The classroom was silent during afternoon classes. Not just that, it's been way too quiet since this morning. And it's undoubtedly because of Aran and Kristina.
They returned with a type of vibe you'd expect from a relationship where you're close.
It's quite frankly, a strange thing to see considering the fact that they have never even spoken together in school before.
Until today.
But inside that pool of awkwardness and confusion was someone livid. Jena, a girl who's considered to be the top dog of the girl's group is visibly crumpling her notebook and chewing on her pen in frustration.
Kris really has the gall to talk to me like that...?
She just left the group and starts talking to that loser like it's nothing?!
He's blackmailing her, I know it!
________________________________________
---After School---
Aran was putting his books into his backpack before feeling someone tap his shoulder.
"Yo!"
Kristina said to him with a smile.
"Hey."
He replied, politely nodding his head.
"You heading out now? Can I tag along?"
"Sure! I hope you don't mind Elio coming along."
"Oh yeah... He's a little scary..."
"Oh no no, he's okay with you. He just gets nervous around new people. His eyes may be a little intimidating, but he's a nice guy."
"Well, if you say so. So, shall we?"
"Alright!"
Aran swung his bag over his shoulder, and the two stepped out into the hallways before going outside to bathe in the late afternoon sun.
The school gates were ahead, students walking out in pairs and groups, the usual after-school buzz in full effect.
Except, once again, all eyes seemed to follow them.
Kristina didn't react. She just walked beside him, hands behind her back, humming softly under her breath like nothing was out of the ordinary.
"…You're really not bothered by all this attention?" Aran asked.
Kristina tilted her head. "Hm... Well a certain someone influenced me not to cater to everyone around me, so..."
Aran blinked. "Hm? Who?"
She stared at him, deadpan. "Seriously?"
"What?"
Kristina sighed. "It's nothing."
She looked away, muttering something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like "so dense…"
As they got closer to the school gate, they saw someone familiar.
Leaning casually against the gatepost, Elio stood with his hands in his pockets and his usual unreadable expression — sharp gaze, posture relaxed, but somehow still managing to look like he'd just stepped out of a noir film.
That was until his face lit up when he saw Aran.
Aran raised a hand in greeting. "Yo!"
Elio's face softened immediately. The sharp lines in his brow faded, and a faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
"Hey," he said, his voice lighter than usual. "Took you long enough."
Kristina blinked beside Aran. She tilted her head, almost confused. That smile — that warmth — it wasn't the same guarded look he'd given her back on the rooftop.
"Whoa," she muttered, just loud enough for Aran to hear. "He can smile."
"Only for me," Aran replied with a smug grin.
Kristina snorted.
Elio glanced between the two of them and raised an eyebrow. "What?"
Aran snickered and patted him on the back. "I'm just messing with you. Anyways, Kristina wants to tag along. You okay with that?"
Elio looked at Kristina, who offered a small wave and a hopeful smile.
He didn't answer right away.
For a moment, his eyes narrowed slightly — not in anger, just cautious calculation, like he was running a silent background check on her soul.
Kristina stood her ground. Her smile didn't waver, but her fingers fidgeted slightly at her side.
"…I guess," Elio said at last, eyes drifting back to Aran. "If you're fine with it."
"Sounds good then! C'mon, let's get going."
________________________________________
Don't scare her, don't scare her!
Elio kept repeating the words like a mantra in his head, each step forward feeling more loaded than the last. He could feel Kristina occasionally glance at him, and every time she did, he looked straight ahead like she might explode if he made direct eye contact.
The three of them were walking in the city streets. Coincidentally, their way home aligned. The place where they will part ways is still a few blocks ahead.
Just relax.
No death glare. No weird silences. Be normal.
Or… Elio's version of normal, which mostly meant keeping his mouth shut and looking vaguely like he was trying to solve a murder mystery in his head.
The truth of his cold behavior is that he doesn't want to alarm Kristina and potentially upset Aran.
They just started to get along, so don't mess this up for your buddy!
