiting for the bus?” He asked, nodding to the bus shelter she was standing by.

“Yeah, I wanted to go home, but I just missed it,” she paused. “How would you feel about going for a walk, Matt?”

“I’d love that,” he answered immediately with a smile. “Let me walk you home.”

She bit her lower lip and nodded.

“Oh, sorry. I just nodded,” she said a bit embarrassed.

“It’s ok,” he laughed. “Which way should we go?”

“Well, I guess...” she started saying, suddenly feeling a bit awkward.

She did not really know how to guide him. Should she hold his arm? Maybe offer hers? Would it be too straightforward if she took his hand?

As if he could hear her thoughts, he folded his cane and moved his hand towards her.

“Can I hold your elbow?” he suggested shyly. “It would help me know where—”

“Of course, yes,” she answered, offering her arm.

His hand was now around her elbow and he was standing right next to her, his head bent up a little, slightly tilted towards her. She looked at him and saw a smile that made her let out a soft breath. She giggled a bit when she realised what she had just done, but then she saw him blushing, his smile broadening, and instead of feeling self-conscious, she felt at ease. Somehow this was more intimate than holding hands.

“Let’s go,” she said, patting his hand.

They were happy to finally have some time for themselves, no people around and no rush to be anywhere. They knew their movie date was just a day away, but 24 hours were far too many when they were that eager to spend some minutes together.

“So you’ve been to the gym,” she said, trying to find a topic of conversation that would help her stop thinking about his fingers around her elbow. “Boxing?”

“Yes, it’s...hmm”

“Cathartic?”

“Kind of,” he said, laughing at how she had found the most appropriate word to describe it. “You don’t think that’s weird?”

“No, I get it. It must be an effective way to unleash energy.”

He nodded, relieved. It was the first time someone had approved his hobby straight away and without bringing up the obvious: he was blind.

“And,” she added, bringing him out of his self-absorption, “it can be quite useful with everything that’s going on.”

He tensed, wondering if she was implying anything, but her heart was calm. False alarm.

“I’m actually planning to write an article about it,” she added.

“About…?”

“About Daredevil. You know, The Man Without Fear. I’ve wanted to write about him ever since he started fighting those bullies.”

For a man without fear, he was pretty terrified. Even if she liked the idea of him boxing and if she was supportive of what he was doing, he doubted she would be ok with him being the one fighting the criminals.

“Oh, are you?” He asked, trying to use his calmest tone.

“Yes, Jeryn did not want me to at first, but apparently she’s changed her mind,” she explained with a broad smile.

“Is that why she was determined to talk to you today?”

“Yes, she wants me to look into it so that the Bulletin can give first news of his identity, but that’s not what matters to me.”

“No?”

“No, I mean, of course I’d like to know, who wouldn’t, but what I really want is to talk to him. I want to know what drives him, what makes him be the kind of person he is and do the things he does. It can’t be easy to put yourself in danger like that, but regardless of the risks, he does it. Anyway, I still have to figure out how to approach the article, and I need to do more digging.”

“Digging?” He asked, half afraid, half flattered.

“Do I sound too ambitious?”

“No, you sound adorable,” Matt answered, trying to ignore the fact that he should not be flirting, but trying to talk her out of writing that article.

She blushed and moved her hand to rub the one he had holding her elbow. He responded moving his hand down her forearm to hold her hand.

“Can I?” He asked when he had his fingers around her wrist.

“Yes,” she breathed out and he intertwined his fingers with hers.

“So...” he added a couple of seconds later, “you’re…”

“I am… talking too much,” she smiled. “Enough about me. What about you?”

“What about me?”

“I don’t know… Tell me… Tell me about your dad.”

“My dad?” he paused.

She just shrugged.

“Well, he’s a great man. He hasn’t had an easy life, you know, first, dumped by my mom, then stuck with me.”

“That sounds sad, but I’m sure he was more than glad to have you around, Matt.”

“I don’t know… It must have been hard to raise a blind son on his own.”

“Well, he did a good job.”

He turned his head towards her, questioning.

“You seemed to have turned out quite alright,” she said, bumping his shoulder with hers.

He burst out laughing.

“So what does he do now?”

