A LITTLE OVER A WEEK went by, but when Superhero Day was finally there, Darren was indeed putting on a Spider Man costume in the morning. The bright red and blue color palette in combination with the tight, strange-feeling fabric made Darren feel uncomfortable, but Aimee had convinced him that not wearing a costume to dress-up day would make him stand out even more, so he wore it anyway.

However, he did not leave for school before he had done some research on the story of Spider Man, who, before he became Spider Man, was just a boy named Peter Parker. Darren found Peter was an orphan, raised by his uncle and aunt. While Dakota was less likely to be bitten by a radioactive spider and get superpowers, the story made him think of her. He hadn't spoken to her much lately, and when he had, it was short. After the date at the bowling alley that was supposed to make up for the not-date she'd not shown up to, it seemed like she had actually forgotten about him. Marley said this was the Bennett-effect: when Dakota and Bennett were together, they spent every second of the day together, and she would not pay much attention to the rest of the world.

"Until they break up again, at least," Marley had added. As if she was certain it would happen again.

With this warning in mind, Darren didn't have high expectations when it came to Dakota, even though he wished he could see her more often. To his surprise, this wish came true on Superhero Day.

"Spider Man?" a voice behind him said when he was standing at his locker. "A classic, nice."

He immediately recognized the sweet, light voice, so he turned around. "Hi, Dakota," he said, feeling warmth rise to his cheeks. "Thank you. Liam picked it for me." He took a quick glance at her outfit, but it didn't stand out as much. She wasn't dressed as a superhero he'd recognize – actually, she didn't look like a superhero at all. Her outfit was what other people would wear as business attire daily, and it wasn't Dakota's usual style of clothing.

Dakota raised her brows at the mention of Liam. "Right, how is he?" she asked.

Darren thought for a second. "He said his wrist is getting better and that his ribs hurt less when he's sitting up straight, but his knee is still killing him."

"Is he any closer to walking?"

He shook his head. "No. They are trying to teach him how to get around in a wheelchair, but he can't get in and out himself."

She pressed her lips together into a straight line. "Bummer."

"He's getting out though," Darren said. "Out of the hospital, I mean. Ada will help him around the house, and he'll have walking therapy multiple times a week, but he'll be home."

Dakota's eyes glimmered. "That's great." She leaned against the lockers casually and smiled.

"But what are you dressed as?" Darren asked her, taking a good look at her outfit. She had her hair in a ponytail and was wearing glasses with a black rim, a plain blouse and jeans – an outfit very unlike Dakota. It wasn't form-fitting. Instead, it was too sophisticated for her style, and the glasses gave the cool girl a nerdy look.

"I'm Felicity Smoak," she said. She touched her glasses and looked at Darren over the rim of them. "What do you think? Did I nail it or did I nail it?"

Darren frowned. "Who's Felicity Smoak?"

Her jaw dropped. "Who is –" She shook her head. "No, no, no, you must be kidding me right now."

He kept quiet.

Her eyes widened. "She is the hero of all heroes! Better than Supergirl, Batgirl, or every other girl that is just a copy of a male superhero because the creators of the comics didn't feel like putting a lot of effort into creating new independent female characters. There is no one like Felicity Smoak."

With a little hesitation, he asked, "But who is she?" She didn't look like a superhero in those basic jeans, and that pale pink blouse couldn't be comfortable when she was trying to save the world.

"Do you know Green Arrow?" Dakota asked.

Silence.

Her eyes widened. "You can't be serious."

"I'm sorry..."

"Well, all you need to know is that Felicity Smoak is a hero," Dakota said. "She has her own will and a witty personality, but when she gets behind a computer... She has saved the Green Arrow's ass thousands of times, and she doesn't get enough credit for it."

"So, she's an IT girl?"

"I wasn't done yet." Despite the situation, Dakota laughed. "If it wasn't for her, the Green Arrow wouldn't have survived more than one episode, but aside from being a hero behind the screen, she's funny and loyal. There's no one I'd rather be for Superhero Day than Felicity Smoak."

"Right..." Once again, Darren was reminded how unfamiliar he was with the superhero world. Neither the Green Arrow nor Felicity Smoak were names he knew. He knew of Spider Man but had had to Google his name before leaving for school. "That's a cool story," he said nonetheless.

"The only issue was that I don't know what bag to wear for her outfit," Dakota said, eyeing Darren's backpack. "I just decided to not have one."

"What about your books?" Darren asked as he put two books in his backpack and zipped it closed.

"They're in my locker." With her thumb, she pointed to a place further down the hall.

"How are you going to carry them?" he clarified.

