"Wow! Damian... I'm really surprised!!" Athena exclaims as she skips by him.

"What?!"

"How can you survive the day when all they gave you was such a disgusting... and abhorrent... goob?!!" Athena asks him with an amazed look.

"What? You mean the school lunch?" Damian asks her for confirmation as he raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah!"

"Well... you kinda get used to it after a while... plus, there's always Taco Tuesdays and Pizza Fridays! So... it ain't always all that bad!!" Damian explains to her as he walks in a relaxed mood. His arms resting on the back of his head.

"Still... how can you even digest that?" She asks him with a disgusted look.

"You obviously have been hanging around fancy places all the time... it's just beans and toast... there's nothing disgusting about it!" Damian tells her.

"Well... then sort of food do angels eat?" Damian then asks her in full curiosity.

"Angel diet is... simpler and... cleaner... Unlike the rest of the world... they tend to eat fruits and vegetables so... it explains their beauty and also, it's greater for your health I suppose!" Athena explains.

"Ughh, that sounds so fucking disgusting!!" Damian responds to her earlier explanation.

"What!! Fruits and vegetables provide you with many nutritions!! Honestly, you could make due with some of them. You're looking a little... plump as I might say!!" Athena suggests to him making Damian snarl.

"Hey! I'm not fat!! Plus, haven't you heard of meat?!! Protein... ring any bells?!! It helps with your growth!!" Damian tries to convince her.

"Yeah... I guess that's why you were so tall before!!" She teases him with a sarcastic remark making him click his tongue.

"No! That's because it have something to do with genetic and... urgghhh, just... fuck off!!" Damian admits in a defeated tone as he crosses his arms. His face pouts as he turns his gaze away from her. Athena just giggles at his usual childish but cute behaviour.

Just as both of them walk, Damian suddenly stops in his tracks before looking to his side.

"We're here!!" He looks at her as he points to the door in front of them.

Damian's hand then makes it's way to the knob as he twists it open revealing a large room. In the room was a set of stairs leading down to a big stage. There were rows of seats on their left and right as they make their way down the steps. Athena's eyes then caught the presence of some people on the stage. Some of them were talking to each other while some of them were on a set of instruments.

"This is the theatre room! It's where we usually gather for out theatre club!!"

"Ooohhhh!! I love theatre!! But, you really don't strike me as a theatre person." Athena points out.

"Well, I might not look like it, but I actually love musicals! That's why I joined this club!" Damian explains.

"Musical? Wait... can you even sing? Or play any instruments?" Athena doubts his abilities.

"Well, I can, but I don't really show it... Though, I'm mostly good at any instruments with strings!!" Damian brags but Athena was semi convinced with his answers.

"Ok, and those people down there... are they your friends?" Athena asks him as she points out a the group of people at the stage which made Damian pull out an uneasy look.

"Well... it's... complicated..." He tries to briefly explain to her. They weren't exactly his enemies but that doesn't mean that they like him either.

"Let's get going!" Damian says before he walks further down the steps making his way to the stage.

Meanwhile, on the stage, our usual gang was talking to each other, going about their lives. On one group, it was our usual unlucky jackal, Jack, a really hyper fox, Spam and a monotonous purple cat reading her book, Vanexa, minding her business.

"Ughh... Damian's here!!" Jack exclaims in disgust as he saw Damian going down the steps. Jack always had a grudge against Damian for all the things he suffered for when they were kids. Spam then turns his head to look at Damian.

"Where?" Spam asks as he turns around but couldn't spot him. He then realised that Damian had a new outfit that his usual shirt.

"Wow, he looks awesome!" Spam says as he notices Damian's outfit change. Vanexa just turns her head slightly and looks at Damian's clothes with an uninterested gaze for a brief second before turning her head back to her book.

"So he finally decided to ditch that old rag... Doesn't matter! Still doesn't make him less of a brat!!" Jack says with malice.

"Oofff, I'm sensing a lot of animosity from that one over there!!" Athena points to Jack as she follows Damian down the steps.

"Yeah... that's my cousin, Jack... we... don't really get along that well..." Damian says with a hint of uneasiness in his tongue.

"Family problems?" Athena asks him.

"S-something like that..." Damian answers her.