“Well, he quit boxing to take care of me. I guess he just wanted to keep me away from all that violence. No more Battlin’ Jack Murdock. He tried different jobs, but it just was not working, so he ended up going back to boxing, as a coach. He works in a gym in my neighbourhood.”

“Is that why you prefer to practice at school?”

“Yes, he doesn’t like me boxing, you know. He wants me to focus on my studies.”

“Anything in mind?”

“He’s seen me at some debate competitions and thinks I should be a lawyer.”

“For what I’ve seen, I must say I agree with that.”

“Do you also think I’m stubborn and too self-assured?” He asked, furrowing his brow jokingly.

“No, I’d say... determined and assertive.”

He laughed at how she’d turned his supposed flaws into positive traits.

“You’re good with words.”

“That’s what my mom always says.”

“Does she want you to be a reporter?”

She shook her head.

“She’d rather I were something else.”

“How so?”

“She says I’d get into trouble with my articles.”

“I have the feeling she’s not that wrong,” he laughed.

“I could say the same about you.”

“Me?”

“Matt Murdock, the defense attorney who puts the corrupt bigwigs behind bars.”

“That sounds promising,” he said, shaking his head and laughing. “Will you write articles about me?” he asked, aware that he’d better start holding his tongue.

“That depends on how good you are. If you manage to measure up...” she teased him.

“I’ll give you exclusive information, you have my word.”

He squeezed her hand and she squeezed his back.

They spent the rest of their walk talking about every little thing that came to their mind. They started talking about music: he loved the 90s hits, but was now learning about jazz, she liked some old punk rock bands, The Beatles and everything that made her be in a good mood and dance. Then they moved on and discussed their favorite movies: Karen resolved to counteract Foggy’s influence on Matt, too many silly comedies and not enough European films, he could do better than that. When they arrived at her house, they were talking about the food they liked: she would have to try those Indian flavors he loved that she could not find in Vermont and he offered to be his guinea pig and try those dishes she was learning to cook.

“This is me,” she said, obviously sad.

“I’m really glad you missed the bus,” he confessed.

“Me too,” she said, mesmerized as she watched him lick his lips.

They were both wondering if they should wait for their real first date to kiss goodbye when something, or rather someone, startled them.

“Mom, Karen’s home! And she brought a boyfriend with her!”

Matt had been too busy enjoying Karen’s presence to notice the boy who was peeping out of the window.

“Kevin, leave us alone!” They let go of their hands as if they were afraid to be seen. “I’m sorry, Matt. He can be a real pain.”

“It must be nice to have a little brother. You’re lucky, I’m an only child.”

“Lucky? I can give him to you if you want,” she joked.

He laughed.

“I’ll go inside before my mom drags you into having dinner with all of us.”

“It can’t be that bad. I could give it a go if it’s homemade,” he quipped.

“Maybe we should have a proper date first.”

“Tomorrow,” he nodded.

“Tomorrow, yeah,” she repeated.

“I can’t wait,” he whispered, getting a bit closer to her and brushing her fingers with his fingertips.

She had to control herself not to send it all to hell and kiss him right there.

“Karen?” her mom said from the entrance. “Are we having a guest tonight?”

“No, mom!” She yelled, clearly frustrated.

“Are you sure? I promise I won’t bite,” her mom answered, teasing her.

“Mom!”

Karen’s mother turned around laughing and got inside. Matt could hear her ordering Kevin to leave his sister alone and telling her husband that Karen was outside with a very cute boy and that no, of course he could not peep even if that was exactly what she had just done.

Matt could not stop smiling.

“I’d better get going before they come looking for you.”

“Yes, I’m afraid they would,” she laughed. “Do you remember where the bus stop is?”

He nodded.

“Yes, right before that corner over there, don’t worry.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean—”

“I know you don’t,” he said, taking her hand.

And he did, he could tell she was not treating him any differently because he was blind. Maybe he could open up to her. Maybe he could be himself with her. He needed to take things slow, it was not easy to share his secret, but maybe, maybe this time…

Before he knew what he was doing, he was tucking a lock of her behind her ear and kissing her cheek. It was a soft, lingering kiss that made her knees shake.

“We’ll talk tomorrow, ok?” he whispered when his lips left her skin.

“Yeah, sure,” she sighed. There was not much more she could say.

She knew he could not see her, but somehow she felt like he could see much more of her than most of the boys she had ever met.

