"Psst... Psst.."
I was ignoring Rowan, and he was probably too dumb to understand. And if he would tap my shoulders one more time to grab my attention, I could definitely break out and fling him out the classroom wall.
I meant that literally.
"Ren." He called quietly, whispering like someone who was trying to keep a low profile and yet still failing at it. Then he called again. "Ren."
"I already told you, Rowan." I turned to him, my voice solid with aggression. "I'm not gonna teach you how to fight."
Of course, he must've thought I was some windmill that wasn't static with my decisions. But in fact, I was. My reason? I wasn't ready to involve him in some accidental arc he wouldn't be able to get out of.
Before I got the system, I thought that being stronger would keep me away from trouble. Turns out that it only became a trouble GPS tracking device. I had always had a reason to fight every day, or a reason to meet someone who wanted to fight me—
"Where's Ren Mora?"
Great. The tracking device's still on.
A bunch of students walked into class A-3, dressed in dark blue school uniforms— and looks that literally came here to kill. East High students. Five guys. And leading them in— walking like he literally owned the place was a guy with ginger colored hair, reddish-brown eyes, seething with absolute rage and despise.
"Julian Redgrave?" The moment my classmates saw him, their jaws dropped.
I didn't recognise this gingerbread man look, but I recognised the name Julian Redgrave. He was the King of East High, one of Silvic's former high rivals. Then Zael showed up as the new King of Silvic High and settled a decade-long draw match within three minutes.
But then again, what was he doing here? It took guts to act out of patience and make an irrational decision. But it was a total risk for five students from East High to walk into Silvic High like it was their domain. If the Order found them, they were not leaving here the same.
"You're Ren Mora, aren't you?" Julian stopped right at my desk. I registered a faint glow in his eyes as he spoke. "You're the one who hurt my Ace."
Honestly, I wanted to explain to him that his oh so responsible 'Ace' had started the fight, kidnapping Rowan and ambushing me at the point of actual death. But I figured he'd come all the way here with one purpose. Revenge. And it wouldn't matter what I say at that point. He'd probably remain hellbent.
"I'm asking you a question." He said, as if gathering all the last bit of patience in him. "Were you the one who hurt Sancho?"
"Well...you see," Rowan spoke up. "This is all a misunderstanding. He was only trying to help me—"
"So?" My eyes remained on Julian. "What if I did? What are you gonna do about it?"
Julian's expression folded into a slight frown. Apparently, he was doing just well showing his anger in his eyes, and if he was frowning, then I was definitely pushing him to the brink.
I thought he'd try to play one more patience test with me. Maybe practice something sophisticated as the King of a whole school. But he just grabbed my collar and flung me off effortlessly.
It happened within a second. I was floating midair at first, and then crashing into the wall at the far end of the class, making an open hole in the debris. Seeing this, my classmates panicked, rushing out of the class to watch from the window—well, everyone except Rowan.
"This is crazy, why is a high tier after the cripple?"
"I don't know, but he's dead now."
"I should make a video of this. Epic!"
I stood weakly, dusting debris off my hair. I moved my back to check if I could still feel it. There was a little ache here and there, but thankfully, my spine wasn't broken.
"Apologise." Julian and the rest of his cohorts began moving closer towards me. "Apologise for doing that to Sancho, then I won't hurt you too much."
Apologize? I laughed. The kind of laugh that escalated quickly from subtle to completely maniacal and uncontrollable.
"I'd rather you kick my ass until I'm one step closer to death," I said, matter-of-factly. "But trust me, I stopped making actions worth apologising for a long time ago. I'm a free guy. I pretty much do things unapologetically."
Julian snickered. "How long do you think you can hold on to that idea?" He asked, hands in pocket. "You won't last long if I took you on myself—"
"Now, now. Don't be like that Julian."
Riven walked in casually, a small smile over his moving jaw. I recognised him. The mint-tinted hair guy who so loved to flaunt his title as the Ace of Silvic High. He wasn't as egoistic as the rest of the Order, he was just— out of the shell of being reserved. Also, he loved to flirt.
"Don't you think you're on the far side?" Riven asked, obviously chewing a piece of gum. "Coming into our school, and yet still threatening our cripple. That's a lot of boldness."
"I don't have businesses with you, Riven," Julian said loudly, swatting Riven off like he was supposed to be a bug. Then he turned back to me. "I came here for this guy."
Riven sighed in exasperation. "How can you be a king and still go against protocols?" Then he raised his neck halfway up. "You know personal grudges are meant to be settled outside the premises. Do you want a beating? Huh?"
The moment he said that, Julian's cohorts defensively cooped his behind, grazing their fists, eyes locked brutally onto Riven. But then again, I wasn't sure they believed themselves that they could win the fight. That's why they probably stayed in one place like defending pillars, refusing to go for the attack.
"Man, just forget about this." Riven sighed again. "The last thing I want is a bunch of East High students breaking my no-violence streak." His eyes found Julian. "How about you make this after school? Don't worry, I won't tell King that you guys dropped by."
Maybe Julian hadn't been thinking, or maybe he had initially just assumed that Zael hadn't returned yet. But at Riven's last statement, his anger diluted into sudden calmness. I saw the frown lines disappear from his face, but the hate in his eyes was still very evident.
"I'll find you after school, Ren Mora." He said, probably in his best attempt to lay a threat. "You and your blonde hair friend." He casually pointed to Rowan. "Don't assume your luck would work twice, okay?"
Then he turned, eyes locked intensely with Riven's as he passed by him, leaving the hallway with his escorts. Then, with one last glance of amusement, Riven also walked out.
Then the noises began. Consistent murmurings of class A-3 students as they walked back into the class. Of course, they'd just watched an almost epic fight and had gotten a brutal suspense along the way. It was worth the noise this time. At this point, they were probably going to tail behind my back after school just to watch the fight happen.
Scratch probably, they definitely would.
My eyes met Rowan's. And he had that expression on his face that interpreted into something familiar. Fear. Uncertainty. This was the exact reason why I didn't want to teach him how to fight. But either way, he'd already casually walked into trouble with just a sentence.
Aw man.
I wanted to approach him and probably get his head in line with the situation before him. But just then, he ran out of the class, storming out of the hallway in panic mode.
He's going to do something reckless, isn't he?
I followed him immediately, which was something I didn't see myself doing on a Tuesday last week. If anything, I hadn't thought I'd be walking into an abandoned warehouse to rescue a random dude, let alone trying to save him a second time.
When I walked out into the open, I saw Rowan already on his knees, a few metres away from Julian. The fuck?
"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" I gripped his shoulder but he just pushed me off. "Hey!"
"You didn't want to teach me how to fight anyway." He said, his voice inaudible to Julian. "If you can't teach me just that, then I'll just have to figure this out myself." He turned his head away from me and focused back on Julian, who was still waiting. "I apologise on behalf of Ren and me. Please spare us, we didn't mean to hurt Sancho."
For a second there, I saw the Rowan I'd always seen ever since I knew him. The Rowan who stopped down to bullies just to get out of trouble. The Rowan who never hesitated to go on his knees to submit his apologies. And just looking at him there sparked something strong in me...
I didn't register when I walked up to him, grabbing his collar to punch him in the face. WHACK! He went down immediately, body rubbing dirt.
"You fool—!"