The Only Difference

  The Only Difference

  Magan Vernon

  Text copyright© 2015 by Magan Vernon

  All rights reserved

  www.maganvernon.com

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form by or any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author.

  For information visit www.maganvernon.com

  Summary: The Only Difference between a hero and a villain is what they do with their power.

  Leonel "Short Stack" Garcia-Shapiro's life changed the night he decided to stop one of his fraternity brothers from taking advantage of a girl. Now he can't stop thinking of that girl and how can save her.

  First Edition, May 2015

  Edited by Starfire Press

  About the Author

  Magan Vernon is a Young Adult and New Adult writer who lives with her family in the suburbs of Charlotte, NC. When not writing she spends her time fighting over fake boyfriends via social media.

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  Chapter 1

  The only difference between a hero and a villain is what they do with their power.

  Dammit.

  The guys said I had to stop with all of the superhero references. They told me I was making myself look even more awkward than I already was.

  Four years in the damn fraternity and I still felt like an outsider.

  Four long fucking years.

  So why was I still standing there in my Alpha Mu shirt, watching the back door so no random weirdoes tried to sneak into the party?

  Because it was what was expected. In a family of heroes I was always the outcast.

  Okay, not really heroes.

  My dad was an Alpha Mu. My uncle was an Alpha Mu. My older brother was an Alpha Mu. It was a family legacy, but my dad and brother were legends. The kind of guys that the other brothers always told stories about.

  Me? I was just...

  "Hey! Short Stack! Can you watch the pisser?"

  I turned to see one of the guys, Rico, standing by the sliding glass door. He had his arm around some girl who looked like she could barely stand but was laughing. She had a really great laugh, even for a drunk girl.

  I remembered her, I think her name was Betsy. She came around to a lot of the parties and probably got with every member of the house since I was a freshman. Well, everyone except me.

  "Mars said I was on door duty," I said, trying to hold my ground.

  "Fuck Mars, man. He's probably balls deep in some Kappa right now and not paying attention to shit."

  I hated the way half these guys talked about girls. There was no way I could ever do that and yet they were always hooking up, sometimes with multiple girls in one day. They acted cocky, talked dirty, and the girls flocked to them.

  I didn't get it. Not one bit.

  "Can't someone else watch the bathroom? Maybe one of the freshman?" I asked.

  I really didn't want to go back inside. It was one of those late April nights where the weather was warm enough that you didn't need a jacket but not too hot that you were boiling. I had less than a month left in the house and I didn't want to be stuck with anymore grunt duties. The plan was to try and enjoy the little time I had left.

  "Cali has the pledges down for one of his little 'hoorah' speeches. Can't you help me out?" He raised his eyebrows.

  I looked over at the girl who was gripping onto his shirt. She couldn't stand on her own, let alone probably stay awake for the whole two minutes Rico pounded on her.

  "You sure she's up for this?" I asked.

  "The fuck do you care, Short Stack? You want to fuck me instead, ya fag?"

  I cringed. I hated when he used that term. The only reason I lost my virginity, to a girl whose name I didn't even know, was because my pledge class kept pushing me and saying I was a fag if I didn't. There were some days that I didn't know why I even bothered staying around.

  I shook my head. "No, man. I'm just saying that the girl looked like she's pretty fucked up, so why don't you find someone who is actually conscious enough to actually say 'yes'?"

  "Pft." He shook his head and pulled Betsy closer. Her long, blonde hair whipped around her head and I caught a glimpse of her bright blue eyes. They may have been hazy but the look she was giving me was pleading. There was something that said 'I don't want this; save me'.

  "Hey, Betsy, why don't you come with me inside? I'll get you some water and you can help me with bathroom duty?" I held my hand out.

  She glanced at it then bit her lip before glancing up at Rico.

  Rico smacked my hand away. "The fuck you think you're doing? Acting like you care about some fucking slampiece? Bros before ho's, fucker and I hit it first."

  That was it. I was done with his shit and right in front of the poor girl.

  I stepped in front of Rico until we were toe-to-toe and looked him in the eye. We were about the same height, him a few inches taller with his spiky hair, but I wasn't going to back down. "I was talking to Betsy, not to you. She's not a slampiece. She's a fucking woman and if I ever hear you call her that again, I'll shove your pledge paddle so far up your ass that you'll be screaming my name instead of the next random girl you find."

  He stepped back, holding one arm up. "Whoa, man, reading too many of your comic books and think you're superman now?"

  I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth. "This isn't about being a super hero. This is about being a good person and not taking advantage of a girl when she's half-cocked."

  Rico shook his head and pulled his arm out from around Betsy. She staggered forward and I caught her, standing her upright.

  Damn, she smelled amazing. I pushed her hair out of her face and got a whiff apples and brown sugar. Maybe it was just her shampoo, but it was the most amazing scent. I wanted to bottle it up and keep it forever.