He squeezed her hand and turned around to go home feeling better than he had felt in a long, long time.

Chapter Text

He loved waking up to the smell of petrichor. It was so intoxicating that many of those nasty odors he had to smell every day were almost enshrouded by it. He found it hard to concentrate on anything different on days like this. Except this time there was something else that would not leave his mind. 

He had spent the previous evening reliving their walk to Karen’s house and when he went to bed, she found the way to his dreams and lingered all night long. The morning after, even before he opened his eyes, she was there. He had a shower recalling the sound of her laugh, got dressed thinking about the way her hair moved as they walked, and had a hard time during breakfast as the feeling of her hand kept interrupting the conversation his dad was trying to have with him.

“Are you listening, Matty?” he asked, closing the fridge door.

“Sure, dad.”

“Really? What did I just say?” 

“That we’re running out of… milk?” 

Jack shook his hand and sat by his side.

“Ok, what is it?”

“What’s what?” 

“What you’re thinking about.”

“I have no idea what you mean,” he answered, faking surprise.

“Oh, you don’t?” 

Matt shrugged.

“You’re not the only one who can detect when someone’s lying, you know.”

“OK,” he sighed, giving up. He knew his dad would not stop asking until he explained what was going on. “There’s this girl at school…”

“Oh! So this is about a girl! And does she have a name?”

“Karen,” he said, smiling.

“Karen,” his dad repeated and Matt nodded. Whenever he heard her name, his face would light up. Jack immediately noticed that. “And what’s Karen like?” 

Matt grinned from ear to ear. 

“She’s… different .”

“Different how?”

 “I don’t know… she’s so clever and brave, such a fighter… And she’s also funny and—”

“And does she know you exist?”

“Yes,” he laughed. “We’re going on a date tonight,” he answered with a broad smile.

“Oh! That’s good.”

“Yes, it’ll be a double date actually. Foggy’s coming with another girl too.”

“You two are inseparable.”

“Kind of, yeah. Also Karen’s a friend of Marci’s.”

“Marci?”

“Foggy’s date. Don’t you remember her from the debate competitions?”

“That blonde he would not stop talking about?”

“Yes, it seems she likes him too.”

“That’s good. Foggy’s a great guy.”

“He really is.”

“So,” he paused, obviously uncomfortable, “I guess you remember the talk we had.”

“Dad, please.” 

Matt ran a hand over his face. He did not want to remember that first time he had been on a real date. Minutes before leaving to pick up that exchange student who was spending a couple of weeks at their school, his dad decided it was high time they had the talk. He had never felt so embarrassed in his whole life.

“Remember you must be nice to her—”

“I am nice.”

“And always, always respect her.”

“Of course, Dad! We— We haven't even kissed.”

“Just remember what I told you.”

“Oh, trust me. I remember every word of it.”

“Good to know,” he said, having a look at his watch. “Oh! It’s already 7:10!”

“Shit! I’m gonna be late!”

“Language!”

“Sorry!” he yelled as he rushed upstairs to brush his teeth. 

That morning, the bus drive to school felt shorter than usual. He hardly had the time to fill Foggy in on his walk with Karen. His friend could not be happier for him. That girl he had briefly dated months before had left him devastated, but he was finally himself again. 

They spent the first periods planning the date. It had to be perfect. They would have to choose an appropriate movie, nothing too cheesy, neither Marci nor Karen were into that. Maybe a horror movie? For what they had heard, that usually worked. Then, they would go somewhere to grab a bite, probably to Fratelli’s, pizza was always a safe option and Matt seemed happy about the choice. He confessed he wanted to save the Indian place they liked for a later date, when it was just the two of them. That made Foggy tease him about his confident attitude. And finally, once dinner was over, it was time to walk them home and hopefully get a hint of a second date and a kiss goodbye. 

It was almost lunch time when they finished planning it all. The distant sound of plates and cutlery at the canteen and some stomachs rumbling, theirs included, were saying it would soon be time for the break. As soon as the bell rang announcing the end of the Spanish lesson they were barely paying attention to, all students rushed outside. Everyone was eager to leave the class. 

