"Who the fuck does that bastard think that he is, kissing Skylar like that?" Drake boomed angrily as he paced around the floors of the YHA training area. "Pinero's crossing the lines. He's really asking for it."

"Damn right," Jorge snarled as he landed an uppercut to the punching bag before passing his best friend. He shot me a look of concern. "We can't blame you, Skylar, because you were caught off-guard."

"Well, I can," Kendall said, giving me an accusatory glare of her own. "He ought to have broken off the kiss from the start. This just proves that he's being distracting to himself."

Sure enough, everyone has heard of my encounter with Evan "Obsidian" Pinero and how he kissed me after dropping yet his ultimatum on me at the afternoon tea. And of course, the Supers and my two gal-pals were there to take me to HQ (a first for Shandra and Rhea since they weren't originally allowed) while the supers and the human allies weren't too happy.

"People, we need to focus," Principal Lewis said calmly. "This has been nerve-wracking for all of us, but it's Skylar who's been affected the most. It was him who got kissed."

"And it's all the more reason for him to make his decision whether or not he's loyal to us," Dominic commented before approaching me. "I just wanna know if you hold any affection for that prick. Because none of us will be happy if you do."

"Be at ease, Sellers," I replied tersely. "I might have been caught off-guard by Pinero kissing me, and I admit that he was a good kisser. BUT... I wasn't that attracted to him after his threat to end me if I spurned him. And in all honesty, I don't see myself with him, not even if Jesus and Lucifer both paid me a million dollars to marry him."

"Thank God for that," one of the male human allies for the YHA remarked. "Not to catch flak for this, O'Hara, but are you sure you didn't give him any love potion or anything?"

"Enough, Reggie," replied Brian, giving the other guy a pointed stare before turning to me. "Skylar, you know that we all believe that you can be more, right? So what is it that makes you feel so insecure about all of this? You know that most kids would literally fight to the death if they were in your shoes without Greenlee or Pinero harassing you. You need to figure out where you stand bro. Tell us what you can see regarding your future, your secrets, your fears, your dreams. Let me, the other heroes, and everyone else who sees the best in you into your hearts like you do with McNeil and Finnessey."

I inhaled sharply. "I want to do that, Grayson, but all I can see now are too many roadblocks that will jeopardize everything if I make a wrong choice," I admitted, my voice thick with emotion. "If I choose being a hero and spurn Greenlee and Obsidian, they'll come after me and ruin me to the point where I'm begging for death. If I choose Pinero and spurn Greenlee and you guys, you all will have the entire USA come after me with pitchforks and torches. If I choose Greenlee and spurn Pinero and you all, then I'll be a sitting duck. It's like I can't win no matter what I choose and I feel more scared than before if I pick one of the three."

"But you know that you can always lean on us," Dad said gently as he and Mom came to my side. "We're only hard on you because we love you and want you to thrive. Pinero and Sammons are too jealous or arrogant to have what you can have. You can claim a giant stake in the Youth Hero Alliance. And yes, your fate was already arranged for years. But you might've guessed that, right?"

I snorted. "It was La'Shae Something-or-Other who showed me the files on her computer," I remarked.

"Called it," Rhea replied.

"Damn it," Shandra said, shaking her head.

"All the same," Mom continued, "you know that you were meant to be with the heroes and maybe even get to know your godbrothers better. And maybe you don't truly get the point yet, but you can have it all with Drake and Jorge as your husbands, if not one of them. Just know that you need to figure out where your priorities lie and what's truly on your heart, Skylar. You deserve the world and you need to start following the sun."

I nodded, letting the tears fall.

Three hours of intense training later, I was freshly showered and ready to head home with Rhea and Shandra escorting me to my house. "You got a lot to think about, Sky," Shandra said as we reached my house. "After today, who can say what can happen? All I can tell you is that you still have me and Rhea as your allies no matter what."

"Thank you," I breathed. "Just pray like never before, girls. I'm going to need it as the countdown to Homecoming night is on."

"You got this, Skylar," Rhea vowed as she let me out of her car. "All the best. BFFL."

"BFFL," I repeated as I waved goodbye. Once I got on the porch of my house and saw the clouds breaking away to reveal the blood-red harvest move. God, I prayed silently. If you can send me a sign on which path to take, I will make sure to follow it down to the letter. Just help me make the decision of my life and show me where to go. Please show me where to go from there.

As I turned to walk inside, I saw a flash of a shooting star glide across the sky. And I knew. "Thank you," I whispered.

My decision was made.

Cumulative word-count so far: 22,973 words

Ooh, wee! We're getting closer and closer to Homecoming, guys! Don't think about getting comfortable just yet because Skylar sits down with Greenlee in the next chapter!

Media: "Sine from Above" by Lady Gaga ft. Elton John. Dedicating this chapter to lilkeici.

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