AN: The story will be an AU with the history of the world/character lore, some of the miraculouses/kwamis, and the Guardian Order being altered or expanded upon from canon. It will tell the butterfly effect of said changes and the journey/relationship of the two MCs, Alix and Lance(OC).
Since Lance is half-American, you will see underlines in some of the dialogue when he says/pronounces words in English; otherwise, he's speaking French.
One more thing, as you will notice, the story puts them in the first year of Lycée. It was a creative change to allow for more mature themes/relationships while still having the teenage MCs Vibe.
Chapter 1 - First Day
Ambition.
It is the fundamental concept that moves the world and its people. Whether it be of power, fame, wealth, or an infinite number of other possibilities, it keeps us all moving forward.
And when one's goals are met, their long journey at an end, it is the promise of further improvement that drives one to strive for even greater aspirations.
For together, ambition and evolution form an endless virtuous cycle of growth and purpose, defying reality itself as it attempts to limit their united potential.
September 1st, 2015
A phone alarm echoed throughout the apartment as a lazy hand rose from the bed covers to stop the electronic's cacophony.
Ugh…7:20 already? I swear it feels like I just went to sleep.
Lance, still wrapped in the addictively warm sheets, went to check his phone and saw "7:22 AM" displayed on the lock screen, with a picture of him and Luka playing the guitar together serving as the wallpaper.
Slowly and begrudgingly, he got out of bed, opened his closet, which was littered with all kinds of useless junk on its floor, and picked out his clothes.
His early-morning mind decided a spiked black leather jacket, MBS T-shirt, ripped grey jeans, and black gothic boots were the way to go.
God, Lance, would you happen to be into heavy metal by any chance? He thought sarcastically as he buckled the chained boots. It's been some time since I've worn these; hopefully, they're up to the dress code.
Lance exited his bedroom and went downstairs to the open kitchen/living room that Grand-mère had recently remodeled.
Once there, he stole a cursory glance at the living area and reminisced over his last weekend of summer with the twins.
The room's hanging screen displayed the Ultimate Mecha Strike III's home screen, with his controller carelessly left on the L-shaped leather sofa after one defeat too many. Two more controllers were neatly coiled by their wires on the polished marble coffee table, which had empty bags of spicy potato chips, thoroughly devoured by them.
The coffee table was positioned atop a large, fluffy silver-grey rug that draped over the cold hardwood floor. Its few stains carried the sickly sweet scent of a cherry soda from a nearby convenience store's brand, Juleka's favorite.
Maybe Saturday I can convince them to come here to play a couple of rounds… as long as Luka keeps his hands off 2TO, of course.
Moving to the refurbished kitchen, he saw two buttered slices of toast and a glass of milk, his go-to breakfast since first moving there, awaiting him on the new, quartz counter.
Having taken a seat, Lance noticed a small, pink napkin under his glass of milk, which he pulled from and unfolded while biting down on the slightly burnt toast.
In it, a letter was written in his grandmother's handwriting:
"Mon petit soldat, sorry again for not taking you on the first day to Lycée , but I hope you liked the toast I made.
I packed up your backpack next to the entrance and put the apartment's keys in it before I left.
I'll be back home late, so don't wait up for me.
Please, don't hesitate to talk with your new classmates and be sure to enjoy yourself!
P.S.: Dinner is in the fridge in a small red Tupperware, just heat it and eat!
Love you with all my heart,
Grand-mère."
Hopefully, that press conference goes well so she can rest before the elections. She wouldn't have to wake up so early, and we could have breakfast together again.
After eating, Lance grunted like an old man as he stood up and moved to the apartment's door, where his backpack rested.
Putting it on, he opened his phone to see how much time he had left to get to the new school.
7:35 am.
Crap, gotta hurry.
Lycée Françoise Dupont's classes started at around 8:20 am. With his home being in the 6th Arrondissement on the other side of The Seine, Lance had to sprint to get to school on time.
The streets outside were flooded with large groups of tourists that cut off his running. He couldn't take more than five steps before having to stop to either find a way around or wait for them to pass.
Luckily, the cramped, less-tourist-friendly alleyways he'd grown familiar with offered a quicker path to Île de la Cité, the middle point of his sure-to-be-named "Daily Odyssey."
