The Black Hole

[Week 6]

It was 6 in the morning and Rin was in front of Stephen's room, knocking on the door. The previous day, they agreed to meet early in the morning to get a new batch book to study. Rin couldn't find him around the court so she figured he wasn't out yet.

"Stephen, get your butt out here now! What if I was a patient dying? Cause of death, doctor took too fricking a long time getting up. Live with that guilt for the rest of your life." Rin nagged as she waited for Stephen to come out of his room.

As if on cue, the door opened. Rin was about to give him another session of nagging but she was taken aback by the new appearance of Stephen. His shave was clean and his hair was kept as well. His overall appearance became more neat and presentable, and he looked less like a homeless man.

Stephen noticed her reaction and didn't pass up the chance to tease her about it. "Have you fallen in love with me?"

Rin cringed almost immediately after hearing that. She wanted to hit Stephen but she held back and took a deep breath. "You're disgusting."

"I don't think I am." Stephen cheekily smiled.

Rin rolled her eyes at him. "I'm just glad I won't be walking around with a hobo anymore."

They both started to make their way towards the library, making some small talk as they walked. When asked why he decided to shave and cut his hair, he said it was because it was starting to bother him as well. Rin complimented him on his new look but it wasn't something she was used to so he looked weird in her eyes.

Soon, they reached the library where they saw Wong again. He stood up from his chair upon seeing them enter. "Stephen, Rin."

"Wong." Stephen greeted him.

"What do you want, Strange?" Wong asked.

"Books on astral projection." Stephen said.

Wong shook his head no. "You're not ready for that."

"Try me, Beyoncé." Stephen, out of nowhere, said.

The room went silent, deafeningly. Neither Wong or Rin had anything to say about that. But judging from Wong's face, he wasn't impressed by that. Strange looked at his side, towards Rin for a reaction but found none even from her.

"Oh come on, you've heard of her. She's a huge star, right?" Stephen asked, looking at both of them, but still not receiving any answers. He became disappointed as he thought the two had no sense of humor whatsoever. "Do you ever laugh?"

After receiving no answer from both once again, he ultimately just gave up. "Oh come on, just give me the book."

Wong stared at him with the coldest eyes as he strangely said, "No."

After his refusal, Stephen continued bargaining with Wong to let him have the book. Wong continued to decline him until the two were kicked out of the library. He told them they weren't ready for it as he closed the door on them.

Stephen tried to bargain more but it was no use. Then, he began complaining to Rin. "What does he mean we're not ready? Of course we are!"

"He wasn't impressed with your Beyoncé shtick." Rin said.

"Hey, she's a superstar, okay? How do people not know who Beyoncé is." Stephen sulked.

"Too bad, now Wong won't give us the book."

"Well too bad, I'm gonna steal it from him."

"You are not going to do that, Beyoncé." Rin looked at Stephen with a smirk.

Stephen looked back at her with a mischievous grin. "Oh I am so going to do that, Beyoncé."

[Next day]

The training was cut short by a sudden rain pour. Though, it didn't affect their training as much as it was already ending anyways. Everyone had the rest of the day off and was free to do whatever they wished.

While everybody went to their rooms to take a rest, Rin wanted to do more. She wanted to continue practicing or otherwise, just study. However, her study buddy declined her and said he had other things to do before leaving her behind.

Rin found this odd as he never skipped a day of study before. She has already noticed his different aura while training. He looked preoccupied with something. Rin knew there was something wrong.

As a good friend, Rin decided to buy Stephen some packed sandwiches and an apple from outside. It was also the least thing she could do to thank him for helping her learn at a much quicker pace.

After washing the apple thoroughly, she wiped it dry with a towel and placed it inside the bag, along with some bottled water. She then made her way towards his room.

The moment she arrived in front of his door, she raised her hand to knock but stopped. She thought giving him a surprise would be better. So she carefully pushed the door open, trying not to make it creak as the doors in Kamar-Taj were very noisy. She took a peek inside and saw Stephen sitting at the table.