Matt heard some students suggesting buying food and eating outside. He smiled. He knew most of them would soon be running towards the roofed areas near the canteen and the library. They were going to be cramped, but it was not as if he could warn them. He could not even tell Karen. She would have to wait a bit longer to hear about all these crazy things he could do and notice. 

“Let’s go to the science lab stairs, Foggy, it’s going to rain again.”

“Sure, buddy. I can’t wait to see who gets soaked this time.” 

Matt let out a laugh and shook his head. 

“What? I appreciate the fact that the rain is democratic. I’ll never forget the day we saw the principal entering his office with his suit dripping wet,” he added laughing and making Matt chuckle.

“I’m sure he remembers it as well.”

A few minutes later they were eating on the narrow stairs of the laboratory: a lunch meat sandwich and some chips for Foggy, an avocado salad and some carrot strips for Matt. 

Despite the smell of the chemicals, Matt loved that place. The building held the science and photography laboratories, a multi-purpose room, some bathrooms and a couple of offices that were used as storage rooms to keep the outdated ICT equipment nobody had thrown away yet. It was usually empty, which meant he could relax with his friend and be himself.

“Are you sure you don’t want a bite of my sandwich? It’s so, so good.” 

“I’m ok with this, thanks.”

Foggy shrugged.

“You don’t know what you’re missing, man. No wonder mom wants to make sure someone learns to run the business. This stuff is the best .”

Mat nodded fearing he would start talking about how she wanted him to work at Nelson’s Meats. After ten minutes of Foggy’s explanation about how disappointed she was because he wanted to become a lawyer, it started to rain. Matt raised his head and took a deep breath to let the smell flood his lungs.

“People have started running. It’s hilarious.”

“I know, I can hear them laughing and running and— Foggy, you need to leave.”

“What? Why? I’m not going anywhere, Matt, it’s pouring!”

“A boy is running towards here—” 

“So what? Everyone’s—?”

“Someone is running after him, Foggy!” 

Matt had already opened his backpack and was changing his sweatshirt and getting hold of the black scarf.

“Fine,” Foggy said, as he got up and went downstairs. “So... Is this how it’s going to be all the time now? Me hiding while you daredevil?”

Matt was too busy to answer.

“I guess it's me who's going to get soaked after all. Fucking karma,” he said, turning around, his coat over his head.

Hidden in the corner, one hand holding the hood of his coat, the other one grabbing a big stick he had found on the ground, just in case, Foggy saw his friend fighting again. It was fascinating. There were kicks and punches, moves he was not familiar with and others he did not even know that could exist. Seeing his friend dodging the jabs, doing somersaults and once even walking up the wall and jumping backwards to throw the thug to the ground with his legs was making him oddly proud. 

“Man, you’re good ”, he whispered, knowing Matt could hear him, “but I think that’s enough, he’s on the floor.” 

He saw Matt nodding and smirking, hands on his hips. His smile did not last long, though. Foggy saw his friend freezing, his body tensing, head up high. He made a move towards the building, but then stopped and tilted his head in a different direction. He discarded whatever he was thinking about and ran towards Foggy, grabbing his backpack and his clothes before he joined him. 

“We need to go,” Matt said, taking a quick moment to change into his ordinary clothes.

“Yeah, people will be here any minute. You guys were loud.”

Matt shook his head and pressed his wet clothes into his bag. 

“There was someone at the rooftop.”

“What the—?”

“I think it was a girl,” Matt grumbled, taking Foggy’s arm to make him rush away. “She saw me fighting, Foggy,” he paused. “And I think I heard the click of a camera.”

“WHAT? You think or you know ?”

“I’m not sure. It was hard to tell with the rain and that thug groaning so loud.”

“Maybe you misheard it, maybe it was something else.”

“I know someone was up there, Foggy. And I don’t know how, but she— she jumped off the building.”

Foggy was having a hard time trying to keep pace with Matt while processing everything he was saying.

“She did what ? How—? How’s that even possible?”

“I don’t know, but she jumped off and headed towards there,” he explained, pointing at the direction where everyone had sheltered from the rain. “But I couldn’t go after her wearing my fighting clothes, everyone would see me.” His breathing was getting quicker and quicker. He ran a hand through his hair and rubbed his face. “What if she saw me, Foggy? What if she took pictures to expose me? What if— What if she already knows it’s me?”