He managed to arrive at Place Des Vosges, the park next to the Lycée , as the last warning bell rang; exhausted, he took a moment to catch his breath before heading inside the school.
Jesus, talk about a morning sprint. If I have to do this every day, I might as well get homeschooled…or start going back to the gym at least.
The courtyard was desolate of life, with the students in class and the staff nowhere to be seen.
Then, realization struck him, and he blinked.
I…
I never asked which classroom my class was in.
Grand-mère had thoroughly gone over the school's awards and titles; how her work friends told her Ms. Bustier was a very well-renowned teacher and wonderful person; she even praised how his schedule would be both balanced and fun, allowing him to enjoy his first year of Lycée at its fullest.
However, in her glowing speech, she'd neglected to mention which classroom was Ms. Bustier's.
Instinctively, he tried to call her, but all his attempts simply ended up in voicemail. The conference has probably started by now.
Having noticed the lost student in the halls, Mr. Haprèle calmly approached Lance from behind and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Excuse me, young man, aren't you one of Ms. Bustier's students?" He asked, leaning on his worn-out mop with a raised eyebrow. "Her class started 5 minutes ago."
"Uh…yes sir, I'm uh…."
C'mon, Lance, now's not the time to forget how to speak French!
"I'm new here and don't know where her class is. I've been looking for it since I arrived, but I think I'm lost now," He said, hoping to garner some sympathy from the man.
Upon hearing this, Mr. Haprèle's expression softened, and he relaxed his stance.
"That's quite alright! It's the first day for many students here in Françoise Dupont , so I understand what you're going through."
"Here," he gestured for Lance to follow him. "I'll take you to her class before she sends out a search party." He said in a playful tone, smiling.
When they reached the class's door, Mr. Haprèle knocked lightly before opening it.
Inside, Lance saw Ms. Bustier at the teacher's table with a clicker in her hand and a projected PowerPoint on the wall welcoming the new students.
"Ms. Caline, I found the missing student you were waiting on; he was just a little lost, so I helped him find his way here," he reassured, knowingly winking to Lance
Please don't be mad; please don't be mad.
She raised from her chair and moved towards the door, changing from her focused and serious expression to a more welcoming one to greet him.
Quietly, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Hello there, you must be Lance, right?" She asked, tilting her head slightly forward to meet his gaze. "We just finished introducing the new subjects this year, but I'll be sending an email about them later today, so don't worry about missing anything too important; if you'd like, you can introduce yourself before class resumes."
Not wishing to remain the center of attention longer than he already had, Lance politely declined the offer before entering and searching for an available seat.
His late appearance briefly silenced the class, the rattling of his boots' chains filling the mute room. Much to his discomfort.
While Lance searched for a vacant seat, he could faintly hear various murmurs of his new classmates commenting on his arrival.
Great, the tribe is already checking me out.
As he climbed the wooden steps, Juleka, sitting on a higher-up desk, raised her head and widened her eyes in surprise after discerning who the new student was.
"LANCE!" She shouted in elation, shocking everyone, including Lance, who was still deciding where to sit, absent-minded to those around him.
Uh?
Before he could turn to check the source, the exhilarated girl enveloped Lance in a tight hug.
"What the–JULES!? What are you doing here? I swear Luka told me you were stuck with Ms. Mendeleiev.'' he responded, turning around to return the hug, happily surprised by his friend's uncharacteristic enthusiasm.
Juleka looked up from their embrace, a broad smile that he still struggled to believe was hers playing at her lips. "When I told Rose about it, she asked Chloé to have her dad switch me to where all the others were!" She promptly answered, her cheerful attitude radiating through the room, delighting Rose.
Then, Juleka started giggling, and for a brief moment, Lance genuinely wondered if his old friend had been body-swapped that morning. "I can't believe we're in the same class!"
Yet, her cheeriness was profusely infectious, and he couldn't help but let out a few, warm chuckles of his own.
"Me neither! I don't think we've been in the same one since l'Ecole Primaire."
Before the two could continue their chatter, Ms. Bustier began signaling for the class to resume, much to the annoyance of Juleka, who, after promising to meet up afterward, begrudgingly returned to her seat.
