Angel Clark was unconvinced, so the two of them started fighting again in his head, and Clark ignored both of them.
If Harry wanted to eat with them, fine. As long as he stayed friendly, Clark did not care.
Just as everyone was chatting animatedly about everything that had changed over the past few years, the cafeteria, which had been deafening a second ago, suddenly went silent.
Not quieter.
Silent.
Clark was genuinely baffled. What was wrong with this school now?
So he followed everyone else's gaze and looked up.
Several girls had just walked in through the cafeteria doors.
They were all juniors, all attractive in their own right, but the one in front was on another level. She had striking silver-blonde hair, features so sharp and beautiful she barely looked real, and a presence that felt almost dangerous.
She was not wearing the uniform quite the way she was supposed to. The collar of her blouse hung slightly open, her tie loose around her neck, and beneath her black skirt were long, perfectly balanced legs.
As she walked through the cafeteria, it was like a queen inspecting her kingdom.
Even the brainless jocks and the rich kids with too much confidence in themselves looked at her with naked admiration.
But not one of them dared walk up to her.
Not one even spoke.
Felicia Hardy.
The undisputed queen of the school. The future Black Cat.
She came from money, carried an air of mystery, and had exactly the kind of presence that drove teenage boys insane.
Clark took one look at her and decided his pasta was more interesting.
Chew chew chew.
Really good pasta.
And if he added another bite of steak, even better.
Perfect.
But just when he was not looking for trouble, trouble came looking for him.
Felicia's emerald eyes swept across the room. She was already bored with all the vulgar stares fixed on her. Then she cut through the crowd and noticed the table by the window.
She noticed the big, sunny-looking guy there with his head bent over his food.
Clark was not especially fashionable, but he had that kind of natural presence where it did not matter what he wore. He was still handsome.
And Felicia could tell, even through the clothes, just how built he was.
That pleased her immediately.
This one was different from the empty-headed athletes. He did not have that same obvious hunger in his eyes.
He had not been staring at her at all.
So, without hesitation, she walked straight across the cafeteria and, under a storm of shocked, jealous, and disbelieving stares, stopped right at Clark's table.
The entire room seemed to suck in a breath.
Eddie forgot to chew his burger. Mary Jane's eyes went wide. Peter and Harry exchanged stunned looks. They barely knew each other, but their shock was identical.
Because this was a real knockout.
Across from Clark, Gwen's instincts kicked in instantly. She straightened like a little lioness guarding her food and watched this glamorous upperclassman with immediate suspicion.
"Mind if I sit here?"
Felicia said it like a courtesy, but she did not wait for an answer. She just sat down beside Clark and even shifted a little closer.
Resting her chin in one hand, she leaned forward slightly, green eyes fixed on the absurdly handsome boy next to her.
And Clark?
Clark was still eating pasta.
And doing battle with his steak.
As for the gorgeous girl beside him...
The angel and devil in his head had escalated things and were now using weapons on each other.
"Felicia obviously doesn't mean any harm! A beautiful girl sitting beside you at lunch just makes the meal better. Don't you know that seeing beautiful things improves your mood?"
That was Angel Clark, currently swinging a halo-tipped staff at Devil Clark's little pitchfork.
Devil Clark, meanwhile, wanted Clark to flirt back and show off his charm.
Which, really, was the most devilish thing about him.
Clark, for his part, decided they were both lunatics.
Then he briefly wondered whether he had accidentally unlocked some kind of system today. Something like Every Beautiful Girl Falls for Me on Sight.
He checked his bio-field again in his head.
Nope. He was definitely not pulling people in on purpose.
"You're Clark Parker, right?" Felicia tilted her head, a strand of silver hair falling beside her cheek, making her look even more dangerously alluring. "I heard about what happened this morning. Everyone says Thompson just tripped and ate it all on his own."
Clark paused with his fork halfway up. With his super-hearing, he could pick out at least fifty boys nearby whose heartbeats had accelerated violently from jealousy. He could even hear a few varsity guys squeezing their forks hard enough to bend the metal.
"The floor really was slippery," Clark said at last, smiling with exaggerated innocence.
Felicia laughed.
Then she reached out one pale finger, slid it lightly across the tabletop, and let it brush the back of Clark's hand.
The instant she touched him, surprise flashed in her eyes.
Solid.
Very solid.
"You're good at hiding things, Clark," Felicia said, lowering her voice to something meant for his ears alone, every word playful and provocative. "Tell me... if I started peeling away that boring disguise of yours little by little, what kind of surprise would I find underneath?"
Clark was not afraid.
His bio-electric aura made him effectively invulnerable, so nothing was wrong there.
She was obviously talking about the mask he wore on the surface, the way he held himself back and pretended to be more ordinary than he was.
And to be fair, her instincts really were impressive. In such a short time, she had already seen through more than most people ever did.
So he was not panicking because he thought his identity had been exposed.
At his current speed, he could disappear in front of anyone if he had to.
No.
He was panicking for a completely different reason.
A guy who, across both this life and the last, had barely any real romantic experience, and who had spent years keeping himself disciplined just to stay in control of his powers, was absolutely not equipped to handle this kind of direct, high-level teasing.
In other words, the innocent virgin had been completely overwhelmed by one dangerous older girl.
Please spare the pure-hearted virgin.
He had done nothing wrong.
Almost visibly, the tips of Clark's ears turned bright red, and suddenly he had no idea what to do with his hands.
"Excuse me," Gwen said suddenly.
She had been quiet until now. Her smile was flawless, but there were knives behind it.
"Clark is still eating, and we were about to talk. So if you don't actually need anything..."
Felicia turned to look at Gwen.
The two girls' eyes met in the air, and invisible sparks flew instantly.
"Oh?" Felicia looked Gwen over with open curiosity. "Are you his little girlfriend?"
"We... we grew up together!" Gwen was clearly startled by that, and her face flushed at once, but in terms of sheer determination she gave up nothing.
"I... I'm full!" Clark suddenly blurted out. "Peter, I just remembered I left my history book in my locker!"
Yes.
At this crucial moment, Clark Parker made the choice he most wanted to make.
He chose to run.
Running away might be embarrassing.
But right now, it was incredibly effective.
Just as the two girls were squaring off over him, Clark shot to his feet.
The movement was so abrupt he nearly flipped the table. He snatched up his backpack and, under a barrage of stunned looks, beat a hasty retreat like a man fleeing for his life.