Foggy stopped walking. The sun was coming out again and there was no need to take the risk of being overheard.

“Let’s try and keep calm, man. And how do you even know it’s a girl anyways?”

“I heard the sound she made when she hit the ground. She’s tiny or very thin, probably both, and her heartbeat’s quick and… I don’t know, Foggy, you know I can tell those things.”

“Wait, so you’re saying it was a thin girl? A thin girl with a camera?”

Matt got pale.

“Oh, please, don’t tell me it’s Jessica.”

“Who else can it be, Matt?”

He snorted. His worst nightmare was coming true. Jessica was too clever not to connect the dots and his true identity was inevitably going to be revealed. 

“I need to— I need to stop her, Foggy, but I can’t go talk to her unless I admit it’s me and I can’t, I can’t—”

“Easy, buddy. Take a deep breath.”

Worst case scenarios were the only ones crossing his mind. He would get expelled and his dad would feel so disappointed that nothing would ever be the same. Foggy would get expelled too, so neither of them would be able to study law even though they had been planning it for years. Foggy would be a great butcher, but a blind guy with a criminal record? There were not many options for him. He would end up having some boring and monotonous job where one of the thugs he had fought would recognize him one day. He would either get killed or have to fight him and end up in jail.

His thoughts were interrupted by a new threat that at that moment seemed even worse than the rest of them.

“But you know Jess, she’ll figure it out and— oh shit! She’s gonna tell Karen!”

And there it was. His greatest fear. 

“No, no, no, she can’t do that.”

“She will, Matt, and, I know you don’t want to hear this right now, but don’t you think it’s better if she hears it from you?”

He knew Foggy was right, but punching criminals was easier than confessing to Karen who he really was and the things he could do. Maybe going to prison was not that bad after all.

“Foggy, I— I have to find a way to stop this.”

“How?”

“I don’t have a clue."

Matt was at a loss. He knew what he was supposed to do, but he did not know if he was brave enough to do it so immediately.  

"It’s not like I don’t want to tell her, Foggy, but why does it have to be right before our date?” He complained with a snort of rage.

“I know, Matt, but you need to make your choice. Anyway, I’m sure she’ll be fine with who you are and the crazy things you do. From what I’ve heard, she’s the president of your fan club,” Foggy said, playfully punching his upper arm.

Matt smiled and nodded.

“Ok, I’ll do it.”

“Do what?” Foggy asked, watching his friend turn around. “Matt! Do what?” Foggy insisted, but there was no answer. Before he had finished his question, Matt was already hurrying away.

Matt’s fears and hopes kept stumbling with every stride. He could not stop wondering if Foggy was right. Was this really the cleverest move? Maybe he was right and she would not be judgemental. Maybe she would understand. She had certainly been enthusiastic when they had talked about the vigilante and she had even mentioned that the school needed someone like him. Perhaps talking to her before the date was not such a crazy idea. It was not like he was not planning on telling her, anyway. He would never ask her out on a second date without coming clean first. 

However, as he was getting closer to the crowd, feeling the moment of truth arrive, his fears started to brush aside his most positive outlook. Because he would talk to her about everything he was hiding from almost everyone he knew, there was no doubt about that, but why so soon? They had barely had the opportunity to get to know each other and his secret was not an easy one to tell. After all, it had taken him almost a year to confide it to Foggy and he was his best friend! So why couldn’t he put it back a bit longer? Not as long as with Foggy, obviously, not a month or even a week, just a day. A day! Was it really too much to ask? The idea of losing her before their date had even taken place was torturing him. She was so special, he did not want to risk it saying it all too soon. If only he had the opportunity to go on that date with her before revealing his secret. If only they could spend that evening together and have the chance to keep this one perfect night...

Chapter Text

The roofed areas were full of people when Matt arrived. He was panting after his run from the science lab and was having a hard time not to feel overwhelmed. He had to focus and find Jessica, but there were students everywhere. Some were sitting on benches, a few of them had gathered on the stair steps, a small group was walking inside the library, others were leaving the building with heavy books in their hands... The canteen was crowded as well. It was noisy and packed with a great variety of not precisely pleasant sounds and smells. There was a horde of teenagers coming out and merging with another one that was piling into the place to get something to eat before the bell rang again. Everyone was laughing and chatting about how to face the rest of the day with such drenched clothes.