"Hey!" A voice from behind called out to him. "Gotta free spot here if you still need one."
His focus turned to find the speaker, a red-haired girl with gleaming blue eyes, two rows below him. Her slim figure was leaning by its side against the desk while her head lazily rested on her closed hand. Her gaze was relaxed yet expectant, clearly awaiting an answer.
"OH! Yeah, thanks. I'll take you up on that," He said as he hastily climbed down to his new seat and began grabbing his books from his backpack, his mind still processing everything that had happened in the last minute.
"Besides, something told me if I'd let you take any longer, the class would have been over already," Quipped his new deskmate, snickering as she flipped through her book.
He sighed in agreement. "The last thing I need right now is to start Lycée falling behind on classes, so…thanks again for the seat; my name's Lance, by the way, in case you somehow didn't hear Jules shouting it," he replied, slightly self-conscious at his friend's reaction.
"Call me Alix, and also..." She stopped on a page with a wry smile. "Don't sweat it with introductions. I'm pretty sure at least half the school knows your name now."
Shortly afterward, Ms. Bustier continued the lesson as the class settled for her.
The first part of class went by relatively quickly, with the focus being on historical writers, poets, and their lives; the problem arose when Ms. Bustier had them read and interpret two-hundred-year-old poems, poems that, for Lance, made the French he had been battling to learn in the past seven years look like child's play.
The confusion on his face must have been apparent, seeing how Alix was quick to enquire about it:
"Victor Hugo tearing you a new one?" She whispered, trying not to alert their teacher.
"A bit," Lance answered, clearly confused." The French here isn't too different from the current one as to be indecipherable, but it IS different enough to give me a brain aneurysm every time I try to read it," he added, his puzzled face hinting at the truth of his statement.
Alix's curiosity had gotten the better of her like usual, even if it was just a tiny chance she had to ask.
"Hey, I noticed your accent when you talked with Jule. Are you an…?"
"American," A bitter taste formed in his mouth. "Yeah, I guess so, but I'm half French, and I've been here for a good while."
"Man, that's so cool! I've always wanted to visit the US but haven't gotten the chance yet!"
Listening to this, Lance's expression faltered, his focus back to the poems, brows furrowed in a mixture of concentration and frustration.
Noticing the change in his mood, Alix felt a twinge of guilt well up in her chest for imposing the question. Seeing he was still struggling to decipher the poems, she called for him again:
"Lance."
Lance turned his head to face her, his scrunched-up look shifting from one trying to maintain his focus to one filled with curiosity and light annoyance. "Yeah?"
"I'd be down to help with the poems if you'd still like; my dad's got a crap ton of novels coming in every day from around the world for his work, so older languages are a cake-walk for me!" She explained.
"…I–"
"But, if you still feel like kicking my ass for getting on your business… I get it," She playfully added.
Lance's jaw dropped open in shock, the comment throwing his heated mood for a loop.
"What–No! Of course not!" He assured her, moving his book back to the middle of the desk in a hurry.
"Great!"
Soon enough, they began examining the texts.
After what seemed like countless hours of studying antique French literature, the bell for lunchtime finally rang.
When Ms. Bustier dismissed the class, Kim and Max rushed from their desk towards the door, presumably wanting to reach the cafeteria before the good seats were taken.
Most of the class, focused on their ongoing talks with their deskmates or on their phones, followed suit, leaving Alix, Lance, Rose, and Juleka in the room, still packing up their stuff.
As he was putting on his backpack, Lance noticed a pair of roller skates resting on Alix's side of the desk.
"You know, I might get a pair of those soon. It would definitely help me get here faster."
Alix, absentmindedly storing her books, perked up at Lance's comment. "You totally should!" she said, entranced at the promise of someone wanting to join her hobby. "I know a store close by that is having a sale on their older models, and they're dirt cheap!"
"Wait. You know that?" he asked, slightly intrigued about her in-depth knowledge of roller skate sales.
"Of course I do, "she responded drily. "I am the proud leader of my roller derby team, so I gotta keep a lookout whenever new gear hits the shelves!"
