"Ugh..."

For some reason, the food in front of him just didn’t look appetizing.

It wasn’t as if anything was wrong with it. The steak looked fine, decent, even, and the sides were arranged in a way that probably took effort. But still, something about it made his stomach turn slightly.

Most likely, Blake was just feeling too full. Even though he hadn’t eaten anything.

That didn’t make much sense, but then again, his appetite hasn’t really been consistent since his incident . Even at home, he didn’t eat much, yet he always finished whatever was on his plate out of habit more than hunger.

’I feel like I might throw up if I eat this...’

He nudged the food around with his fork, absentmindedly dragging it across the plate. It made him feel like a kid again, poking at something he didn’t want to eat, buying time.

To be fair, he was deciding what to eat first.

He still had to take his medicine, after all.

"Blake, what is it? Not hungry?"

Anthony’s voice broke through his thoughts. The other boy wasn’t eating much either, though that wasn’t unusual. Anthony wasn’t exactly a big eater.

"Eh, to be honest, I feel like my stomach would just refuse anything right now."

"You shouldn’t force yourself," Asher chimed in, pausing for a second before adding, "but you should at least eat the steak. That gives you energy."

He, on the other hand, didn’t even pause between bites.

Well, a hero needs to eat as much as possible to keep his good performance against villains and, then, save people.

"Yeah, he’s right," Anthony said, now halfway through his meal. "At least eat that."

Blake glanced between them, then back at his plate.

"Yup, you’re right. I’ll just eat that."

Myles didn’t say much, as usual. Compared to the other two, he was, needless to say, average. Not eating too much, not too little, just quietly going through his meal without much fuss.

Blake cut into the steak, hesitating for a moment before finally bringing a piece to his mouth.

He chewed slowly.

’Eh... as mediocre as expected.’

He swallowed.

’Seriously, one thing that’ll never change across worlds is how school food stays mediocre.’

Even so, he kept going, since it wasn’t like he had much of a choice.

By the time he was nearing the end, it already felt like a small victory. Finishing a simple steak shouldn’t have been an accomplishment, but here he was.

His left cheek felt sticky.

’Tissue, tissue...’

"Here."

Myles, without looking up, held one out.

Blake smiled, then took it.

"Oh, thanks."

It was such a small thing, but somehow, it made the moment feel lighter.

Maybe things weren’t so bad after all.

***

Time passed quicker than expected.

Classes came and went and, before Blake even realized it, the final bell rang, echoing through the halls.

The school day was over.

Myles was the first to get up.

Blake followed shortly after, pushing his chair back as he stood.

"Guess this is where we split," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Kinda sucks I can’t get on the bus with you."

Myles paused for a second, looking at him.

"Yeah."

There wasn’t even the faintest hint of disappointment in his voice, of course.

"You shouldn’t be sad about that," he added quickly, a smile forming. "It’s not like we won’t see each other tomorrow."

Myles stared at him for a moment longer, then gave a small nod.

"Right."

With that, he turned and headed toward the exit with the rest of the students.

"Bye," he said simply, lifting a hand in a brief wave.

Was he or was he not admitting that he was feeling sad over it?

"Yeah, bye."

Blake watched him disappear into the crowd before stretching his arms above his head.

"Man..."

"How are you?" Anthony’s voice came from beside him.

Blake glanced over.

"Oh? You’re here! I’m fine, thanks."

"Are you sure you don’t want to go home? You look like you’re about to collapse after a full day of nothing."

"Hey, I’m fine," Blake replied, laughing. "So don’t insult me like that."

Anthony sighed lightly.

"I only guided Asher a little today, by the way," he said, changing the subject. "Just the important places. Cafeteria, bathrooms, that kind of stuff."

"Figures," Blake replied. "Thanks, I’ll show him the interesting parts, don’t worry, he’s in good hands."

"Thanks!"

Blake stretched once more before turning toward the hallway.

"Well, guess I’ll take over from here."

Anthony waved.

"See you tomorrow!"

With that, Blake headed off, making his way through the corridors.