He took a breath and tried to adjust his face into something… less intense. Not a smile — that'd be weird. Just… a neutral expression.
Which, unfortunately, only made him look more like a hitman walking a civilian.
Beside him, Kristina peeked up. "Sooo… Elio, right?"
He nodded once.
"You've been friends with Aran for how long?"
Another nod.
Kristina looked at him silently.
Before Aran could step in to speak for Elio, he muttered something quietly.
"A month now..."
Aran was a bit surprised
"You've been friends with Aran for how long?" Kristina asked, glancing at Elio.
He gave a small nod, unsure how much to say.
Before Aran could step in to answer for him — as he often did — Elio spoke up, his voice low.
"A month now…"
Aran turned slightly.
Kristina studied him for a moment. "That's it? You two seem… closer."
Elio didn't look at her. His gaze stayed forward, steady. "...I think that... Time doesn't really matter that much when you get along so well."
He looked down with a gentle smile.
That answer caught Kristina off guard. She blinked, visibly thrown for a moment by how sincere he was.
Aran rubbed the back of his neck, clearly embarrassed. "Hey, don't say stuff like that so suddenly, dude..."
"Oh, sorry..."
Elio said before Kristina started giggling.
"I see... Yeah, I can see it."
"Oh, sorry…" Elio mumbled, suddenly avoiding both their gazes.
Kristina stifled a giggle, but it slipped out anyway — light and honest.
"I see… Yeah, I can see it," she said, smiling as she looked between the two.
Aran squinted at her. "See what?"
She shrugged playfully. "You two just have that vibe. Like you've been through some stuff together."
Elio glanced at Aran briefly, then looked away again.
"Ahaha... Maybe..."
Well, if you count fighting against a criminal organization...
Aran thought to himself, forcing a small smile to keep the silence from stretching.
Elio gave him a quick side glance, almost like he could hear the thought too — like he remembered just as clearly.
Kristina, none the wiser, tilted her head at their expressions "What?"
"Nothing!" Aran said a bit too quickly. "Just… an inside joke."
Kristina raised an eyebrow, unconvinced but amused. "Uh-huh. You two are a little strange..."
"We prefer the term mysteriously cool," Aran quipped.
Elio's ears perked up.
"Like one of those heroes you see on TV," he said, surprisingly earnest.
Aran snapped his fingers. "Exactly!"
Elio nodded, his tone still matter-of-fact. "Mhm. Especially with those spy gadgets that you make!"
Kristina blinked. "Eh? You what now?"
Aran panicked and lunged for Elio's mouth, but thanks to the height difference, he only managed to grab the collar of his shirt.
"Shush!!!"
Elio blinked down at him, startled. "Oh— Sorry! Was I not supposed to say that?"
"...Spy... gadgets...?" Kristina repeated, her eyes narrowing in amused suspicion.
Aran let out a nervous laugh, waving his hands wildly. "He's joking! He watches too many cartoons."
"Is that so?" Kristina leaned in slightly, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Because to me, it sounds like you're building stuff that belongs in a spy movie."
Elio stayed silent, lips pressed together like he'd been sworn to secrecy under pain of death.
Kristina eyed him. Then Aran.
It was as if their silence was confirmation itself.
"Wait… are you being serious?"
"No!" Aran insisted.
Elio, still trying to help, nodded along stiffly. "Definitely not."
He said before looking away.
Kristina crossed her arms and smiled sweetly. "Okay, fine. Don't tell me. I'll just have to assume you guys are secretly vigilantes or something—"
"We're not, that was just a one time thing!"
Elio yelled out from panic.
Aran turned his head blankly and screamed in his mind.
ELIOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Kristina's smile froze.
"…Excuse me?" she asked slowly, like she wasn't sure if she'd just misheard or accidentally stepped into an anime plot twist.
Aran stared at Elio, mouth slightly open in horror.
Elio realized what he said too late. "I-I mean—hypothetically. If we were vigilantes. Which we're not. Obviously."
Aran smacked his forehead. "Dude…"
Kristina blinked. Once. Twice.