"And the other two?"

"The fox is Spam... he's happy all the time and the cat is Vanexa... she's serious all the time!" Damian introduces the other two people. Unlike the rest, the other two don't really hold any grudge towards him so he feels a bit of ease with them

"Huh... wonder where those two are?" Damian thought to himself as the other two members weren't there.

"Who are you looking for?" Athena asks him.

Suddenly, there was a commotion on the opposite side of the stage as all the people present turns their head towards the noises.

It was Zill and Kayla arguing with each other which made Damian raise an eyebrow. He couldn't really make up what they're arguing about as they were far away but he knew it be intense if Kayla was that angry.

"Look, Kayla, I'm sorry alright... I just had something to do!" Zill says to her.

"But we've been planning that date for weeks and you just... bailed out! You never even called me!!" Kayla responds to him with an angry look.

"Look it's not my fault, something important came up and I had to deal with it! I just didn't have the time to call you!!" Zill presents his excuse.

"That why didn't you just text me or something?! It isn't that hard!!" Kayla rebuttals as her face clearly shows that of distress.

Kayla and Zill continues to argue as Damian makes his way to Jack's group.

"Hi guys!!" Damian greets them and only Spam responded with a friendly wave. Vanexa's eyes was glued to her book while Jack wasn't even paying any attention to him.

"I just hope they sort it out! It's the third time today!" Jack suddenly mutters which didn't go unheard of by Damian.

"Third? Ohohoh, they're really on the edge now!!" Damian thought to himself as the severed relationship of the two always amuses him.

"You're really mean, you know that right?" Athena speaks to him telepathically.

"It's not my fault... plus, it's my chance you know!!" Damian tells her.

"Chance?" Athena asks perplexed.

"To get together with her!!" Damian points out at Kayla.

"Ooohhh, so she's the girl you like!! But from what I can see... isn't she like... dating that dude... right?" Athena points out Zill to him.

"Well, not for long!!" Damian cackles with evil in his mind. He already had a few plans in mind to sever their relationship even more.

"Oh no you don't! I'm not going to help you with this!! That's mean and... immoral!" Athena rebels as she looks at Damian.

"What?!!" Damian exclaims in shock.

"Look Damian... I only known you for a while now but I know you can be better than this! Come on... if you want to get closer to her, I can help you... but we're not going to take advantage of her situation like this! Plus, if you truly like her, that wouldn't it be better if you actually make her like you back!" Athena says to him making Damian rethink his decision.

"You wanted help from a girl right? You got it! But with my rules! Also, take a close look at her! Is taking advantage of her situation really going to make her happy? Think about it!!" She adds as she tries to convince Damian.

He knew that what she was saying was true but he knew how Kayla feels about him. He then looks back at the quarrelling couple before looking down at the ground. He sighs before looking back at Athena.

"Okay! Okay! I was just joking alright! I really need your help!!" He says to her as Athena carves a wide smile.

"Good!!" She says back to him.

Meanwhile, Vanexa noticed Damian's strange behaviour but she didn't think about it that much. She tries to keep her focus on the book in her hands but she still was weirded out by Damian. It's as if there was someone with him.

"Okay so... now what do we do?" Damian asks her for instructions.

"Well we wait..." Athena answers as she crosses her arms.

"Wait? How long?" He asks her.

"Well... until they've settled their talk!!" She answers.

"That's going to take a lo-

"DAMIAN ABOVE HER!! THE SPOTLIGHTS!!" Athena suddenly screams in his mind making him panic.

"Wha?" He was going to ask her before he notices her hand pointing at something above. He looks at the direction she was pointing and it directed his vision to a spotlight which was flickering and the way it dangled looked unstable. Suddenly, he could see the wires connecting to the spotlight breaking off one by one. Damian's eyes widen when he realises whose below the spotlight.

"KAYLA!!"

"Look, please, just trust me alright!!" Zill says to her with a bile in his mouth.

"I do trust you Zill!! I just wished you trusted me!!" Kayla says in disbelief as she turns her back from him.

Just as she was about to walk away, she realised the floor below her was engulfed in a black shadow. Her eyes than makes it way above her head before her pupil shrunk at the sight of a large black object falling down on her. It got closer every second until it was just inches above her head. She didn't even have enough time to react as she just awaits her impending doom. Zill didn't realize and when he did, he immediately dashes towards her, trying to push her away but it was already too late.