She shrugged. "I guess I'm not." She laughed when she saw Darren's face. "Sorry, but authenticity is key. I gotta commit to this Superhero Day. And those teachers better not get mad, because it was their idea to make me dress up in the first place. They love these dress-up days."

Darren glanced at a young teacher walking by, dressed in a Catwoman costume. It was way too tight, and he agreed with Dakota: the teachers shouldn't get mad if they went to school dressed like this. He'd rather not see this much of his teachers.

At that moment, however, the sight of Catwoman walking through the school hallways was replaced by a tall girl marching up to them, dressed in a white graphic tee, denim shorts that were shorter than any denim shorts Darren had ever seen, and a wig with two ponytails, of which each ponytail had a different color. When she came closer, Darren noticed the little black heart on the girl's cheek.

"So, Harley Quinn?" Dakota looked the girl up and down when the girl had halted next to them.

Allison – because that was the girl in the Harley Quinn costume – nodded with a broad smile that wasn't even nearly as vicious as Harley's was. "I love her, she's so cool." She turned to Darren. "Hey Darren, nice costume."

He averted his eyes. "Thank you." His heart quickened, but he told himself that the presence of other people always made your heart beat a little faster. It couldn't be attributed to the different look of Dakota or the company of Allison.

"Spider Man is a classic," Allison continued. "You have just the build for him, too."

Dakota let out an inaudible sigh. "What are you doing here, Allison?" she asked.

Allison put up a poised smile that contrasted the bad girl look. "Darren and I have Geography together, so when I saw you" – she turned to Darren here – "I thought I'd come pick you up so we can walk there together."

"Great." Darren smiled.

Dakota wasn't as pleased. "Could you give us a second though?"

Allison looked at Darren to know if he wanted a second with Dakota too, and although he didn't do anything to confirm that suspicion, she agreed and took a few steps back. "I'll be back."

As soon as Dakota was out of sight for Allison, she rolled her eyes. "Harley Quinn, seriously?"

"What's wrong with that?"

"Harley Quinn is not a hero. What good did she do?"

Darren raised his shoulders. He hadn't even recognized the costume.

"I bet Allison only did it for the costume." Dakota looked in the direction Allison had walked away in. "Truthfully though, those shorts look good on her." She folded her arms over one another.

Darren chuckled when a thought came to mind. "Are you jealous?"

Dakota frowned. "No, of course not. I just..." She thought about the right word for a second. "I don't like her."

Darren pulled the statement into question by raising one eyebrow.

"It's true!" she defended herself. "It's not jealousy, but I don't like her. Like, the one second, she's very forward, but she pretends to be shy, and she's always so poised and calculated... Even after all the years we've been going to school together, I still don't know who she is." She sighed. "Girl, just be who you are, don't hold back. It's not that hard."

Darren turned to the direction where he'd seen Allison disappear too. He hadn't thought about the girl that way, but he knew Dakota should know better than him. He'd only met Allison a few weeks ago, and even then his gut had given him an uncomfortable feeling that he hadn't been able to explain yet.

"And choosing Harley Quinn for Superhero Day? That just speaks of an uninspired soul," Dakota said.

Darren smiled.

She took a strand of hair in her hand. "Suicide Squad wasn't even that good either," she mumbled.

The bell rang.

Dakota's eyes widened, but not because of the realization that a new school day awaited them. "Oh, she's coming back," she said almost immediately. She laid a hand on Darren's shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "I'm sorry, Darren."

He chuckled; he didn't find the situation as terrible as she did. "I'll be all right," he said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and welcoming Allison with a smile. He comforted himself with the thought that the walk to class would be short, and even if she decided to sit next to him during Geography, it would only be for one period.

"Don't forget to breathe," Dakota whispered. "Whatever you do, don't forget to breathe, and you'll be okay." On a regular volume, she said, "I have to go to Chemistry." She looked at Darren. "I'll see you later?"

"See you later," Darren said. As Dakota turned around and walked away, he watched her for a little while. Once again, he was amazed by the fact she'd chosen the plainest outfit for Superhero Day she could have, but on the inside, she was still Dakota.

At the same time, Ms. Wilson walked by in a Supergirl costume. Darren shook his head. Not this again, he thought.

"Shall we go?" Allison asked him. The black heart on her cheek rose when she smiled, and she hooked her arm on his.

Fun fact: Allison used to be named Amy! It wasn't until writing chapter thirty-five that I realized Aimee and Amy were the same name, just written differently. Because it could get confusing, I changed Amy to Allison.

Who is your favorite superhero? I'm kind of torn, to be honest, but maybe I have to side with Dakota here... Felicity Smoak is awesome!

A big hug from your friendly author, Jessy