"…One time thing?"
"Please pretend you didn't hear that," Aran muttered, dragging a hand down his face.
Kristina's eyes lit up with barely restrained glee. "Oh, I absolutely heard that."
Elio looked to Aran for help. Aran looked like he was about to pass out.
Everyone at school's going to think I'm some weirdo who still hasn't moved on from his superhero phase....
Kristina leaned in closer, a playful glint in her eye. "So what was it? Saving kittens? Uncovering a school conspiracy? Do you two wear matching disguises or something?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Aran protested, voice cracking slightly from the pressure.
"Hmph! C'mon, can't you entertain a lady?"
"No!—"
*VROOOOOMMM*
Just then, the sudden sound of a motorcycle revving caught their attention.
The roar of the engine echoed down the street, turning heads—including theirs.
Aran stopped mid-sentence, instinctively stepping a little in front of both Kristina and Elio.
Up ahead, a group of guys on bikes had pulled up near the curb. Five of them, maybe six — each wearing matching jackets, their hair styled in over-the-top cuts that practically screamed trouble.
One of them, the one in the middle with a scar over his eyebrow and a cocky smirk, pointed straight at Kristina.
"Yo… you're Kristina, right?"
Kristina raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, so?"
"You're coming with me, little missy." He cracked his knuckles, glancing briefly at Aran and Elio. "If you boys laid a hand on her, me and my buddies'll make sure you remember it."
Aran turned toward Kristina, whose brow furrowed. "Do you… know these guys?"
Kristina's expression twisted into a scowl. "No. Never seen them in my life."
As tension thickened, Elio quietly took one step forward, his foot landing just a little too heavily on the ground.
Aran scratched his cheek, forcing an uneasy smile. "Uh… Excuse me, what exactly do you want with her?"
The biker leader sneered, stepping forward. "It's none of your business, four-eyes! Now hand over the girl before someone gets hurt."
As he spoke, the skin on his fists shifted—hardened, cracked, and turned to stone. A low grinding sound accompanied the transformation.
He activated his perk.
Aran tensed but kept his hands raised, palms out.
"Hey, hey, can we at least talk this out?"
"Nope," the biker shot back flatly, popping his knuckles.
"Is there really no way?"
"If you hand over the girl, there is!"
The biker shouted, making Aran look at Kristina.
"Sorry, I don't really want to go..."
She said, shaking her head.
"Well uh... You heard her..." Aran told the biker leader, thinking things were clear.
"Then there's no talking it out, then!!!" The biker leader yelled.
Ugh, now that's just unreasonable...
That was it. There was no way to solve this peacefully.
Aran glanced at Elio, eyes cold and sharp—the signal.
"Kristina, turn around."
"Huh?"
"Aran knows a way to get out of this pickle," Elio said simply.
"O-okay…?" Kristina hesitated, confused, but did as told. Elio followed, though both kept glancing over their shoulders.
Aran moved forward, body dropping into a fighting stance.
The bikers blinked, caught off guard. Was this wimp really going to fight?
"Heh, I admit—you've got guts. But that's not enough to save you," the leader scoffed.
"I know. Still won't stop me though." Aran told him.
The biker tilted his head, almost impressed. "Alright then. I'll give you the first shot. After that—anything goes."
"You're on."
Kristina's jaw dropped.
"Wait—are you crazy?!"
I know Aran can handle himself in a fight! I've seen him go against Pincer, but this is insane! He can't possibly take all of them down!
And why isn't Elio stopping him?!
Aran exhaled slowly and looked at the leader. "So I get the first move, right?"
"Yup! It's all yours. You've got my word as a man. Besides—" he laughed— "It's not like a wimp like you could hurt me."
"Alright then…"
Aran nodded and relaxed his stance before strolling casually toward the biker leader.
He raised a fist like he was going to throw a punch—
—and immediately kicked the man in the groin as hard as possible.
"GHRK—!!"
Without waiting for the man to collapse, Aran spun around and bolted out of there.
"RUN!!" he yelled.