[ Obsession ]

"Huh," simply answered Geoffrey, as he went toward the stairs. 

He reached the ground floor, Leo quickly following in his steps.

"And you're the only one to ever notice me when I'm hiding my presence."

"Is that your gift," asked Geoffrey.

Leo looked frantic from the questions alone, thrilled even. 

"Yes, I can see everyone's presence. It's extremely useful. Yours... yours is the best... Most people's aura are dark. Emilia had a nice one yesterday, however, nowhere close to yours. And it changed drastically today. She's going through something..."

Geoffrey hummed in thought. He was now inside, Leo quickly walking next to him, yet half-a-step back. 

"So, why have you been following me?" he asked.

Leo's excitement made him jittery, he barely contained himself.

"I feared Jet might try something again."

Leo's tone had gone dark, and his eyes cold, as he re-lived the scene mentally.

"You shouldn't steal cutlery from the cafeteria, let alone use it to hurt other students," said Geoffrey.

He had stopped halfway through the cafeteria that was now emptying.

The lunch break was nearing the end, most already going toward their class.

"Yes... no... of course not..."

Leo was biting his nails, his eyebrows moving around as he considered the possibilities.

Geoffrey gently grabbed Leo's shoulder, as if talking to his own brother.

"Want to help me with something?"

Leo's smile was glowing like a thousand suns.

~~~—~~~

"What's with him? Creepy..." said Rei.

Geoffrey looked up.

Leo was staring in Geoffrey's direction, looking away every time he was noticed.

"Who knows?" replied Geoffrey.

Jenny was still going over the basic knowledge they should already have, her smile unwavering as she answered any question gladly.

Looking through the classroom, most people actually paid attention. 

While not everything had been explained yet, it was safe to believe that there would be trials based on everything they learned in class. 

Yet, despite that, there was still one student asleep on his desk.

Emilia was back, surprising everyone, but she remained cold and distant. Some girls approached her, one of them Geoffrey recognized from Peter's group.

She had been very active in discussions; she introduced herself as Lilly. She was a bit taller than Emilia, and seemed to be genuinely concerned. 

This class needs more Lillys.

Miss Jenny didn't seem to care too much about what happened in the classroom, she had yet to warn anyone about anything, granted it was their second day and everyone behaved somewhat correctly.

Jet was silent for once. He normally would turn around once in a while to say something, with Rei shushing him when he had enough.

His thoughts must've still been on what happened earlier, thought Geoffrey.

Leo can be useful... then again, a dangerous tool.

Geoffrey watched as Leo's eyes turned back toward the teacher once more. He was playing with something in his hands while biting his own lips.

He sighed and took a deep breath. 

The pieces are falling in place.

His brain did this thing where his eyes and ears would listen to what was happening before him, yet his mind was some place else. 

It was like he recorded the scene to be played at a later date, while his thoughts wandered away.

His mind palace was a place he loved retreating to whenever things became chaotic. His only regret was that dreams didn't bring him there.

It wasn't an emotional place. There, he wouldn't panic, feel sad or upset. 

He relived moments, analyzing them and turning them around as much as he could. 

During the last 2 days a lot had happened, too much, even.

The pace was much faster, too fast.

Death might have been right. Remaining a spectator could prove hard, yet a spectator he hardly was.

She must've used that word to play with him, he thought, as everything he did fell short of it.

A spectator is inactive. He's on the sidelines watching events unfold while safely at a distance.

Something he wished he could've done.

The trials didn't allow inaction. Staying on the shore while watching the wave taking everyone wasn't an option.

To remain a background character until the end took careful planning. Everyone needed to have a part to play, and they needed to play them well.

Letting them handle the trials alone was like asking kids to plan a holiday trip. 

And them...

He looked once more through the classroom. It was... chaotic.

On the surface, they looked fine. The A class, where those who excelled at the entrance exam were, the elite of the first years.

Death was right, things were indeed different this time. 

He recalled his first moments in the first trials, last time he had gone through them. Everyone was scared and upset. 

Things had become emotional, most with deep wounds that needed careful healing. Their everyday lives were painful, and the trials only brought out more of that pain. 

There were also the special ones, the wildcards, the 'jokers' as he liked to think of them. 

Predicting them was hard, their personalities were tough to manage, and they stood out from everyone.

This class was full of them.

Maybe I should've done poorly on the entrance exam.

Taking him out of his thoughts, miss Jenny clapped her hands once.

"Alright! This is it for today! The bell is about to ring, however, remember that you have until Monday to assign a class president."

She turned to the black board, making a square in the top left corner with white chalk.

"Once you've decided one, write down his name."

Everyone nodded.

"Good!"

The bell rung, her bright smile leaving for her cold, true self. Without waiting any further, she left the class and exited without saying an additional word.

"Are you going to the dorms?" asked Rei.

"I'll go to the convenience store first," answered Geoffrey.

"Oh, let me come with! There's quite a few things I need as well," said Jet turning around.

Geoffrey could see in the corner of his eyes Emilia's fury, yet she managed to keep it inside.

She got up abruptly and exited the classroom, causing a small ruckus with her chair hitting the desk behind her. 

"Sorry," said Lilly who quickly went over to pull her chair back under her desk.

The student behind her was the one sleeping, jolted awake from it.

Geoffrey didn't even know his name, he slept through the introductions from the previous day.

He simply got up, and walked out with his hands in his pockets, yawning.

Huh.

"Ready?" asked Jet, acting impatiently.

"Yeah. Let's go."