Unmasking Truths

Troy slumped against the cold metal of his locker, his head thunking against it as he exhaled.

Surviving school today had been like navigating a minefield. Every hallway, every classroom, every corner he turned, people were staring. Whispering. Giggling. Speculating.

The Nerd Club had practically interrogated him, and he had barely made it out with his secret intact.

"Why… is this my life…" he groaned, rubbing his temples.

The school day had passed in a blur of exhaustion and paranoia. He had spent lunch holed up in the library, dodging people like his life depended on it. Because, well, it kind of did.

And now, as the final bell rang, Troy only wanted one thing, to go home and sleep for twelve years.

But as he stepped into the hallway, someone was waiting for him.

"Hey, Troy."

Annie.

She was leaning casually against the lockers, arms crossed, her sharp brown eyes locking onto him.

Troy flinched. "Oh. Uh. H-hey, Annie!" He forced a grin. "What's up?"

Annie tilted her head, studying him. "Where were you during break?"

Troy blinked. "Huh?"

She huffed. "I didn't see you at all. You, Mister Late-Night Snack Run, disappeared completely."

"I—I was, uh—"

"Don't even try lying."

He sighed, shoulders slumping. "Hiding."

Annie raised an eyebrow. "From?"

He gestured vaguely around them. "Literally everyone."

A smirk played on her lips. "So, the great Bubble Boy is afraid of a few high schoolers?"

"I am not Bubble Boy," Troy hissed, then immediately winced at how defensive that sounded. "I mean—hypothetically, if I was, which I am not, I wouldn't be afraid! I just… didn't feel like dealing with people."

Annie rolled her eyes. "Well, I was looking for you."

That made him pause. "…You were?"

She kicked at the floor. "Yeah. Kinda felt weird, y'know? We always hang out during break, and suddenly, you weren't there. Made me feel… a little lonely."

Troy felt a pang of guilt.

Crap. He had been so caught up in avoiding people that he hadn't even thought about Annie.

"Sorry," he muttered.

Annie glanced up at him, then smirked. "Just don't do it again."

Troy gave her a tired grin. "I'll try my best, Detective Annie."

She punched his arm. "Shut up."

They started walking home together, the exhaustion of the day melting away as they fell into their usual rhythm, talking, teasing, laughing.

Annie told him about the absolute disaster of a chemistry experiment that had nearly set the lab on fire. Troy told her about a freshman who had tripped on literally nothing and taken out an entire row of lockers like a bowling pin.

By the time they reached her house, Troy was grinning, his earlier stress forgotten.

"See?" Annie nudged him. "The day wasn't that bad."

He chuckled. "You make it tolerable."

She smirked. "I am pretty great."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. See you tomorrow, Annie."

"Later, Bubble Boy."

Troy groaned as she shut the door behind her.

Instead of heading home, Troy took a detour.

His feet carried him through the city, deeper and deeper into the more expensive part of town, until he reached it.

The last time he had left through Shadow's lair, he hadn't paid attention to where it actually was. But now, standing before the massive wrought-iron gates of a freaking mansion, Troy's jaw nearly hit the floor.

"…Are you kidding me?"

Jace—Shadow—was rich. Like, insanely rich.

Troy hesitated, then walked up to the intercom and pressed the button.

A few seconds later, the gate creaked open.

Standing at the entrance was an actual butler, an older man, dressed in a perfectly pressed suit, his expression one of quiet amusement.

"Master Troy, I presume?"

Troy blinked. "Uh… yeah?"

The butler gave a polite nod. "Welcome. My name is Arthur. Please, follow me."

Troy followed him through the ridiculous mansion, trying not to gape at the gold trimmed walls and giant chandeliers. Eventually, Arthur led him to an elevator.

The doors slid open.

The underground lair was just as he remembered sleek, high-tech, filled with weapons, gadgets, and monitors displaying live city surveillance.

Jace was waiting for him.

"You took your time," he said, arms crossed.

Troy huffed. "Yeah, well, maybe warn me next time that your house is a whole Bond villain lair."

Jace smirked. "Intimidating, isn't it?"

Troy rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Let's train."

Troy quickly realized something.

Jace was merciless.

The training started with basic combat drills, blocking, dodging, striking. Simple enough.

Except Troy was terrible.

Jace weaved around him effortlessly, barely exerting himself while Troy swung and missed, over and over.

"Faster," Jace said.

"I am going fast!"

Jace dodged. "You're slow."

Troy swung again. Jace sidestepped, tripped him, and sent him crashing to the floor.

"Ow."

"Sloppy."

Troy groaned, pushing himself up. "Can you not be a ninja for five seconds?!"

Jace smirked. "Where's the fun in that?"

They kept going. Troy improved, but only slightly. His movements were still predictable, his reflexes sluggish.

Jace sighed. "Your technique is garbage."

Troy scowled. "Oh, thanks, Sensei."

Jace studied him for a moment, then shook his head. "You rely on instinct too much. That's good in a street fight, but it'll get you killed against real opponents."

Troy's hands clenched. "I survived Gladiator, didn't I?"

Jace's expression darkened. "Barely."

The words hit harder than they should have.

For a long moment, neither spoke. Then, unexpectedly, Jace chuckled.

"…You are stubborn, though. I'll give you that."

Troy huffed. "Gee. Thanks."

Jace smirked. "Don't worry, Bubble Boy. You'll get there."

Troy groaned. "I hate you."

Jace grinned.

They began playing video games and eating pizza.

First they played a racing game. And Troy was beating Jace constantly.

Troy jumped up after another victory while the controller is in his hand. "Boom ,I'm this better, you could never beat a legend like me."

Jace has a irritated expression on his face. " Okay legendary gamer let's play a other game."

Troy smiles mockingly at Jace. "Sure but don't get sad if I beat you at that to."

Jace takes out the racing game and puts it in it's cover then puts a versus fighting game in the console. " Okay whatever you say."

They played many games and Jace beat Troy with many Perfects.

Jace wins again and jumps into the air with controller in hand. "Let's go! , I guess I'm this the best , you not on my level."

Troy is super annoyed and throws a tantrum. Troy tackles Jace and they begin wrestling. Jace easily overpowers him and they begin laughing while laying on the floor.

Jace stretches and gets up. "That's enough resting let's get back to training."

Troy gets a serious expression and gets up. "Yeah, let's do it."

They begin lifting weights first bench press , Troy is struggling with little weights but he doesn't give up.

Then they go to shoulder press Troy looks like he is being crushed under the pressure of small weights but he keeps going and keeping up with Jace.

And to finish it off they do cardio.They run on the treadmill and it looks like Troy is about to pass out.

Troy is about to pass out but then Jace taps him on his shoulder. "You got this ,keep going."

These words keep Troy going until they are finished running. They are then resting on the floor while drinking water in silence.