"KAYLA!!" He yells at her as he dashed as hard as he could but he knew he wouldn't make it. Suddenly, his eyes picked up a red flash before the object crashes onto the ground knocking him backwards. A loud bang ensued before debris of wood, metal and glass flew around the area of the crash followed by a wave of dust. The area was covered with a dust fog as the aftermath of the chaos wasn't visible to anyone.

"Zill!! You're okay?!!" Jack runs to Zill as he lends a hand in carrying him up from his fall. Zill groans out in pain before he gasped at the event that just unfolded in front of him.

"No! Kayla!!" Zill looks at the dust covered area in front of them with a horrified face. Both Spam and Vanexa's faces was also covered in a worried expression.

As soon as the dust settles, all four of them hoped that nothing happens to her but as soon as the dust clears, all of them carved a similar shocked expression. The area of the stage where the spotlight crashed was wrecked but there wasn't any sign of Kayla.

"What?!" Jack exclaims as he tries to look around for her. Suddenly, his eyes bulge when he saw something over on the other side of the fallen headlight.

Kayla's eyes closed as she softly whimpers in awaiting her demise. In a split second, she could hear the deafening crash when metal meets wood but she felt as if she was floating. Did she got thrown away by the sheer force of the crash... but she didn't feel any sort of pain. After a while, she tries to gather enough bravery to open her eyes. Her eyes flickered open slowly as she gazed upon something. It was a pair of ruby red eyes looking at her. Her vision focused outwards as she finally recognised who it was.

Damian was gasping for air as he turns his head back and the fallen spotlight. It was a near miss but luckily he made it. But something felt off.

"It's lucky you were fast!" Athena breathes a sigh of relief.

"Yeah... too fast!" He commented on his abnormal speed. He chose to not think about it as he turns his head back to Kayla.

"You're okay?" Damian asks her with concern flashed on his face. His forehead wrinkled with her safety in mind.

"I...I..." She stutters but she couldn't get any words out her mouth.

"Umm... maybe you should let her go now? You've been holding onto her for quite a while now!" Athena comments making Damian realise his arms around Kayla.

"Uh, yeah... right..." Damian responds before he gently lays her down on the floor as he stands up. Out of nowhere, he suddenly felt something pushing against his chest before he was send flying backwards. He rolls for a while on the ground followed by a series of grunts before stopping completely as pain washed over his back. He grits his teeth before regaining his balance and pushed himself back up. His eyes starts to fill with rage as it lands on the person who shoved him.

"What the hell Zill??!!" Damian growls with his fangs showing.

"Stay away from her, Damian!!" Zill answers as his fists light up with a green aura. Damian snarls before he lit his own fists with a blanket of red flame.

"Zill!! Stop!!"

This halted both of them from their standoff as they immediately carved a confused look on their faces. The person that said that was... Kayla?

"He saved me!! Why did you pushed him like that?!!" Kayla asks Zill which made Zill stumped.

"K-Kayla, you know it's Damian we're talking about right?" He stutters as he asks her back.

"You heard her pretty boy!!" Damian snarls at Zill before Zill clenches his fist.

"You don't know what's he's up to Kayla!! Maybe he caused this!!!" Zill says to her as he maintains his glare with Damian.

"You don't know shit Sherlock. Don't go pulling stuff out of your ass!!! I saved your girlfriend, remember?! So, why don't you be a good boy and just say thanks?" Damian mocks him and carves a menacing grin on his lips. Zill had enough and was about to furiously lunge on Damian but Kayla's words stops him.

"H-he's right!! He s-saved me... and t-that's all that matters!" Kayla stuttered but manages to get her point across to Zill which made him bite his lip in regret before turning his face away.

"Whatever!!" He scoffs before walking away from the stage, leaving all of his friends.

Kayla sighs at Zill before she looks at Damian. A look of fear starts to engulf her as she remembers her phobia but she musters any sort of bravery left in her.

"T-thanks you Damian!" She stutters at him in fear.

