"Tomorrow, after school... can you come over again?"

Myles turned his head toward him, already picking up his backpack.

"Yeah. I will."

He walked over to the bed, reaching out to fix a stray lock of Blake’s hair without much thought.

"Don’t slack off. Drink properly. And don’t forget to eat."

"Eh, I won’t..."

There wasn’t much conviction behind it, but still, it’s not like he could avoid doing basic human things just to survive.

"Blake."

"What?"

"Call me if you’re feeling too sick."

A smile tugged at Blake’s lips, but he forced it down. At least, he thought he managed to.

"Yup. Will do."

Myles gave a small nod, then turned and walked out.

The door clicked shut.

And just like that, the apartment fell quiet again.

Blake let out a slow breath, sinking deeper into the pillows.

’...crazy.’

Showing up uninvited, groceries in hand. Cleaning his place like it was second nature. Taking care of him like it wasn’t even a big deal.

Somewhere along the way, things had truly shifted.

They were just so much closer now.

And yet...

Blake frowned slightly, staring at the ceiling.

He didn’t feel completely at ease about it.

’I ended up on the receiving side, instead of the giving one. I mean, I guess it has to happen every once in a while, but still...’

That thought sat weirdly with him.

It felt like when someone comes over to your house and you just completely fail as a host. No snacks, no drinks, not even a decent place for them to sit. Everything messy, unprepared.

It was kind of rude.

Most especially, kind of embarrassing.

And now, somehow, he was the one being taken care of instead.

"Tch. Next time, I’ll be taking care of him, instead!"

Even with that uncomfortable feeling twisting in his chest, he couldn’t deny it.

He felt... a little giddy.

Blake turned his head slightly, staring at the now-closed door.

’He said he’ll come again tomorrow...’

That alone made something in his chest feel lighter.

Which was pretty annoying.

He huffed quietly.

Somewhere in all of that, he’d completely forgotten about the mission.

Not that he could’ve done anything anyway.

He could barely sit up straight without tipping over, let alone pull off anything remotely complicated.

’I mean... it’s not like he’d consider today a good memory. Me half-dead, practically collapsing on him...’

Blake groaned softly, dragging a hand over his face.

"Yeah, great impression."

That was also why he asked him to come again.

He didn’t even know if he’d feel better by tomorrow.

But if not, there was always the day after, or the one after that.

"...ugh. I’m bored."

Carefully, Blake pushed himself up, pausing for a second as his vision swayed slightly. Once it settled, he swung his legs off the bed and stood, moving slowly toward the stack of boxes near the wall.

They were still half-unpacked.

A mix of random things stuffed inside, books, games, old stuff he hadn’t sorted through properly.

He crouched down, opening one of them.

"Let’s see..."

His fingers brushed over a few covers, pushing things aside until one title caught his eye.

A Not So Typical Transmigration!

"Huh. Looks pretty lame."

Blake picked it up, turning it slightly in his hands.

The cover was dramatic.

Over-the-top, even.

"This looks ridiculous, jeez."

He paused, then shrugged.

"Whatever."

Making his way back to the bed, he dropped down carefully, settling into the pillows again before opening the book.

At first, he didn’t expect much.

Just something to pass the time.

Something to keep his mind busy so he wouldn’t focus on how awful he felt.

He flipped the first page.

Then the second.

Then the third.

"Okay, I think I’m getting the hang of this."

Blake blinked as he took a look at few more pages.

"Wait."

His eyes moved faster now, scanning through the lines.

The pacing was weirdly good.

The main character was...

"What kind of idiot is this."

But not in a bad way.

More like entertainingly reckless.

Blake shifted slightly, pulling the blanket up as he kept reading.

The plot twisted in ways he didn’t expect. The dialogue was sharp, occasionally dumb, but self-aware enough to make it work.

"...this is actually decent."

That alone was surprising.

Because this wasn’t even his usual thing.

Transmigration stories? Alternate worlds? Overpowered leads fumbling their way through situations?

He never really cared for that genre.

Or at least, that’s what he thought.

"Huh."

Blake let out a quiet breath, turning another page.