It didn’t take long before he spotted Asher.

Or rather, ran into him.

"Oh."

They both paused for a second.

Blake lifted his hand, giving a small wave.

"Hey."

He was feeling a slight pressure on his shoulder. After all, he was supposed to be the hero’s guide.

Asher waved back almost immediately.

"Hi. Don’t push yourself too much, okay? Tell me when you’re tired."

Blake blinked.

Then he laughed lightly, stepping closer and giving him a quick pat on the back.

"I won’t get tired. Don’t worry."

There was no point overthinking it.

"Anyway," Blake continued, glancing down the hallway, "this school’s pretty big. Especially considering it’s the only one in Alendrei City."

Asher nodded slightly.

"Yeah, I know."

"So," Blake said, turning back to him, "let’s start with something interesting."

He paused for just a second.

"The library."

Of course, this was planned.

If he wanted to get closer to Asher, he needed something in common, or at least something that looked like it.

The library was perfect.

Asher’s expression brightened almost instantly.

"Oh, that sounds nice."

There it was: interest.

Blake smiled faintly.

"Yeah, it’s on the last floor. Come on."

They started walking together, heading toward the stairs. For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then Blake glanced over.

"So, have you made any friends yet? Excluding me and Myles."

He added the last part casually, even though it was a bit of a stretch. As far as he knew, Myles and Asher hadn’t even exchanged more than a few words.

Asher scratched the back of his head.

"Not really," he admitted. "It seems like... all the groups are already established, you know?"

Blake let out a small laugh.

"Yeah, I know."

He shrugged.

"Don’t worry about it. You’ve already got your own, anyway."

Asher nodded slowly.

"Right..."

A brief silence followed before Asher spoke again.

"How did you meet Anthony?"

Blake blinked.

"Hm?"

Then he thought about it for a second.

"Oh, that was kinda by chance," he said. "I was just walking home one day, and we ran into each other."

He left out the part where Anthony had been getting hit, since he felt like there was no need to bring something that personal up.

"Anthony’s a really great guy," Blake continued. "So it wasn’t hard to get along with him."

"I kind of expected Myles to be there too."

Blake let out a small laugh.

"Why?"

"Well..."

Asher hesitated.

Blake tilted his head slightly.

"Myles lives farther away from my house, you know," he added casually.

"Ah, yeah..."

Asher looked a little awkward all of a sudden, a small, almost nervous smile forming.

Blake raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, nothing..."

Asher waved it off quickly.

But then, he looked down.

"...Is it true?"

Blake frowned slightly.

"Is what true?"

Asher hesitated but then, quietly...

"That you confessed your love to Myles? Like... screaming it at the bus stop?"

Blake froze.

"Oh."

Right, that. He had kind of forgotten about it since with everything else going on, it just slipped his mind.

Asher immediately stepped back a little.

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to, I was just curious," he said quickly. "I heard it from other people, and I wasn’t trying to—"

Blake raised a hand, stopping him.

"It’s fine."

He sighed lightly.

"It’s not a big deal."

Well... it was a big deal, just not in the way people probably thought.

Blake rubbed the back of his neck.

"It’s true," he admitted. "I did confess to Myles."

Asher looked at him, curiosity clear in his expression.

"And...?"

Blake let out a small laugh.

"The answer’s a secret."

Which was technically true, since Myles had never acknowledged it or brought it up. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

It was like it had never happened.

Asher nodded slowly.

"I see."

There was a faint blush on his face.

Blake pretended not to notice.

By then, they had reached the library.

Blake pushed the door open.

The quiet atmosphere greeted them instantly.

He had only been there a few times before, mostly when teachers brought the class, but everything felt strangely familiar, comforting, even.

Blake stepped inside, glancing around.

Shelves upon shelves of books. Soft light filtering through the windows. A calm, almost nostalgic feeling settled in his chest.

’...What is this?’

He couldn’t quite place it.

But for some reason, he felt at ease.

And that, more than anything else, lingered as the moment quietly faded.