Chapter 58 - Homecoming

"Aww, you three look so handsome!" Lux squealed.

"Please no more pictures.." I mumbled and turned away from the camera.

"I already know baby, I'm hot." Zack hummed.

"And why am I going again? Aren't I banned because I maimed a guy or something?" Leo huffed.

We were standing in the living room letting Lux take our pictures. Jack and I bought Leo a classic black suit, that he relunctedly agreed to wear. But honestly, Leo and I paled in comparison to Zacks bombastic attire. He was wearing a dark red blazer with fancy dragon designs coiling around it. Underneath was an all-black button-up with a dark red tie. Plus he had these glistening dark red dress shoes, they shined like polish hardwood. Makes me think I should've tried harder…

"Because we don't want you sitting here and studying more serial killers, Hannibal Jr." Zack barked and Leo just turned away.

"Whatever.."

I chuckled some and looked over to him.

"I think it would be good for you to be around people, ya know? I didn't get better at it till I was thrown in the fire. I know it's not the same exact social issues, but the solution is all the same."

"So Stryder, what girl are you taking?" Lux spoke up and set the camera down.

"Oh, no one," I said casually.

"Wait what!?"

"Yeah, I didn't ask anyone."

"WHAT!? But why!?"

"Like I need any more drama.." I huffed.

"Besides, Vals busy running the dance and Annuals out getting tested with Arthur again. Her walking has gotten better. So he wanted to keep her for a few days." Zack interjected.

My hero...

Lux grumbled.

"You better have a date for prom is all I'm saying.."

"Well, milady why not join the Wizards Harem as my second date?" Zack purred and hopped over to Lux. "Those panda Pajama pants look delectable on you my Kung pow chicken."

He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she just cringed. She leaned forward and flicked his forehead.

"Get out of here already you pervert!"

I snagged his collar and started dragging him out the door. I saw Leo trying to tiptoe away from me, and I summoned a chain and wrapped it around his ankle.

"Where do you think you're going?"

He growled.

"I hate this.." He grumbled.

…

There was a bright flash of light in the darkness that made me jump. Crap did we get caught!? I quickly turned around and my racing hard came to a screeching halt.

It was just Zack taking pictures...

"The hell are you doing!?"

"I need a picture to remember this moment. The first time my baby boys breaking the rules!" He squeaked.

I just rolled my eyes and kept walking to the backdoor.

"Just shut up and make sure Beans still blocking the cameras for us."

"Of course my dear padawan."

I grumbled. Get Leo first, kill Zack later.

I quickly walked over to the old gymnasium back door. It was connected to the track field outside and didn't have a functional alarm on it. The first time his illegal habits actually did something good.

I opened the door to an agitated Leo glaring at me.

"Do I really have to do this?"

"Hey! We already spy kid our way to open the door. The least you can do is drink some damn punch." Zack grumbled.

I shut the door as Leo begrudgingly walked inside. Then all walked together down to the festivities.

"Won't the security recognize me?" Leo inquired.

"Pfft, I've been suspended hundreds of times. And I still came in here for free lunch and dances." Zack snickered.

I shook my head and sighed.

"Trust me, you'll be fine."

We walked back to the cafeteria where the party was taking place. Funky jazz was playing as kids swarmed on the dance floor. From the crowd, we could see Valentina and Alexis running over to us. I know I saw them when we picked them up. But it still left me speechless.

Alexis was wearing a gothic style black dress and black boots. She had dark red lipstick and some dark eyeshadow. Yet her goofy smile turned this dark style into something that somehow seemed bright. Then there was Valentina, she was wearing a Chinese style black dress with a coiling golden and red dragon on it. Which was something she sewed on herself. It was a reference to one of the books she was currently reading.

I stared at her a bit, the dress complimented her figure well. And her raven locks were so perfectly neat and clean. Not to mention her lips seemed to be glistening...

As they came over Alexis started to chuckle.

"Ya know, I can feel your attraction levels right?" Alexis teased as she gave me a smirk.

I blushed and quickly looked away. Crap! I just made this so weird, I was staring at them both so intensely too.

"R-right, my bad for staring."

"Oh no, it's fine. It's better than this guy over here." Alexis grumbled and slapped Zack's shoulder.

"Ah what I do!?" Zack yelped.

"Your staring at every girl in this place!"

"Yeah, but none of them look as good as you." He replied. "You can tell right?"

Alexis's face went red, and Zack started to chuckle. That's when the song changed to an intense rap beat. A tradition at school for the freestylers and hardcore dancers. Which meant they were calling Zack...

"You'll have to excuse me though! I've got kids to teach! Be back when the tempo chills!" He grabbed me and Leo and then yanked us to the dance floor.

"Uh, Zack! What the hell are you doing!? I yelled over at him as I struggled against his hold.

That's when I heard the chants from the crowd.

"Kur! Kur! Kur! Kur!" Everyone started to chant Zack's rap name.

I looked over at Leo and I saw him slip out of his vest. We made brief eye contact before I was flung into the middle of the dance. Great, I should've flipped him...

"The Kur is here, and it's time to rear! All y'all ugly monsters finna get up from outta here! After I spit all my rhymes, it's time to die. Bars so hot, you just might die!"

Zack cheered and the crowd seemed to go wild. My eyes scanned over the room, looking at all the eyes on me. My arm was shaking and it felt like my heart was trying to punch its way out of my chest.

"I'm gonna clear you a path, hit some back handsprings and a corkscrew!" He whispered to me.

"Why are you doing this!?"

"You said you wanted to change right!? Well, it's Zack's time to teach!" He snickered and tossed me forward. "When you're done with that I'll take over! Make some room! Make some room! For the Paragon!" Zack cheered and a pathway opened.

I wanted to throw up. First the basketball team, and now this. The crowd was cheering for me "Paragon!" "Paragon!" This wasn't like NIrvana, if I failed, I'd see these guys every day! My breath started to get short and my mind went blank. just do the motions, don't think about anything else.

I walked down the open lane they gave me and stopped at the end of it. I took a few breaths and then slowly turned around. This was it, no running away. I closed my eyes and regained my focus. Then I took off down the lane and started doing my flips and back handsprings. I started to hear the crowd cheer their oohs and ahhs. And honestly, it felt kind of nice. For once I wasn't thinking about how I was gonna mess it up! I was just bathing in the joy of the moment. My heart was still racing. But I felt in control!

As I was about to leap to hit my corkscrew I felt something wet smack my face. I panicked and tripped over my legs, and then fell flat on my face. It was silent for a moment. I looked over on the ground and saw a cupcake lying next to me, I touched my cheek and felt the cold whipped cream on my face. Then the whole crowd suddenly exploded into laughter.

"Paragon! More like Paradolt!" I heard someone laugh. Then they started cheering Paradolt.

I sat up quickly and forced myself to stand up. My legs were shaky, it felt like I was gonna fall right back down. My breath was becoming much shorter and my mind swirled. I peered over the laughing crowd, and I felt my stomach churning. I just wanted to die, I wanted to vanish.

"Such a dick move.." Zack growled. He looked over at the laughing crowd and then back to me."I'll create a distraction, you get out of here and breathe."

I nodded.

"R-r-r-r ight." I chattered out.

"Alright Terry! For messing with my partner like that I'm gonna roast yo whole life! Starting with the hairline Dora the explore can't even find on yo forehead!"

Zack yelled over to Terry, the same guy who Alexis threw a pizza at awhile ago. The crowd's attention turned away from me immediately and swarmed over the two.

That's when I made my daring escape. It was hard to jog though, it was like every part of me was malfunctioning. I couldn't even breathe right. I scanned the area and finally found Leo. He was standing in a circle full of girls. He seemed annoyed but overall fine. He should be fine if I step out.

I quickly dashed out into the halls. I could see the shimmers of blue left in my trail. Meaning I was subconsciously activating my speed. I quickly turned a corner and pressed myself up against the wall. Where I started to collect a much-needed breath. All I could hear was the faint sound of the music in the distance. No more eyes, no more laughs. I slowly slid down the wall and started to feel my heartbeat slow. I sat there and stared at the wall.

I started to feel myself come back down to reality. I closed my eyes and just sat there. Maybe I should just go home while I can. No, you can't do that. You need to show Leo you can do this. But as the thought came into my mind to go back into there, I felt my arm start to shake again. Damnit, am I really this useless?

"I'm so pathetic.." I mumbled.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Her voice pierced the silence and sent chills down my spine. I looked over and there she was, Valentina. She was giving me a very sympathetic look, and it only made me feel more pathetic.

"Y-yeah of course. Why wouldn't I be? Just needed to wipe this whipped cream off me." I said forcing a chuckle.

She gave me a stern look and walked over to me. Then she flopped down next to me and snatched my hand. She interlocked her fingers with mine and just held on. And my shaking started to lessen. She gave my hand a squeeze and smiled.

"Stryder, I'm not gonna think you're any less of a man because you're nervous. It's okay if you're nervous." She hummed.

But I just looked away from her.

"How can you not? I'm supposed to be a hero. I did this at Nirvana, why can't I handle it now?"

"These things take time. No one changes overnight. You have to be patient. You've already changed so much already." She leaned into me and rested her head against my shoulder.

And right now, that's all I wanted. She was warm, her hand was warm. Everything was beginning to calm down. Even the music seemed like it was getting softer.

"Thank you, I needed this."

"Of course, and remember your human. you can't be perfect. So don't try to be, or else you'll run yourself down."

"But what if I don't like who I am?"

"I like who you are. Even if there are some things to work on. I still like every part of you. Even your imperfections." She whispered.

She closed her eyes and continued to hold my hand, and I held onto hers. It was like I was melting in my spot. It was all I wanted, all I needed. It felt like drinking hot chocolate on a cold winter's day. Just the thing you needed to warm you up. I leaned back into her and decided to be selfish for once. I wanted to stay, so I was going to.

After a bit, our peace was interrupted by my phone going off. Valentina groaned as I shifted to check it. Just in case it was Jack. But I got an even bigger surprise, it was Lux calling me. I sat up some more and quickly answered.

"Hello?"

An electronic and static voice answered back.

"Hello, Stryder?"

I felt my stomach drop as I heard that.

"Who is this!?" I demanded.

"Don't worry, your sister is fine. I just used her I.D information to make sure you'd answer. This is Icarus, I wanted to relay a possible warning to you. It could be nothing, but I just thought you should be aware."

"Alright, what is it?"

"I have reason to believe that the Alley of Justice might be the targets of an attack."