Almost done packing, Alix tilted her head towards him, expecting Lance to already be by the door; however, she noticed he hadn't moved yet; instead, he was expecting her to continue, which she gladly did. "We go on small tourneys from time to time and have won a couple. A new one's going to be held close to the Louvre , where my dad works, two weeks from now."
"Hold up a second, the Louvre ?" questioned Lance, dumbfounded by what she had just casually mentioned. "My grandmother took me there years ago to see the Roman exhibit, and I remember finding it super fun! I can't imagine what working there must feel like for someone fond of all that ancient stuff."
"Yeah, my old man loves his job." A small smile appeared on her face at the mention of her dad and his work. "Plus, sometimes he lets me help him restore old paintings, which is cool as hell, but I still prefergraffitiing over it."
As Alix started talking about the time Mr. Monlataing caught her sneaking into the art room during after-school hours, the two made their way to the cafeteria on the top floor, with Rose and Juleka following behind, seemingly amused by their conversation or simply them …
When they arrived at the cafeteria, they saw dozens of students standing in the slow-moving lunch line, waiting for the cooks to finish a new batch of roast beef.
It seemed the extra time they had taken to chat was beginning to bite back at them, as most tables were already occupied by the first wave of students, like Max and Kim. Those that weren't completely full, didn't have enough empty seats for the four of them.
Luckily, a hand from the corner of the room waved at them, signaling them to come closer.
As the group approached the table, they realized that the hand belonged to one of their classmates, Kim, who held a smug expression, apparently having already expected the problem his classmates were facing.
"Here, four seats for the four ladies." He said, motioning to the empty spaces beside him as his sly grin grew.
Rose tilted her head in confusion. "But Kim, we're four, and there are only three girls here; if you're saving up a spot for another one, we will need to find another table," replied a dejected Rose innocently, not catching the meaning of his harsh words.
"Just ignore it for now; I'll explain it to you later," said Juleka, who had already sat down with the others, gesturing for Rose to do the same.
"So, new guy," Kim said with a playful tone. " I'm wondering, where do you know our Juleka from to get her to react like that at you showing up? Usually, I can't even get a full sentence out of her."
Juleka scoffed at this, switched her gaze to her food tray, and started eating quietly.
Noticing his friend's change in demeanor, Lance was quick to retort:
"Maybe because she doesn't see you as someone worth talking to." he said with a challenging look; his temper suddenly worsened."Have you thought of that yet?"
The entire table froze at Lance's remark, not expecting such a heated reply to Kim's observation.
Kim raised his hands as if to yield his previous statement, showing a hint of guilt.
"My bad, dude. I was just curious, that's all."
A stifling hush soon filled the table, the tension permeating it strong enough that it seemed it would last the entire lunch period, that was, until Alix broke it, confident she could lighten the people's moods.
"Hey Lance, before we got here, I told you about my team and the graffiti art, but I forgot to ask what you did for fun."
When Lance's surly gaze met Alix's jovial one, he didn't have the heart to mistreat someone who, up until now, had been nothing but helpful; changing his expression to a more pleasant one, he answered:
"Can't say it's as interesting as working at the Louvre , but… I usually go to Jules and Luka's house to play a song or just to needle them."
Juleka giggled at that.
"I also go to the gym to keep in shape, but I haven't been back in a while; aside from that, I tend to stay home and keep myself busy by listening to MBS or ZR, stuff like that."
"Red Order's will always be my go-to, but I've listened to ZR a couple of times and their music rocks!" Replied Alix, secretly happy that her plan had worked.
"I still remember him telling Luka he didn't care much for rock music when they first started playing together," Juleka casually announced, reminiscing about their shared past. "My brother.." She looked to the group now fixated on her"...spent most of the summer break reviewing the catalog of rock bands and all the sub-genres he knew to find one Lance would enjoy."
Lance threw his head back as his cheeks tinged a light pink. "C'mon, Jules, not this story."
"Ooh, now I really wanna know. C'mon, Jule, spill it!" replied Alix.
"I will, I will, don't worry," she responded, barely holding in her mirth. "So one day, we three were at a cafe in the middle of the city, and suddenly, rock music started playing from a woman's phone on the to-go counter."
"It was nothing special, just different, that's all," he assured the others.
Not that anyone believed him.
"When Lance heard it, he completely zoned out of his conversation with my brother and started moving with the song's beat. Like shaking his head back and forth."
Aaaand there goes my dignity.
Alix tried to suppress her chuckling to no success.
"When Luka saw his reaction, he wanted to get the band's name the song belonged to. And so he ran to the woman… that was going down the street on her roller skates."
"I like the story already!" Quipped Alix.
Of course.
"Please tell me he caught up to her!" Begged Rose, literally hanging off the edge of her seat.
Worse.
"Even. Better. My brother rode his bike to reach her, but since he didn't notice her stopping to use her phone, he had to drift away and ended up crashing into a fruit stand nearby! Luka, covered in fruit pieces, got yelled at by the owner and had to pay for all of them!"
Everyone at the table, even Max, who was in the far corner removed from the conversation, erupted in fits of laughter.
It took your sister less than a day since I got here to give you a reputation…on the bright side, they all forgot about the zoned-out part, so we can say you took this one for the team.
"Anyways, in the end, he found out the band's name was Zombie Revolution, and Lance has been listening to them since then."
"Luka." Lance struggled to word his thoughts."Luka is probably the most selfless person I've met. I'm glad we crossed paths when we did."
After some more idle chatter, the conversation turned into music, sports, and finally into a bragging match between Lance and Kim, much to the amusement of the rest, glad they had moved past their earlier dispute.
"Listen, Kim, no offense, but I'm pretty sure, even after my recent hiatus, I am faster than you without a shadow of a doubt."
"Hmm..would you say you'd bet on it?" Replied Kim mischievously.
As if planned, the tables in earshot of the conversation all sighed in unison, knowing nothing good could come from one of his dares.
"Depends," answered Lance, nearly done with his food. "What are we betting on?"
Kim's smile grew at hearing the interest in his voice. "Thursday at PE, whichever one of us can do ten laps the fastest has to pay for the other's swim classes for three weeks!"
Did…Did he say swim cla—
"Wait a minute!" exclaimed Alix interrupting Lance's thoughts as she stared at Kim with accusing eyes. "Lance never told us he swam, or did you just assume he did for the sake of the bet?
"Oh, you know…a guy like him absolutely has swimming classes in Bastien's five-star gym with Olympic-size swimming pools and pro-level private instructors." He replied, quickly muttering the last part under his breath.
What does he mean by a guy li—
"WHAT!" she leaned over the table, her fill of Kim's BS over the recommended daily amount. "Since when do you go to the most expensive gym in France?
I don't think I should be enjoying this, but…
Unfortunately for Alix, the bell for the afternoon classes rang before she could continue her interrogation, causing the students in the cafeteria to rush into their classrooms.
After a couple of failed experiments in the science lab with Ms. Meindeleiv, the first school day was over, and the students had earned some reprieve until tomorrow.
Making their way out of the school, Lance, Alix, Rose, and Juleka said their goodbyes, with the two old friends walking back home together and the other two, members of the school's football club, going to Le Parc des Princes with Mr. D'Argencourt.
Noticing a resting smile on Juleka's face as they walked together, Lance decided to inquire about it, hoping to learn what had brought it on.
"Someone was awfully cheery today, did a new album release for one of your bands?"
"Nah, they haven't made anything new in months."
"Hmm, is Luka moving out?" He said playfully, a smirk forming on his face
"God, I wish." she giggled. "But no, I'm afraid I'll be stuck with him on that boat for a couple more years."
"Then what's the cause?"
"What cause?" she echoed.
"What is making you smile so much?" He stopped walking and turned to face her, realizing what he'd just said. "Not that it's a bad thing! I–you're not usually this happy, at least not outwardly. Most of the time, you have that resting witch face."
Juleka gave him a blank stare.
"Yeah, that one," he said with a mischievous grin that turned more serious when he realized she wasn't in the mood. "Really, I'm happy for you. I just want to know what had you smiling like this today. Maybe I can learn a thing or two from it for later."
Juleka put one of her hands on his shoulder. "Lance, are you serious? It's you, dummy, or have you forgotten already how I freaked out this morning when I saw you in class."
He gave her a questioning gaze.
"Yeah, I didn't get that part as well; I go to your guys' place about five times a week; I practically live there now. We see each other all the time, no?"
"That's not the point; sure, we see each other a lot outside of school, but it's different like this, you know? I get that I have a 'resting witch face' as you said, most of the time, but I always enjoy it when you come over, even if I don't show it."
She releases his shoulder in favor of looking at her hands, fiddling them to calm her slight nerves.
"It seems weird, but when you visit, it's like... it's like you're the wind in our sails, as cheesy as that sounds. It's never dull when you're over, and now that we're back together in the same class, I'm happy because of it."
She looked back at him a little defiantly, with an air of determination and courage.
"So get used to it since you'll be seeing this face for a while!"
In his mind, Lance was elated to hear this; knowing his presence had played a part in Juleka's happiness meant more than she could ever know. At the same time, he was at a loss for words, still processing everything he'd been told; He wasn't sure how to respond to such a heartfelt speech, but he would try:
"Jules, I-"
Before Lance could finish his sentence, suddenly, a big figure stepped between them, turning their back to Lance, ignoring his existence and blocking him from his close friend.
"Hey there, cutie." The stranger said as he began closing the distance between him and Juleka.
"What's a delicacy like you doing hanging out with this dork? What do you say you come along with me" His devilish smile rose as he spoke," I promise I can show you a real good time." He said, winking at her, trying to charm her with whatever charm he thought he had.
"I..uh-" Before Juleka could think of a reply, the man reached out his hand to snatch her by the arm, supposedly to take her with him. His grip, too tight, caused her to wince in pain. "Can't speak? Yeah, I tend to have that effect on ladies but don't worry, I don't care about chatterboxes."
Seeing this, Lance instinctively clenched his fists and grabbed him by the other arm before it reached Juleka's, causing him to turn and them to face each other, as his firm grip caught the scum off guard...
"HANDS OFF, string bean, less you want a free trip to the ER." He spurted out with a voice taut with anger as he moved his posture to tower over Lance.
Getting a better look at him, Lance saw the guy was several years older than them, which made the fact he was harassing Juleka the more creepy. Despite his age and larger stature, he held his grip strong on him.
What the hell does he think he's doing? There is catcalling which is already despicable AF, but somehow this freak found a way to upstage even that! Does he really think he can swoop up school girls in the middle of the street without a problem? What a pig.
"What kind of sicko do you have to be to prey around the streets for girls clearly younger than you!" Lance shouted, his demeanor growing worse by the second.
People walking around the street simply hurried past them, guessing this to be nothing but a juvenile dispute or paying it no attention in the first place, assuming they would resolve it eventually.
The man continued trying to break Lance's hold on him, only to find he couldn't, both becoming increasingly heated.
"Didn't your mother ever teach you about minding your own business? Can't you see she wants this? Why would she be dressed like that otherwise?"
A loud gasp emanated from Juleka.
Lance immediately let go of his grip on him.
"That's what I thought, coward." he turned to face the quivering girl."Now, where were we? Let's get-"
The man was cut off as he felt two hands, Lance's hands, tightened on his shoulders, only for them to loosen shortly after. As a powerful kick impacted his body, he felt a sharp, excruciating pain between his legs.
Quickly following the third strike, the creep finally fell on his side, doubling over in pain.
Thinking quickly, after sparing a moment to cool off, Lance took Juleka by the hand and ran with her.
Eventually, as they had made some distance, the tired duo slowed down close to Lance's apartment and sat on a street bench nearby.
"Are you all right?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder, attempting to comfort her.
At first, she flinched when she felt it but forced herself to remain calm, not wishing Lance to worry. Her rattled nerves gradually subsided.
"I think I still need some time, but…I believe I'm over most of it."
Though made in good faith to dissuade her friend's worries, her reassurances were not genuine, which was something Lance couldn't dismiss.
"Please, let me take you home. Tomorrow you and your mom should file a police report on what happened and do not leave out any detail, no matter how small it is."
He took a deep breath, his heart still ramming against his ribcage.
"The more you give the cops to work with, the faster they'll be able to track down that bastard."
Juleka's gaze was directed to the pavement.
