The first week of John's time at Wellston came and went, faster than he expected if he was being honest.
The work was tough, definitely, but the study sessions between either Blyke or Evie—Evie living up to what Roland said about her without a doubt, holy shit—helped immensely. Well, for whichever classes they shared, that is.
If not, well then, he was kinda fucked. Still, he tried his best.
Word of his altercation with Seraphina spread around like wildfire, he was in damn school paper for goodness sake, apparently. He didn't pay much attention to it but he could definitely tell the effect was prominent. The number of times someone tried to "test their luck" against him was fewer than he had expected and anytime someone did, it didn't end in their favor, only emphasizing he wasn't one to mess with.
There are pros and cons to building up a reputation but if being left alone is one of them, it's definitely a pro.
...Roland still seemed hesitant around him though so, there is of course a downside to it. Evie still seemed unbothered, but to be fair, she hadn't seen what went down.
Another bother was just...the atmosphere that hung in English class first thing in the morning. With both him and Seraphina being in it there's been this...tension that's only raised by everyone and the mothers whispering about it.
There were a few times he thought to just walk over, maybe see how she was feeling, but he'd back himself out of it, not wanting to impose upon her. As long as she didn't mess with him, he wouldn't mess with her.
"Everyone, please bring your attention to me!" The young teacher spoke. "I'm going to be going over the details of the term project!" She spoke with a smile, somehow.
And there it was, the thing John's been dreading since the 2nd week started. This is what being transferred late does to you, he just got here damn it!
From what John could gather when he wasn't busy sulking, it was pretty much what Blyke said. A three-part, three-week, project where each week they cover a different book written by Speareshake. They would give a presentation for their work and be graded for it.
"If there are no questions, I will now list the pairings."
Wait, shit, I didn't know about that.
Here comes the anxiety.
"Auriel and Elaine."
I barely talk to anyone in this class, it's gonna be awkward and it's gonna suck! Oh, maybe I could get paired with Blyke—.
"Blyke and Isen."
Fuuuuuuuck, Why couldn't Evie be in this class?! Roland?!
"Hower and Mardin."
That guy's in here?
A few more names were paired together, who they belonged to was anyone's guess to John as he continued to grow anxious before he pondered something.
Don't tell me...
"John and Seraphina."
...Paired by closeness in levels...Son of a b—
The rearranging of seats occurred and in the end, John sat in the seat in front of the ever-silent girl, leaning against the wall, arms crossed.
"So...got any ideas?" He asks, only glancing at the girl, though he quirked an eyebrow upon seeing her raise from her seat.
"Come with me." She spoke—ordered?—before beginning her walk to exit the classroom.
...Huh, alright.
"Sure. We going to the library?" John questioned as he followed her out.
That surely won't have people talking.
"Elaine, you think they're going somewhere private?" Auriel whispered to her friend, a playful expression on her face.
"Auri! Don't joke about stuff like that!" Elaine sputtered out, growing a blush and ignoring the thoughts her mind tried to imagine.
"Oh, what a shame~" Auriel half-heartedly pouted, cupping her face in her hands. "Strong and handsome guys shall be with strong and beautiful girls, we'll never get the chance."
Elaine listened, looking off to the side, the sight of their stoic, undefeated, unwavering King in her mind. "Don't say that..." She mumbled.
"Hey, cheer up!" Auriel picked up on the sad tone in her friend's words and gave her a smile with a little tap on the shoulder. "I'm still rooting for you and your dream guy! ...Even if he has the personality of a cardboard box."
"Hey!"
"Something's 'a brewing, I can feel it. Tensions are high between those two, but what kind of tension?" Isen noted, referring to John and Seraphina, hands clasped in thought like a detective working through a month-long case.
"It really isn't, Isen. Now could you focus on this project for one fucking second?" Blyke begged in annoyance. "Do your theories and fanfic bullshit later."
Although, if Blyke was going to be honest, he was having trouble staying focused as well because of something different. Considering what John told him yesterday.
"You aren't gonna let it go, are you?" John questioned, slumping in his chair, and staring at Blyke.
"If you wanna use my notes, that's the deal." Blyke shrugged. He knows he's not usually so curious when it comes to people's powers and shit, but when his roommate can somehow handle a match with the damn Queen, he can't help but wonder.
Just what the hell can this guy do? If it's something to do with energy like his, it'd have to be pretty damn powerful to match Seraphina's speed.
John hummed. "You know, I could just say "Fuck you", keep your notes, and beat you if you press this on. You know I'm stronger than you."
Blyke wouldn't lie, the thought of it made him anxious. Irritated too, but mostly anxious.