Rin slowly entered the room while carefully closing the door behind her. She sneaked behind him and was about to give him a little spook but then his tablet screen caught her attention. He was typing an email.

Christine

I'm emailing you one more time to

And then he abruptly stopped.

Rin's eyes were pinned on the name of the receiver. Christine? Doctor Christine Palmer? She thought. At that moment it struck her that the two could've been more than friends the entire time.

Recalling the time when she was still in the hospital, the two seemed very close. Rin didn't care enough to think about it back then but now, she felt awkward. She never once considered Stephen to be a taken man.

He's one of those. Rin scoffed. Suddenly, she felt distant towards him. She no longer wanted to be around him. She realized that Stephen was exactly like him. He was like all the other guys she met throughout her life.

Then all of a sudden, Stephen turned around. He jumped in surprise after making eye contact with Rin. Rin too was startled after seeing him suddenly turn around.

"Jesus," Stephen mumbled while rubbing his chest. "Are you trying to rob me or something?".

Rin didn't say anything and dropped the bag she was holding on the table in front of him. "Here."

Stephen furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he looked at the contents of the bag. "An apple?"

"An apple a day keeps the doctors away." Though it was meant to be a joke, the monotone color in her voice suggests otherwise. "That means get away from me from now on."

Stephen continued looking at her with a confused expression. He didn't get why she was acting like this out of nowhere. He didn't know whether she was being serious or if she was playing a prank on him. But he knew that her expression towards him was cold.

"Just so you know, we aren't friends. We were never friends. I just wanted help to make progress." Rin coldly revealed. "It seems like I somehow helped you in making progress too. That means we're even."

Rin gave him a small nod and before he could say something to her, she quickly walked away.

That same night, she stayed up until midnight to train herself. She put on her sling ring and pushed herself to make something appear. She was sick and tired of seeing other people advance but not her. Especially Stephen who came weeks after her and still managed to top her. She hated that someone was doing a better job than her. She hated everything.

Rin tried and tried to focus and visualize like how Mordo and the Ancient One instructed. She tried to think of something but only darkness was in her mind. It was empty. It was a void.

Rin cursed at herself. Every single time she tries, nothing happens. She was beginning to doubt whether she could do anything at all. Seeing everyone else being able to do it but not her gave her so much frustration. She was tired, upset, and was close to giving up.

I should just leave. I should just stop. It's been more than half a year and I still haven't done crap. What is wrong with me.. why can't I do it?! Why can't I do it when he did it within a few weeks? What is something he has that I don't!

While she was having an internal breakdown, a small circle portal started to form. Being too preoccupied with her thoughts, she didn't notice it.

I've done nothing but train, everyday I sacrifice my basic needs just for this. I've been doing everything I can for this stupid thing. I don't know what for, but I just want something to be done!

The circle grew bigger and bigger. The more her frustrations built up, the larger the circle gets. She continued doing hand gestures without realizing what was happening.

Why does he get to have all the good stuff? I want to do it too.. I'm so tired, I just want something to happen!

As if on cue, the circle suddenly grew very large, about twice her size. This time, she noticed it. However, instead of being ecstatic, she was frightened by the sight of it.

It wasn't an ordinary portal circle. The inside showed complete blackness. It was the void. To make it worse, the circle seemed to be sucking matter in as multiple dead leaves around started flying inside in a speedy manner. It was like a black hole.

It grew more and more each second that passes. It was also getting stronger as the trees around started leaning in the direction of the black hole. Rin started to panic. She tried to get it under control but she couldn't. In the end, she took her sling ring off and threw it away. It was only then the hole slowly faded.

There she was, on the floor, looking at where the former black hole was at. Horror filled all over her face and body. She was staying still as if her body was paralyzed. Rin couldn't comprehend what just happened as she has never seen anything like that. There wasn't anything written in any of the books she read about potential black hole summoning.

Rin looked at her shaking hands. The hands that could've potentially caused a big damage.

What the hell just happened.

*** Authored by: remuwuchan ***