Butterfly Effect (2)

"You... You're Vallen, aren't you?"

Alicia's voice rang out with a mix of shock and disbelief. Her eyes were fixed on the young man who had just entered the room, and she was struggling to comprehend the situation. Her gaze remained locked on him as she took a step closer, confirming her suspicion.

Vallen, for his part, met her words with silence. He sat up straight, closed his eyes for a brief moment, and scratched the back of his neck before meeting her gaze.

"Uh... Yeah. Is there supposed to be a problem with that?" he responded, his tone laced with nonchalance.

Alicia was brimming with questions, and her curiosity was getting the best of her. She was about to press further when Vallen raised his right hand, signaling for her to stop.

"Then, how are you—?"

He interrupted her again, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "How am I able to see? I apologize, but I'll refrain from explaining. Just to clear things, I'm not here for you. It's just a coincidence that I got placed in the same classroom as you."

Alicia fell into a momentary silence, her thoughts racing. She hadn't expected this encounter, and it was clear that Vallen was distancing himself from her. She hesitated, still wanting to understand more about his presence.

He spoke again, his words firm and slightly colder, "I won't bother you from now on, so could you kindly refrain from meddling in my affairs?"

His impassive expression didn't waver as he held her gaze, and Alicia couldn't help but feel that something was amiss. This was a stark departure from how she had known him before, and it left her perplexed. She was about to inquire further, but he seemed determined to sever the connection with her.

What's wrong with him?

Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of some of their classmates. Seeing the two of them engaged in a tense exchange, a few students began to exchange puzzled glances.

Realizing that their interaction might become the subject of rumors, Alicia chose to defuse the situation gracefully. She bowed slightly to Vallen, pretending to express gratitude about something, and then made her way to her seat.

"...I'll talk to him again later," she mumbled to herself, her thoughts still filled with questions about the changes as she secretly observed him from by taking a glance.

***

(Vallen POV)

"I guess that worked out better than expected..."

As the class commenced, I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. Alicia seemed to be engrossed in the lesson, and there were no disruptive incidents like the previous loop. My decision to keep my distance from her this time appeared to have paid off, preventing her from becoming a distraction.

She didn't got called out by her, unlike last time. It was probably because she confronted me earlier than expected... However, I couldn't shake my confusion regarding how Alicia had identified me so quickly.

As I contemplated the sequence of events that had led to our encounter, it started to make sense.

I guess, by deliberately avoiding her and not taking a seat next to her back at the auditorium as I had in the previous loop, she might have left earlier to check the class assignments on the bulletin board. Once she spotted my name, it might have prompted her to rush to the classroom, inadvertently leading to our earlier meeting.

I see... since she didn't notice my presence earlier, it caused our meeting to happen earlier than planned, I thought, staring at my hideous doodle about the scenes of how everything played out.

"I guess I need to be careful when deciding to change something from now on..." Then, again, I wonder what will happen now? My attention landed at the flashdrive inside my pocket; I began to ponder about the possible consequence about this.

...

..

.

Hours passed quickly, and the class finally came to an end.

Throughout the lecture, I had successfully ignored Alicia's attempts to engage in conversation, whether by turning my head away when she whispered or swiftly answering the professor's questions before she could speak.

"I wonder what's William doing now...?"

Deep in thought about William's whereabouts and the promise we had made to meet after the second day of school, I momentarily halted in my tracks, closing my eyes to focus on recollecting the details.

Ah... I remember we promised to meet after the second day of school last year before we graduated... The location was probably around the nearby cat cafe, I think?

"You!"

But my concentration was abruptly shattered by a familiar voice calling my name. I snapped back to reality, realizing that I was being approached.

"Shit!"

Reacting on instinct, I tried to sprint away, but my right arm was abruptly seized, yanking me back toward the person who had caught me.

Thud!

Wait a minute! Isn't this supposed to be the other way around!!? My mind became hazy with thoughts as I found myself pinned against a wall by her, struggling to remain calm racing with thoughts. Anyways, why does it feel like I'm starting to get a deja vu...? Right! This certainly happened before in the previous worldline! I think it was around the time she found out who I really was back then.

I attempted to speak, to address the bizarre situation, but Alicia's words silenced me once again.

"Can you stop ignoring me... It's annoying." she stated with frustration, leaving me perplexed... What the hell? Why use she acting like this? I have only ignored her completely for hours and she's already like this? Didn't you asked me hundreds of times to leave you alone?

I was about to give a reply when I suddenly noticed someone from the distance.

"Erm... Ah!"

It's her...