The Scumbag's Guide To Heroism novel Chapter 274

Chapter 274: 274 | I Was Not Your Villain [PS BONUS]

The cafeteria entrance appeared ahead, its double doors propped open and the smell of food wafting into the hallway. Dinner service had started while we were in the changing rooms, and the crowd was thickening as hungry students converged on sustenance.

"Look." I stopped just short of the entrance and turned to face Felicity directly. "What happened today was tactics. The kiss broke Camille’s concentration. The incident with Petra was genuinely accidental. I’m not some kind of romantic predator stalking my classmates during training exercises."

"Nobody said you were."

"Hiro basically said I was."

"Hiro says a lot of things. Most of them are stupid." Felicity tilted her head, her blonde ponytail shifting with the motion. "I’m not judging you, Lukas. I’m teasing you. There’s a difference."

"Hard to tell sometimes."

"Maybe that’s part of the fun." Her smile widened into something that carried edges I hadn’t seen before. "You know, I ended up on a hero team for my match. Completely standard extraction protocol. Very boring. Very by the book."

"Congratulations on your boring standard extraction."

"Thank you." She stepped closer, eliminating the comfortable distance between us until I could smell whatever shampoo she used. Something floral and expensive. "But I was thinking. Maybe next time I should be a villain instead. You know?"

The implication landed with all the subtlety of a brick through a window.

"Felicity."

"What?"

"You were literally a villain in the exercise. Your team designation was V-4."

Her face went through a brief journey of confusion before landing on embarrassed recognition. "Oh. Right. I forgot."

"You forgot you were a villain three hours ago?"

"It’s been a long day! There was a lot happening!" She waved her hand dismissively. "Fine. I was a villain. But I wasn’t your villain. That’s the point I was making."

"That’s not a real friend thing to say, Felicity."

Her laugh came out slightly strangled, like she was processing the fact that she’d just implied she wanted me to pin her against a wall and kiss her during supervised training activities. "I mean. I didn’t mean. What I was trying to say was."

"Take your time."

"Shut up." She punched my arm with approximately zero actual force. "I was being playful. Flirty. You know. Normal Felicity behavior. I wasn’t actually suggesting anything inappropriate."

"Sounded like you were suggesting something inappropriate."

"I was suggesting it ironically."

"Can you suggest inappropriate things ironically?"

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify