Odion limped out of the washroom, thinking about various ways he could exact his revenge on Donovan and his gang of pussies. Being in the last week before exams, Odion was adamant on collecting his debt before then. I’m gonna smash that fool when I … his thoughts broke off, distracted from the murmurs coming from around the corner of the hallway.

A massive gathering of students surrounded Mr. Walters and a couple officers of Gundam Regional Police. It seemed as if they were under some sort of investigation, with one of the officers using his flashlight to carefully dig through what appeared to be a student’s locker. Ah shit, Mr. Walter’s doing random locker checks.

Odion forced himself to the front of the crowd and a brisk chill radiated through him when he saw Malachi handcuffed faced down on the ground. You gotta be shitting me! The two officers continued to dig through his locker for what appeared to be illegal weaponry, judging by the four folding knives and machete on the floor.

“We’ll bring him into custody and take it from there,” one of the officers said to Mr. Walters, placing the weapons into a bag.

The crowd surrounding the scene parted off to the sides as the two officers hung onto one of Malachi’s arms and escorted him toward the front of the school. Mr. Walters followed behind.

How could Malachi have been so fucking stupid? Did commonsense not tell him you don’t store weapons inside your locker, especially toward the ending of the school year when Mr. Walters enforces random locker checks? Odion rubbed his face in disbelief.

He hurried toward the front of the school, hoping to have caught them before they’d driven off. Mr. Walters stood to the side, speaking to one of the officers while the other had guided Malachi into the backseat of their enforcement vehicle.

How could you, man. Odion crunched his teeth together as Malachi turned to make solemn eye contact with him. He didn’t have to say anything, but from his body language, they both realized it was a stupid mistake: one he was going to pay with his time. Malachi turned his head away and slouched his body almost as if he were trying to hide from him. Odion’s nose flared hot with anger.

Mr. Walters shook hands with the officers once more before they had spun around and driven off into the distance. He took his time strolling back toward the entrance with a sweet smile on his lips. “That’s what happens when you don’t abide by my rules,” he said, pointing in the direction they headed with his thumb.

Odion bit his tongue, wanting to curse him. You crock of shit.

“You kids never seem to learn,” Mr. Walters said.

Odion turned around and shot him a look seething of contempt as Mr. Walters strolled his way back inside.

#

“How could he have been so fucking stupid?” Odion threw a few punches at his locker.

“Odion try and relax dude. Being angry won’t bring him back,” Toki said.

“The fuck was he thinking?” Odion punched his locker once more, creating a dent in the center. “He knows how much of a cunt Mr. Walters is, why even entertain that idea?” He paced around the hallway hurling foul words.

“I warned him too,” Toki said. “I knew it wasn’t a good idea, but he said he wanted to give you options. I didn’t know he was going to bring that many.”

Odion shot a look of distaste toward Toki. “Give me options? A kn—” Odion quickly refrained from completing his sentence, waiting for a group of female students to exit the hallway. “A knife is a knife,” Odion said, lowering his voice. “I don’t need any fucking options. They all do the same work, for fuck sakes man!”

Toki threw his hands in the air like he was at a loss for words. “I’m just relaying the message dude. Bad luck on his part, I thought he had more sense than that.”

Toki suggested they make their way outside toward the front of the school, hoping that a bit of fresh air cooled him down. Odion refused, deciding it’d be better to escape through the back, not wanting to be surrounded by other students. The annoying gossip of Malachi’s arrest would’ve only pissed him off more, forcing him into a position of sending someone to the hospital. Odion went and took a seat on top of one of the bleachers, resting his face against his palm.

“I can only imagine what his mom’s going to think when she gets news of what happened,” Toki said, resting his backpack down beside him. “Mr. Walters is going to become even stricter now that this happened, which means he’s going to issue more random locker checks next year.”

Odion stared across the parking lot in silence, contemplating his next move. Toki was right when he said Donovan knew a lot of people; dangerous people. It’s why he was able to get away with half of the shit he did, and other students wouldn’t dare utter a word about it. What the hell am I gonna do now?

A few moments later, Odion turned his head to the sound of footsteps appearing close by. “Hey Odion,” Serenity fiddled with the straps of her backpack, “I need to talk to you for a minute.”

Odion shared a glance with Toki as he nodded his head, signaling for him to go.

“I’ll hit you up later on,” Toki said, engaging in a brotherly embrace before waving goodbye to Serenity.

“What’s wrong?” Odion asked, extending his hand to assist her onto the bleachers.

Serenity took a deep breath as she lowered herself beside him. Her hands were folded in-between her legs as her feet bounced, looking like she had an array of thoughts to share but wasn't sure of where to begin. Odion darted his eyes across the area to make sure it was only the two of them around. You could never be too comfortable these days.

“Relax,” Odion said, resting a gentle hand across her shoulder. “It’s only the two of us. What’s wrong?” Her feet stopped bouncing. She turned to look at him, eyes a bit glossy. Odion glanced at the marks around her neck, which seemed to be fading.

“I don’t even know where to start,” she said, chuckling in what looked to be disbelief.

“Take your time,” Odion said, reassuring her. He turned his body around, facing her.

“Have …” Serenity paused, “have you noticed anything different about Apollo lately?”

Odion contorted his face into uncertainty. Why would she be asking about Apollo? He shook his head, narrowing his eyes. “Not to my knowledge,” he said, hoping he sounded as believable as possible. “Why?”

“So you’re not sure if he’s been acting differently.” Serenity nodded her head as if she was disappointed. Believe me, sweetheart, I know Apollo’s been acting differently lately. I just can’t let you know that I know he’s been acting differently lately. “Then I’d highly recommend you find out what’s going on before he ends up killing somebody. And from now on, I’d prefer if you both stay as far away from me as possible.” Her face turned serious.

Odion closed his brows together in confusion, watching her stand to her feet. “W-wait a sec,” he called out, “hang on a minute. What’s going—”

“I can’t do it anymore,” Serenity said, hopping onto the grass. “I don’t want any more drama in my life!” She paused and stomped her foot on the ground. Serenity looked on the verge of having a panic attack, her breath coming in hot snaps. “I just want to be free and live life like any regular teenager. Is that too much to ask?”

“I know what you’re going through is tough right now, but I can’t help you if you won’t tell me what’s going on.” He looked at her for a moment. “What does Apollo have to do with any of this?” Odion wondered. “What did he do?”

Serenity closed her eyes and dragged her hands across her face. “He nearly killed Donovan on Friday,” she said.

A sudden stab of panic pricked Odion. “What?”

“It’s like I didn’t even recognize him.” Her eyes drifted off to the side, shaking her head. “There was something different about him. I’ve never seen anyone’s eyes glow red before. It was as if I was looking at a ….” She twisted her mouth and furrowed her brows, trying to think of a word. “I don’t even know how to explain it.” His eyes glowed red? Immediately his thoughts sprang back to the incident that happened when Apollo returned home and how his demon-like eyes gazed upon him as he floated in the air. “The way he lifted Donovan off his feet and held him in the air with one hand … as if he were a child.”

A plethora of thoughts raced through Odion’s mind. Should he have told her the truth? Was it wise? What if he did and she never spoke to him again—which was looking like a genuine possibility at the moment. Should he have just left it alone and remained ignorant? Fuck! “Were you okay, though?” he asked, removing the silence between them. At this point, the only goal was to keep her talking. Keep asking her questions without making it sound like an interview.

Serenity matched his eyes and shrugged. “I’ve felt better.”

“I know, but did Apollo do anything to you is what I’m asking.”

“No, he didn’t.” She shook her head. Thank God. “Whether he wanted to or not is something only he can answer, but like I said before, talk to him. And stay very far away from me from now on.”

“C’mon Serenity, don’t be like that,” Odion said, watching as she stalked off toward the front of the school.

“Don’t be like what?” she turned around and scowled.

“You’re acting as if I’m the one who’s making your life miserable.”

“Odion,” she called his name like a displeased mother would call their child, “if Apollo is capable of what I saw him do on Friday, it only makes me wonder what you can do. I’m not trying to deal with any more psychopaths. I’m already dealing with one at the moment.”

Did she really just compare me to Donovan? Odion shook his head. “Donovan and I ain’t nothing alike, and I definitely ain’t like Apollo.”

“How do you know whatever’s happening to Apollo isn’t also happening to you, and you just don’t know it yet?”

Odion bit his tongue at the question. “Believe me, we’re nothing alike.” He forced the words out of his mouth. “Just ’cause we look the same don’t mean we share the same characteristics or morals for that matter,” he said matter-of-factly. “That’d be like me saying you’re just as likely to commit a crime ’cause Yuricema committed one, and you’re her sister. You and I both know that ain’t true.”

“Not only is it not true, but we’re also not identical twins,” Serenity said. “What Apollo did wasn’t human, and I’m afraid you may possess whatever it is he has as well.”

“You make it sound like whatever he has or did is contagious,” he raised his voice, and Serenity jumped, taking a step back. Calm down. You don’t want to scare her any more than she is. “I’m sorry for raising my voice, but … you can’t just assume things about me based on something my brother did. That’s not fair, and you know that as well as I do. You … you just gotta trust me on that.”

“Trust?” Serenity raised her eyebrows. “I’m at the point now where I’m starting to believe trust doesn’t exist.”

“Serenity—”

“Look, Odion, I appreciate your concern, but honestly …” she paused and stared at the ground for a brief moment, “stop making me the center of your universe.” Everything around him froze and the muscles in his body stiffened to a rigid piece of wood. What was she trying to say? Was he coming on to her too strong? Was he misinterpreting the advice Marcella gave him?

“You deserve someone who isn’t involved with the sort of drama I’m dealing with right now.” Serenity took a couple of steps backward, her eyes still fixed on his. “I said before I’d hate to see anything happen to you. I meant that. So for your safety and mine, I think it’s best we go our own separate ways, all right?” She turned around and walked off.

Odion outstretched his hand to call her back, but the words weren’t coming out of his mouth. Go our own separate ways? Trying to process anything at the moment was like trying to think through a bottle of syrup. The muscles in his jaw bulged at the sides of his cheeks from pressing his teeth together so hard. If God was paying attention to him at this moment, he certainly wished he’d strike Apollo dead.

I fucking hate you, Apollo.

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