Even though she still had a sense of fear towards Damian, even if she stuttered through her words, even though she was 6 feet away from Damian, somehow, he felt that those words were... sincere, well, to him anyway. Somehow, he felt that she never talked to him that way before. He just stays there as he looks at her surprised by her short thanks. It was something he would treasure since she never said those words to him.

"Why are you ogling at her for?!! Say YOU'RE WELCOME!! My God!!" Athena screams at him as she was embarrassed by how he acted from a single thank you.

"Ah r-right... Ummm... you're welcome I guess!!" Damian stutters back at Kayla which made Athena facepalm herself.

"It's not surprising you're a virgin!!!" Athena says to herself as she couldn't believe what she saw. And then Kayla did something she never did to him before, and that was looking at him with a smile. However, she then immediately carves her panic look before Jack and the rest went to her to ask how she was.

It was a short smile... but it meant everything for him.

Kayla was overwhelmed when Jack, Spam and Vanexa circled around her to see if she was alright. She keeps telling each of them that she wasn't hurt but they wouldn't listen and keep checking on her. She chuckles at her friend's protective behaviour but she couldn't help to turn her gaze to her side. Her eyes lay upon the sight of Zill all alone on the edge of the stage. She frowns before clenching her fist looking at the wooden floor below her.

Damian just stares at Kayla through the hurdle of people as her words still rang in his mind.

"Ahh, Earth to Damian!! Wake up loverboy!!" Athena suddenly calls to him making him snap out from his daze.

"Oh... sorry..." Damian apologies for his daydreaming self.

"Now that you finally stop daydreaming about her... I have something to tell you!!"

"Sure... what?"

"Did you realise how fast you went?" Athena asks him.

"Yeah... now that you mentioned it..." Damian replies.

"This is the potential enchantment that we've talked about. One crucial thing is that you can't... keep showing your new strength! Some people might get suspicious and it could draw more attention!!" Athena says which made Damian shot back at her.

"What?!! Then, what was I supposed to do? Let her die?!! You were even the one who told me about the light!!" Damian tells her.

"Hold your horses Casanova! I said you CAN'T KEEP showing your strength, not that you should avoid using it completely!! In these past few hours, you used your enhanced strength twice! One with the mutt earlier and now this!! You need to learn restraint and find a way to secretly use it to your advantage!! We don't want ANYONE finding out about this!" Athena says to him.

"Then... how do you suggest I do this?" Damian asks her as the feat seemed impossible.

"For starters, if confrontation can be avoided, then do it!! Don't make enemies along the way!!" Athena references his fight with Rusty earlier.

"Alright... I'll try... But knowing the chaos every now and then, well... don't keep your hopes up!" Damian answers her.

"Whatever, two, just use your normal fire magic if you can! At least, people won't be suspicious if it's your usual magic! Earlier, you could have just used it to blast the spotlight away. It would have provided the same result!"

"But what if I missed?" Damian asks her.

"That's why I asked you to keep training yourself remember?" Athena reminds him.

"Gotcha!!" Damian answers.

"Good! And finally, we need to try to find a way so you could use your enhanced abilities without everyone knowing when needed... but... I'm still working on that!!" Athena says.

"This is getting more complicated!!" Damian remarks at her.

"I know but... I told you that this wasn't going to be easy... You're worried?" Athena asks him feeling worried about his thoughts.

"Nah, I told you! I won't let my friends down! Just a few more things added to the to do list, no biggie!!" He responds making her feel ease.

"Well, at least it's over now!" Athena says to him.

"Soooo... what did you think of your first step towards your relationship with that girl?" Athena asks her.

"Uhh, excuse me... what first step?" Damian asks her.

"You know, saving her, this might actually be proceeding better than I thought!!" Athena says which made Damian state at her in disbelief.

"Well, that's one hell of a first step, that's for sure!" Damian chuckles at her.

"So... what's next?" Damian asks her.

"Now... we'll just see how it goes. The day's still young as they say!" Athena says to him.

"You really sound like an old person, you know that right?" Damian tells her as she pouts in retaliation making him chuckle.

A smile forming on his lips. Unknowing to him, Kayla was looking at him as she saw him with a smile on his face. Somehow, in that slight moment, her fears were snuffed away, even for just a moment but no one realised, not even herself. For now, as Athena said, we'll just have to see how the day goes by.