"You could, but you're not that kind of guy. That's what you told me at least."
John pointed a finger, "You got me there." Curse my good nature.
...Alright, fuck it. It'd happen eventually and Blyke is my roommate. Plus, these are some really good notes.
"Long story short, I can copy abilities."
The room went quiet, silence marinating the words that John spoke.
"You can wha—?!"
"There's a bit more to it but that's the general gist." John's attention turned back to the notes. "Now no more questions! I've gotta imprint this shit into my mind."
John wouldn't have to worry about that, as Blyke spent pretty much the rest of their study session just...processing everything.
"Babe, relax! We'll be fiiiine." Isen whined, laying his head on the desk, cushioned by his arms as his hands reached to Blyke. Why did he have to be so academically attentive?
Blyke refocuses on the here and now, grabbing Isen's hands and moving them to the side to make way for the notes and planning.
"Did you even hear my suggestions on who focuses on what for the books?" Blyke questioned.
"...If I said no because I was too busy looking into your eyes, would that be good enough?"
"...We all know that's a lie." Blyke grumbled, appearing to drag a hand across his face in annoyance, even if it was also in part to hide the slight blush on his face he really didn't want to have. "You're an idiot."
John requested that he didn't go around mouthing off about his ability. Obviously, he wouldn't, he's not that bad.
...Is he?
No, he's not, definitely. He'll just have to be careful around Isen. Though, it's much easier said than done.
As it turned out, Seraphina had led him up to the roof instead of the library, confusing John even more. On the way up there they passed by this guy who was kinda just...standing watch at the area where the rooftop stairs were. The dude gave him a weird look.
Now that he thought about it, the rooftop area back at his school had been restricted to royals only, something that...was really dumb if he thought about it. Like, yeah, it was a nice view but it wasn't that nice.
"So, are you gonna say anything, or are you just going to ignore me?" John wondered.
Then, Seraphina turned back to face him, looking at him suspiciously. "What's your deal? What's your angle?"
John blinked, "What?"
"Don't act more dumb than you already do." She began to take steps forward and continued before John could tell her how rude that was. "You readily taunted me, showed me you were capable of beating me, then decided to just let everyone see you "lose", doing nothing to disprove it." She listed off.
"Is this what we're talking about? Seriously? I already told you why, didn't I?" John reasoned. Although, he was a little woozy after he got slammed into that wall so some details were escaping him at the moment.
She stopped for a moment, then continued. "Even still, you know who the King is, don't you? You'd obviously outmatch him and take his spot if you two fought." She reasoned that if he could take her down, he could take down anyone in Wellston, especially with an ability similar to hers and stronger.
It got a snort out of John. "No thanks, he can keep it."
He continued to make zero sense to Seraphina. "Why? Are you afraid that you'll lose?"
John groaned. "Is it hard to imagine maybe I just...don't want to be King?"
Seraphina's eyes narrowed, what kind of reasoning was that? One that she never heard before. The strongest take their designated spots, that was how it worked.
"Why?"
The hell is this, 20 questions?
"Because I don't want to." John responded.
"That's not good enough."
"...Fuck you mean it's not good enough?"
Seraphina could feel the headache come back again. "You can't shrug off the responsibility that's required of the strong."
"And that's because...why?" John wondered why he even bothered to listen to her. Here it comes again.
"Because..."
Seraphina didn't like how she couldn't immediately respond. Why was she having a hard time finding her words?
"Because that's what's needed of us, that's our role." She finally said.
John didn't say anything but he could tell from the way she spoke those words that...there was no conviction, no deep belief in what she said. It was robotic, like reading off a script, or just a repetition of what she had been told her life.
"There are other things I'd rather prioritize than some stupid leadership position," John explained. He wanted to hold out hope but he wasn't interested in dealing with her stubbornness at the moment. So he turns to head for the door.
"Go on and keep telling yourself that bullshit, but I'm not getting involved in all that royal crap."
Seraphina wasn't used to others walking away from her, writing her off, ignoring her. "Where do you think you're going? I'm not finished talking to you."
John turned back, eyes glowing, stopping Seraphina in her tracks. "Well, I am."
Threatening someone with his ability wasn't something John was a fan of doing, even when it came to fights, but against someone so strong he couldn't take the chance that things got ugly.
He knew the reality. Even if he could mirror her ability, if she immediately used her time-stop and attacked him, he really couldn't do anything to stop it and that would be a problem.
But, since she's under the impression that he has an ability like hers, he'll let her assume that. He'll go down the stairs and on his merry way.
So much for working together.
"Just...wait."