’Guess I do like it. The more you know.’

Time slipped by without him noticing.

The dull ache in his head faded into the background. The nausea, while still there, became manageable, easy enough to ignore when he was focused.

At some point, he shifted positions again, curling slightly into the blankets as he read.

He was completely absorbed, with no overthinking or complicated feelings.

"...what happens next?"

Another page.

And another.

And...

"...seriously?"

Blake let out a small laugh, immediately regretting it as his head throbbed slightly, but still, it was worth it.

Eventually, though, his eyes started to feel heavy.

Not from boredom.

From actual fatigue.

"...mm."

He let the book rest against his chest, staring at the ceiling for a moment.

Then reached over, grabbing the remote.

Click.

The TV flickered on.

At first, he didn’t really pay attention, just background noise.

Something to fill the silence.

His gaze drifted lazily across the screen, unfocused, until...

"Huh?"

Blake blinked, his eyes sharpening slightly.

The program was already running.

A figure stood at the center of the screen, framed dramatically, the lighting just right to make him look more imposing.

Trail-X.

Blake squinted.

"No way."

He pushed himself up slightly, ignoring the faint protest from his body.

He knew that suit.

That voice, too.

Even if it was altered, deeper and more controlled, it really did resemble Asher so much, now that he knew him in person.

"That’s him. He isn’t that good at hiding it. Just, he looks completely different."

The costume, the posture, the presence, it all came together in a way that made him almost unrecognizable.

Still, he acted like someone who actually belonged in that role. Of the virtuous hero.

Blake tilted his head slightly, studying him.

’That’s kind of insane...’

The camera shifted and, with it, the also setting changed to a more serious one.

Blake’s expression slowly stilled.

"Oh."

His brows drew together as he listened. This was am official statement regarding...

"The masked criminal."

Blake’s fingers tightened slightly around the blanket.

"...who infiltrated AOP..."

His stomach twisted faintly.

"And caused significant disruption..."

His expression flattened.

"...and injured staff members. Right."

There it was.

Him.

They were talking about him.

Blake let out a quiet breath, dragging a hand down his face.

Because of course they were.

What else did he expect?

A pat on the back?

The broadcast continued.

Trail-X, Asher, spoke with calm assurance.

The culprit would be caught.

Measures were already being taken.

There was no need for concern.

Everything was under control.

"Yeah, sure. They’re lying to you about me injuring anyone for fun, dude. You ain’t never gonna catch me if you get tricked like that." Blake muttered.

Still, his eyes stayed on the screen, on Asher.

To him, that masked intruder was just some criminal, not the guy he talked to yesterday.

Blake scratched the back of his head, exhaling slowly.

"This is a bit awkward."

More than awkward, honestly.

But still, logically speaking, he was fine.

No one had connected anything, and there was no evidence or reason for suspicion.

He was completely safe.

"Why does this feel kind of bad?"

He shifted slightly, pulling the blanket up.

It wasn’t guilt, not exactly.

He was simply uncomfortable.

Blake glanced back at the screen.

At the calm, confident expression behind the mask.

"...good luck with that," he muttered.

But then, another thought crept in.

Now that he was stuck here, sick and out of commission, things wouldn’t just stop, of course.

People would keep moving and interacting, without him.

"Myles..."

He frowned slightly.

"And Asher..."

They already knew each other.

And if Anthony wasn’t around...

"They might end up hanging out more."

Even without meaning to, even without planning it.

Just, naturally.

Blake’s grip on the blanket tightened slightly.

’That’s not great. But then again, Myles doesn’t trust people that easily, I know that best. Besides, he still doesn’t seem to like Asher.’

He exhaled slowly, closing his eyes for a moment.

Nothing had changed and he still had a role and still had a goal, being sick didn’t change that.

He opened one eye, glancing back at the screen.

Trail-X stood there, a bit more composed than the guy who was actually behind the mask, finishing his statement.

More confident, certain and completely unaware like a naive child.

Blake let out a quiet huff, sinking back into the pillow. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Man."

This was getting even more complicated than before.

And he had a feeling this was still only the beginning.