Her mind kept bringing up that horrible experience no matter how often she tried to deviate her thoughts from it. It was almost as if she was reliving it on an endless loop, never to break away from the horrible cycle.
"Please, look at me," he pleaded.
Her eyes had gone blood red from crying, the eyeshadow that once completed the look she fell in love with running down her cheeks.
"You're safe now. I promised your brother to look out for you when he's not around, and you know I don't take things like that lightly. If you want to talk about what happened, I'm here for you, if not, that's fine too. Whenever you're ready, I will take you home." He sighed to calm himself. "I just want to make sure you're safe."
An old man of small stature slowly but surely walked up to the two youngsters. He had a soft smile and kind eyes, making him less threatening, not that the red Hawaiian shirt didn't already do that.
As he approached, the man extended his arm to Juleka; a small black and purple purse was in his hand.
"Excuse me, young miss. I believe you dropped this back there."
"Yes…thank you, sir."
"Not a problem…and I'm sorry you had to go through that. That man was a no-good heinous monster, trying to exploit you. Are you okay?"
She answered yes, thanks to her friend.
The elderly man turned his head to Lance.
"You young man did a good thing standing up to him. You protected your friend against a formidable fiend."
Lance replied that he'd only done what anyone else would or should have done.
The old man smiled at that. At the same time, the bag he was carrying quivered a bit.
"I find that carrying a good heart and a will to protect the heart of others to be a defining quality of a person destined for great things."
His expression turned less pleasant as he began reminiscing.
"Unfortunately, this world is perpetually in short supply of these people."
Shortly afterward, the kind man excused himself, leaving the pair to quietly deal with their disturbing memories.
Glancing at him, Juleka saw his sullen mood, presumably from mulling over the creep's words.
"Lance…What he said about your mom–"
"Don't worry about that."
"It wasn't right!"
Lance frowned in response. "None of what he said or did was."
A comfortable silence set in as the two sat together to soothe the other's emotional state. It allowed Juleka to focus on her breathing and clear her headspace.
"Lance."
Lance, who had been slowly falling asleep due to the quiet of the afternoon streets and the warm sun, its rays wrapping him in a blanket of warmth, jumped back awake at the mention of his name.
"Yes, Jules? He said, slightly groggy.
"I'm better now," she responded with a positive tone, a small smile returning to her.
"Alright then," he stood up, putting his backpack on. "Let's bring this princess of darkness back to her castle" A cheerful smirk rose on his face.
Noticing the playful tone in Lance's voice, Juleka happily played along.
"I don't wish to keep this Knight of mine from his place of stay any longer; henceforth, I called upon a carriage to take me back to my water palace."
"What?"
Juleka giggled at his confusion.
"A taxi; I called a taxi to take me home."
"Oh…In that case, I shall take my leave after your transport arrives and your Highness is safely on board, that is, if MaDemoiselle promises to send a messenger pigeon to inform me of her arrival."
She rolled her eyes, trying and failing to look annoyed. "Very well, my dear knight."
Soon after reaching home, his phone started buzzing with tons of notifications from the class's group chat, which Juleka added him to, mentioning a "monster" currently running rampant on the city's west side, laying waste to everything in its path.
The images sent through the app of said monstrosity looked a tad too real for comfort.
I swear to God, if this is some kind of elaborate prank I'm not a part of….
Entering his room, he turned on the TV, and sure enough, reports of a "thing?" going around Paris calling itself Stoneheart appeared in practically every news network.
Not wishing to dwell on the bombshell of supervillains jumping out of comic book pages, he quickly turned off the feed.
Lance began pacing around the room to try to make sense of it all.
So on my first day of Lycée, I find out Jules is in the same class as me, I almost accept a bet from a dude I wanted to punch in the face not even ten minutes beforehand, I mixed the wrong chemicals during chem class, which started a fire in the science lab, kicked a twenty-something year old in the balls, and now a rock giant is roaming the streets, and a black box is in my bed!
(…)
Wait, what was that last part?
Snapping back to reality, Lance saw a small black box resting on his bed with red symbols on it. He didn't remember having anything like this. "Maybe Grand-mère got it for me as a gift?"
Approaching the mysterious item, he carefully grabbed and brought it closer to him before opening it.
