“You make your own canon. And you’re one of our best players. The kids all love playing you.”

“I am good.” She gave me a toothy smile as Mom set the food on the table. I way preferred the times when April could tag along, one of our group, to when she was one of the patients we visited. She’d had another lengthy hospitalization that past summer, and like Mom, I worried constantly about rogue germs. But we also couldn’t keep someone with her kind of energy home indefinitely. She’d most likely be dealing with the genetic blood disorder that affected her immune system the rest of her life, and it was always a balancing act between keeping her safe and letting her have the same freedoms as the rest of us.

“Did you find a Prince Neptune?” April asked as I took a portion of the piping-hot enchiladas. Her voice was even more eager than her texts, which was saying something. Neptune was unquestionably April’s favorite character so finding a cosplayer for him, even if it were Milo, made me happy. Honestly, there wasn’t much I wouldn’t do to make April smile. Considering everything she had to put up with, procuring a prince was the least I could do.

“Yup.”

“My hero.” She said it jokingly, but that right there was a big part of why I liked doing things for her so much. In my friend group, I wasn’t the resident genius or the best Odyssey player or the hottest person. I made an excellent sidekick. A bonus friend, there to make even numbers or crack a joke at the right moment. With April, though, every so often I got to play hero. I might be an afterthought for others, but with her I could be Super Big Brother.

“Thanks.”

“Who is it? Someone from the college?” She leaned forward. April lived for college gossip, especially since she’d transitioned to online high school after catching several bad infections from bugs going around the school. She hated being the only Quigley kid who wouldn’t graduate from our neighborhood school. She’d been down, and that was another reason why I was relieved to have found a Neptune, even if I was still less than thrilled with the who.

“No. It’s…” Oh hell. She was going to recognize him right away, and Mom would as well, if she brought April. I took a bite of too-hot food, trying to buy time, and immediately regretted it as I scorched my tongue. And my stupid brain immediately leaped to a vision of Milo from the day before, his pink tongue worrying his full lips. Damn it. Why couldn’t he be a little less hot?