Matt was trying not to panic, but he could feel a sensory overload approaching. He was surrounded by strong smells and the sounds of an irritating off key orchestra. He took a deep breath, tilted his head and stood there, fighting to ignore everything around him, even the students who would unintentionally bump into him as they were walking by. All his senses focused on finding Jessica. He just had to. She had seen him and even taken pictures of him while he was fighting a couple of minutes ago. But it was not easy. He felt as if he were trying to tune in the sound of an ant walking in the middle of a battlefield.

He could discern familiar voices in the surroundings. Brett was inside the canteen, eating a pasta salad and chatting with Danny and Colleen about a literature project they were working on. Trish and Marci were in the radio station, laughing at how they had been inside when most of their classmates were under the rain, getting soaking wet . Not far from them, in the library, Mr. Ellison and Jeri were trying to find some common ground while preparing a journalistic compilation of their Bulletin for the writing workshop he conducted… There were too many people and they were making all kinds of noises, interferences that made it difficult for him to tune in to the one person he was looking for.

And then there was Karen, his favorite sound and the most diverting one too. She was outside the canteen, talking to the boy he had just helped. She was calming him down and asking him all sorts of questions. Matt was sure that she was going to figure it all out pretty soon, and things would be even worse if Jessica found her before he had the chance to explain it to her. There was no sign of her anywhere and he was feeling more and more exasperated. But then she decided to approach him.

“I’m up here, you asshole,” she whispered from the roof of the library. She wanted to check if her suspicions were baseless, but when he tilted his head towards her, she knew she was right. Days before, at the Debate Club, she had seen him smiling at something he could not possibly have heard and she had thought maybe he was hiding something. Now she knew he was. “Meet me at the benches near the gym,” she added.

He nodded and hurried there. He knew Jessica was firm and stubborn, not an easy person to be dissuaded from whatever she had decided to do, but he had to do everything he could to stop her from revealing his identity. She just had to back him up. There was no other choice. Karen had to learn it all from him, and hopefully after their date.

A few minutes later, he heard Jessica coming towards him, walking with her distinctive I-couldn’t-care-less attitude. She smelled like mayo and chili mixed with the slight scent of liquor that always lingered on her leather jacket. Her heartbeat was difficult to read, but she sounded calm, which he wanted to think was a good sign. Maybe she would be willing to listen to him.

“I can explain,” he said the moment she was close enough to hear him.

“I’m waiting,” she answered, hands still in her pockets.

“Jessica, you know no one was doing anything to stop this situation. I just— I just had to do something.”

“Yeah, I get that. What I don’t get is how a blind guy moves the way you do.”

He snorted in reply. He had to stop fooling himself: this was not going to be easy.

“And?” she insisted.

“Because I can’t see, but there are other things I can do.”

“Elaborate,” she said, furrowing her brows.

He sighed. There was no way out. He had to come clean with her and hope for the best.

“Let’s say I have certain... abilities,” he paused. “Like you, I guess.”

She shrugged, not responding to his insinuations.

“Because you have abilities, right?”

He knew there were others like him, but he had never had the chance to be face-to-face with one of them. He was terrified everything could become public, but also enthusiastic about the idea of having found someone who could maybe understand what he had been through.

“What is it that you can do? Can you fly? Is that it?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

Unfortunately, Jessica was not as eager to share as he was.

“I don’t owe you a fucking explanation,” she said with scorn. “I’m not the one who was beating up an asshole five minutes ago.”

He nodded.

He would have loved the conversation to be different. There were so many questions he would have liked to ask her. He knew every story was different and every person with powers would have had to deal with it their own way. It just would be great to know about someone else’s. Actually, he was sure everyone would love to hear about both their stories. They would be on everyone’s lips in the school the very moment they came out. That made him reconsider the way the conversation was developing. After all, their situations were not that different. He was not the only one who had something to hide.

“But how— how did you get to the roof of the library? I mean, you must have flown, there’s no other way.”

Matt was usually good at getting information when he needed to, but Jessica was not an easy target.

“Ok, you don’t want to talk. . Then, then neither do I,” he asserted, folding his arms.

“Fine, just let me check this one last thing before I go … Does Karen know that you’re— what is it they call you? Daredevil?”