The action of him pulling the door stopped mid-way. There was something in the way that she just spoke that seemed...open. Vulnerable? Whatever the case, it made him look back, taking his hand off the door.
Her eyes weren't as harsh now, but still reflective, seemingly debating on what to say.
To Seraphina, all those other questions may have been just to avoid the one she actually wanted to ask. One she thought she'd never be able to ask another person...except for one, maybe.
"Judging whispers and frustrations, you've gone through it too." Seraphina recited, summarizing John's words from that day. "So, what did you go through?"
John sighed, rather relieved. He wasn't exactly a fan of talking about his past but if he can help broaden her worldview, it's something he wouldn't be...unwilling to do, barring more intricate details of course.
He would begin to speak, had their attention not been drawn to the door opening behind them, coming through the door being...
Great, it's the giraffe...
Now he's stuck in the middle of a royal sandwich.
Arlo stared at the two just as they did to him, not expecting this to be what he saw when he wanted to spend his free period up on the roof.
"Am I interrupting something?" He asked with an eyebrow quirked.
It was Seraphina who responded, walking by John, who could've sworn he heard a low sigh from her before. "No, we're finished. We're heading to the library to work on a project now." She sent a glance back at John who, while disheartened by the interruption, will definitely take the opportunity to avoid that guy by any means. Get him away!
"...How'd you do on that classwork?" Arlo asks as John passes by.
He just had to say something.
"Not too bad, B+!" John responded with a smile.
Arlo hummed. "Shame, I hope you do better next time."
Your life's a shame—
John chuckled. "Yeah, hopefully. Well, see you around." John gave his farewell before moving to catch back up with Seraphina.
Arlo watched him descend the stairs, thinking through some things. So he can mingle with those he should be around. Reassuring, for the moment.
Okay, now the pair are heading toward the library.
"Just forget that ever happened, it was a waste of time." Seraphina muttered.
"No, it wasn't." John finally stood by her side, she was a fast walker. "We can still talk about it."
"We should focus on the project. That's the most important thing right now." She said, not even looking at John.
"It really isn't," John mumbled to himself. "Then how about after we finish working on the project, the first book, at least. What was it called, Hamlet?"
"Hamlot." Seraphina corrected. "It'd be more beneficial if you just backed off and let me deal with it."
"What, you want to do the whole project by yourself? Why?" John asked, incredulous at the idea of someone doing so much work on their own.
Seraphina gave him a level look, unamused. "I've seen the way you get through class: You make a couple of scribbles on scrap paper, you nod off half the time, and at best you get a B on the work." If she was being honest, it was disappointing for someone of their level.
John tried to ignore how each statement made him feel like a stone was dropped on his head and retorted, "Sounds like I've had plenty of your attention recently."
Seraphina made the decision to ignore that remark. "So frankly, I'm not interested in dragging my academic record through the mud. I'll work on the project, you'll follow the notes I give you, and we get the A. Simple as that."
"Not so simple, actually, 'cause I don't plan on freeloading off your work."
Seraphina almost raised her voice in annoyance, but held it down to a whisper, the last thing she needed was another fiasco about her "lashing out" being shown on the school paper.
"I am handing you the best-case scenario on a damn silver platter. Why would you—"
"Because even if I suck, I'm still gonna try to do a good job at least. I can't get better if I don't try. So what if it isn't perfect?"
John continued, skipping over the irritated glare she was giving him.
Sera tensed at his words, momentarily. Memories stung her mind painfully, remembering every punishment she had been dealt if she hadn't done it exactly right. A distant, yet intense, feeling of that sting on her cheek when her mother slapped her coming back the more she thought of it.
"...No, if it's not perfect, then it's meaningless."
"Wholeheartedly, I disagree."
A stubborn look was shared between the two God-tiers. Those who had been paying attention had quickly made way to move out of the hallway, just in case something happened.
It's hard for Seraphina, but she finds the need to relent. Even if it doesn't feel right and he doesn't act like it, this guy is stronger than her. She can't beat him, so she can't force him to submit.
"Fine, then how about this? We'll..." Ugh, he just has to be so difficult. "...Work together on the project, but I look over all your work first, to make sure you're actually doing it right." She said, shoving a finger in his direction.
"How little faith do you have in me?"
"You don't want me to answer that."
...Harsh.
But, John sighed, clasping his hands behind his neck. "A compromise, then? Sure, I'm cool with that." He offered a smile, along with a thumbs-up. "Let's kick this project's ass."
"...Yeah, sure." She resigned, reaching to open the doors to the library.
Hopefully, his dumbness isn't as contagious as that smile is.
A/N: Feedback is always appreciated!