  "Whatever, bro. You can have her. They're plenty of other bitties at the party." Rico turned and opened the patio door. "Have fun with my sloppy seconds, bitch."

  As soon as he slammed the door, I helped Betsy to sit on the picnic bench. I held on to both of her arms and made sure she didn't fall over. Her skin was amazingly soft like I was running my fingers over silk. No wonder Rico picked her up, and half the other guys. Every part of her was perfect.

  "Are you okay?" I asked, trying to meet her eyes.

  She jerked back and sharply turned away from me. "Why the hell did you do that?"

  "What?" I scooted closer, shaking my head before putting my hand on the back of her dress. Maybe I didn't hear her right.

  She glared over her shoulder and jerked her away. "Rico and I are friends. You didn't have to come and make him run away like that. Now he's going to be pissed at me."

  "Fuck!" She bent over and put her hands down the top of her low cut, black dress. I didn't know what she was doing until she pulled out a bright pink cell phone. "I don't even know where Cami and Jessie are and I'm going to have to walk back to my house now that you've ruined my chances of staying here."

  I scooted as close as I could while still leaving some space between us. "I can walk you home, if you don't want to walk alone."

  She turned toward me, narrowing her eyes. "Look, Short Stack, I get that you're trying to be the good guy here, but I don't need you to be."

  Betsy stood up and shoved her phone back down her shirt.
"I'm just fine. I always have been and I always will."

  She turned the other direction, pushed her hair over her shoulder and started walking across the grass.

  I looked down and saw from the light shining from one of tiki torches, that she wasn't wearing any shoes.

  "Wait!" I ran and didn't stop until I was in front of her, facing her. I grabbed both of her arms and looked from her feet to her face. "You don't have any shoes! You can't walk home without shoes."

  She shrugged and chewed on her bottom lip before she responded. "Wouldn't be the first time."

  "Will you let me go in and find your shoes for you?" I asked.

  She shook her head and tried to step to the side. "No. I'm fine."

  I blocked her. "How about if I give you a lift then? My car is right across the street."

  Okay that was sort of a lie. I didn't have a car, but I knew where Goose's keys were and I could easily take it and have it back without him noticing.

  She shook her head again. "No. It's fine. I can walk."

  Without even thinking I slid off my Chucks and then pushed them toward her.

  She looked down at the ground, then back at me, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

  I nudged my shoes toward her. "If you won't let me drive you or get your shoes then take mine."

  She shook her head. "I can't do that."

  "Please. I insist." I rummaged through my pocket until I pulled out my cell phone and typed a few numbers into it before facing it toward her. "And here's my number. I'd put it in your phone myself, but I don't want to reach down your shirt. I doubt you'll let me walk you, so please just call me when you get there."

  Her blue eyes were locked on me for what felt like forever before she pulled her phone out of her shirt and typed on it. She didn't speak. Not a single word. She just slowly slid my shoes on.

  Reluctantly I let go of her arms and she walked around me, only briefly glancing back before she was swallowed by the night.

  I sat down on one of the benches and let out a deep puff of air. My heart was beating so fast that I thought it was going to pound right through my chest.

  I never did things like that. I never stood up to my brothers or invested that much time into girls. This was all new territory.

  It could have been seconds. Minutes. Or even hours that I sat there. It wasn't until my phone buzzed in my hand that I was knocked out of my trance and looked down at it.

  I'm home. Thanks for the shoes. See you around.

  It may not have been much but there was something about that text that made my heart beat even faster. Maybe I wasn't a superhero, but whatever this adrenaline burst was, I didn't want it to stop.

  Chapter 2

  The chemical smell of Lysol hit my nose and woke me from a dead sleep. I didn't remember even closing my eyes or my head hitting the pillow.

  I rubbed my eyes and then slowly opened them, staring at the clock beside my bed.

  9:30.

  I didn't expect anyone to be up this early, but I guess the pledges got a start on cleaning the bathrooms.

  Groaning, I kicked off the covers and stood up, stretching my arms out. There was no way in hell I'd be able to get back to sleep now that I was breathing in the toxic fumes, so I figured I'd see if anyone wanted to go for a BK Lounge run.

  I grabbed a pair of shorts off the floor and rummaged through my dresser for a clean shirt. I probably needed to do laundry, but with the Illinois spring weather hitting I figured it was close enough to flip-flop season that I could go forever between laundry loads as long as I had clean underwear. That, or I'd free ball it if all my jeans were decent.

  My room wasn't huge, but at least I didn't have to share it. There were five other rooms on the third floor, all seniors, and all of us had our own bedroom with a walk-in closet. The juniors and sophomores crammed three to four in the rooms on the second floor and the first floor was reserved for the kitchen, dining room and common room. The basement was where the parties were and I didn't want to think about what it looked like after the Boats and Hoes party.

  After doing the sniff test on a black White Sox shirt, I decided it was good enough and threw it on before opening the door and was almost knocked on my ass by the toxic smell.