“Don’t, Jessica,” he snapped, taking a few steps towards her. “Don’t you dare to tell her or...”

“Or what, Matt?” she said, mimicking his intimidating attitude. “Or what?”

He could feel his heart beating faster and faster, his temperature rising. He knew he was flying into rage, and she was not that far behind. He had to keep calm if he wanted her to be on his side. Threatening her would not work.

“I just… I just need to be the one to do it,” he explained, using a softer tone. “I’m sure you’ll understand that. This is not a secret to be shared lightly, or do many people know that you can fly?”

“I can’t fly,” she conceded a few seconds later. She knew she was not going to get anything from him unless she changed the mood of the conversation. There was no point in insisting on a confrontation. She needed to make a smarter move. “It’s more like jumping.”

“Jumping?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s— good. Jumping is good,” he said, nodding. “Not as fun as flying, though.”

“Yeah, I know... But I’m like... really strong too,” she bragged with a soft laugh.

“Super strength? I could really use that one.”

“Yeah, it’s not bad. What about you, Matt? What’s your quirk?”

“Well, when I lost my sight in the car accident, my other senses got enhanced.”

“Enhanced how?”

“Like I can hear the neon in the library or smell the spicy Mexican burger you had for dinner last night. You should really consider trying a healthier diet, Jessica.”

“Wait, wait, you can hear neon?”

He nodded.

“God, you’re weird.”

“You’re one to talk,” he said, with half a smile that she copied straightaway.

Maybe this could work after all, he thought.

“You know, I’m glad we’ve found each other. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one with abilities here at school.”

“Hey, I’m not hugging you,” she scoffed.

He burst out laughing and shook his head as she scrutinized every one of his reactions. She would not admit it, but she was enjoying this.

“But we can help each other, Jessica, work together, don’t you think?”

“I’m not exactly a team player.”

“Neither am I, but—”

“We can try, yeah,” she agreed and he let out a sigh of relief. “Look, I’ll tell you what I know if you do the same, ok?”

“Sure.”

“But first you gotta promise to talk to Karen ‘cause I’m not gonna cover up for you. I won’t do that to her.”

“I will, I promise, but let me have one date with her first. Just one. I will talk to her right afterwards,” he paused. “Please.”

“Fine,” she accepted. “But if you don’t —”

“I will,” he interrupted her.

“You better, because it’ll be you or me,” she asserted and he nodded. “So,” she added. “Let's get down to business. What do you know about the toughie?”

“Not much, really. After the first attacks I decided to do something. I thought I could help, but I’ve only been able to stop a few of them. The problem is that there's always someone around, so when I’m done beating the guy I have to run away. It’s not like I can stay and chat. At least not without running the risk of being exposed.”

“So you know nothing, then.”

“Well, I know that he’s thin, probably a bit older than us, and not a very good fighter,” he said with a smile.

“I guess I know more than you, then,” Jessica admitted.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I may know who the guy is.”

“You what?” he yelled.

“Yeah, I heard some freshmen talking about having to get some money for Turk Barrett.”

“And you’re telling me that now?”

“I wanted to know what you knew first. Is that really all you know?”

“Well, yes. Why would I lie?”

“How the hell would I know? People lie all the time.”

“I’m not lying!” he snapped at her. “And Turk? Really? Turk Barret? I mean, he hasn't been a student here for a while.”

“I know, but it seems like he’s been dealing drugs at school and well, mugging some of our freshmen too.”

“So his criminal record has kept growing since he left.”

“Yeah, and I heard he owes money to a street gang. Does the name Wesley sound familiar to you?”

“Wesley? No, I’ve never heard of him. And how do you know all this?”

“Well…” she started saying, obviously uncomfortable about sharing more than she wanted to.

“We’re in this together, Jessica. We need to be frank about what we know and the things we do or this won’t work.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. We’ll work better together if we trust each other.”

“That is the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,” he said, smiling.

“Yeah, well, don’t get used to it.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he mocked her. “So? How do you know all that, then?”

“I managed to get his address. Then I went to his house and I heard him talk on the phone.”

“Did he say anything else?”

“He said he has to give him some money. Tonight. So if we’re going to do something about it, we have to be real quick.”

“We, huh?”

She shrugged.

“Sure,” he added. “I like how that sounds.”