  "What the hell?" I held my breath and walked down the hall until I was at the bathroom.

  One of the pledges, who was dubbed 'Meatball', since Rico said he was shaped like one, stood over the sink, dumping almost a whole bottle of bleach on it.

  "Meatball, what are you doing?" I asked.

  He jumped higher than I'd ever seen him and turned toward me, dropping the now empty bottle onto the floor.

  "Oh. Hey. Sorry, Short Stack. I, uh, well last night didn't go so well, so I was told I needed to clean it up."

  I shook my head, running my hands through my hair. I needed it cut, badly. It was shaggy all over and the guys said I was starting to get a fro. "You can't clean something up just by dumping bleach everywhere. Didn't anyone ever teach you how to clean?"

  He shook his head, his eyes widening. "No, sir. That's what my mom was for."

  That wasn't the first time I'd heard shit like that. Half the guys still didn't do their own laundry and waited until they went home for the weekend and to have their mommies do it.

  "Well, your future wife is going to thank me someday. Get a bottle of bathroom cleaner and some paper towels. I'm going to show you the right way to do this."

  He nodded and saluted me. "Yes, sir. I wont let you down!"

  As soon as Meatball left the bathroom I felt a hand on my back. "I thought I heard you down here."

  I cringed, hearing Cali's voice. I hoped Rico didn't tell him something that would get me in shit. It wouldn't have been the first time I'd be in trouble with the president for something I didn't do.

  "Yeah. Just helping the new guys out." I turned toward him and tried to stand as straight as I could.

  I was always the little guy. My brother was Stack, mainly because he was built like a stack of bricks. Even at five-foot-eight, he looked like he could kill someone with his bare hands. And me? Well, I was just the little brother that got in because my brother was a legend...and then dubbed Short Stack because while he was short and ripped, I was short and lean.

  I'm not saying I was a skinny little guy, I spent some time in the gym and didn't have the gut hiding under my t-shirt like the other guys in the house, but there was no way I'd ever look as 'roided up as my brother.

  Cali rubbed the stubble on his chin before tossing his long blonde hair over his shoulder. "Yeah. You're always good for that."

  He shook his head before slapping my shoulder. "You have a guest downstairs, so Meatball is just going to have to wait on you."

  "A guest?" I raised an eyebrow. I didn't get many people coming by to see me. Okay, that was a lie; no one ever came to see me.

  "Do you have shit in your ear? Yeah. Someone is fucking downstairs to see you."

  I nodded. "Okay. I guess I'll go see whoever it is."

  We just stood there awkwardly, staring at each other before Cali stepped aside.

  I ran down the first set of stairs and heard Meatball near the hall closet, yelling about what color bottle was used for the bathroom. I would have stopped to help him, but I wanted to know who the hell was waiting for me and prayed it wasn't just a prank.

  I hopped down the last set of stairs and slid through the laundry room until I was in the dining room. From there, I could see the front door where a set of blue eyes stared back at me.

  My visitor was none other than Betsy.

  I swallowed hard, wishing I would have, maybe put on a cleaner pair of shorts or something so I didn't look like I just woke up, while she stood there looking like a goddess.

  Seriously, the girl was in a white, little, lacy dress with her blonde hair falling over her shoulders and hitting right where her cleavage spilled out. I had to bite my lip and try to think about anything other than her long, tan legs.

  "Morning,
Betsy."

  She smiled a coy smile. "Hey, Short Stack. I just wanted to bring your shoes back."

  Reaching into her large purse she pulled out my red shoes and held them out.

  "Oh. Yeah. Right. Of course. My shoes." I closed the space between us and reached out for my shoes, my fingers brushing against hers.

  If I didn't say that brief touch didn't send an electric jolt through every part of me, I'd be lying.

  "Hey, Bets, what are you doing here?"

  I cringed as soon as I heard Rico's voice.

  Before she could answer, he'd pushed me aside and was standing in front of her, folding his arms across his chest.

  "I just came by to drop off something that Short Stack lent me," she said, not even looking in my direction.

  Rico glanced back at me and smirked before looking back at Betsy. "How about we go up to my room and hang out, unless you and Short Stack have plans?"

  She shook her head, her eyes widening. "No. I don't have any plans. That'd be great."

  Rico took Betsy's hand and neither one of them even gave me a second glance as they walked out of the room and upstairs.

  I knotted the shoelaces in my hands, wishing I could break them. Wishing I could do something instead of just watching her walk away with a guy that treated her like shit.

  But instead, I just went back upstairs and helped Meatball clean the bathroom.

  Chapter 3

  I-Week or more appropriately named, Hell week, was the week before the new pledges were initiated into Alpha Mu.

  When it was my turn to become a full-fledged member, four years ago, I was scared shitless. I always thought they would see past my awkwardness and just decide I was too fucking weird to let in.

  I didn't expect that they'd take me in with open arms or that my new big brother, John Boy, would be a moose of a guy that treated me more like family than anyone ever did.