The Blazing Rebellion

Chapter 11

John POV

The next day, John tried to avoid Sera as long as he could. She was the only one at the school that actually talked to him; she was the only one who would notice if something was wrong. Everyone else was so busy avoiding him that they didn't notice if he had eye bags or looked deeper in thought than usual. John tried not to think about this too much. It hurt to think that no one cared here... or anywhere else, really. His Dad and Sera were the only two people who didn't hate him. Maybe Adrion, too, but John had only been able to talk to him a little bit after they'd made up during his suspension. He wasn't here, though. Only Sera was.

John sighed. It was much easier than it should've been to avoid her; Sera didn't go to most of her classes, and as long as he avoided the roof, he never really saw her. It was only when they ate lunch or he searched for her that they hung out. He would have to see her then, since she'd know he was avoiding her if he didn't show up, but for now, he was trying to compose himself enough to hide the fact that his nightmares had returned. He didn't want to be questioned about them; John was too busy trying to figure them out himself to deal with an interrogation.

Finally, after two classes, John's avoidance had to end. He walked slowly to the lunchroom. Sera was already sitting at one of the tables, staring at her food and looking distracted.

John hurried to get his own food. Even though a confrontation about his nightmares from Sera and possibly a risk of revealing the fact that he'd overheard her talking to Arlo was bad, getting his lunch slowly would mean more stares. He'd rather have a stern talk than that. At least with Sera, he knew that she meant well. It was a challenge to convince himself that everyone else wasn't out to get him.

His memories, especially the ones from the dream last night, didn't help this constant worry either. John forced himself to shake it from his head and sat next to Sera. She glanced up when she saw him.

"Hey, John." She held eye contact with him for only a second before going back to staring at her food. John bit his lip and sat down. Maybe it'll be easier to hide this from her than I thought. She seems pretty distracted.

"So, what happened yesterday?" John asked, wondering if she'd tell him more now that she wasn't currently busy.

Sera sighed. "Not much. I just had to... do something." She didn't elaborate. John felt his stomach drop. So you're still going to hide it, huh? You can't keep it a secret forever... He knew that better than anyone. The longer you kept secrets, the worse it was when they were finally revealed. He winced as he remembered when Sera had found out about him; their argument had been one of the worst moments in his life.

He felt a pang in his chest at the memory. He'd hated the thought of losing her. She meant so much to him, maybe even more than he himself understood. This same emotion made John want to get her attention. She looked so distracted now... he wanted to talk to her. Wanted to see her smile instead of stare blankly at the table.

"Did you have any good dreams last night?" He asked, slapping his forehead internally a moment later. Was that the best you could think of? Bringing the topic to something that could lead to your nightmares?!  He sighed, forcing himself to stare at Sera instead of thinking about it.

She'd finally looked up at him, her dark blue eyes thoughtful. "No."

"Oh. O-okay," John stuttered, surprised at how fast that conversation had ended. He picked up an apple off his lunch tray, taking a bite for something to do.

"Did you?" Sera asked him after a minute. John dropped his apple when he saw how intently she was suddenly staring at him. He felt his face warm. Why is she staring at me like that? He shook his head to clear it, looking closer at her eyes. He bit his lip. Wait, did she find out about the nightmares?  His eye bags had been painfully visible that morning, as if he hadn't slept for weeks instead of just one day... It had reminded him of his tyrant King days, right after he'd been revealed as Joker.

"Well..." He trailed off, breathing a small sigh of relief when Sera finally looked away from him. "No good dreams."

Sera frowned. "Did you have a nightmare?" She was staring at him again, no doubt noticing his tiredness this time. John waved his hands in front of him to try and distract her, laughing nervously.

"It's nothing. Are you busy again today?" He asked her, quickly changing the subject. Sera continued to frown at him for a moment before going along with it.

"Yeah, sorry," She told him. John bit his lip. She didn't ask more about the nightmares. She's busy later, too.

Suddenly, John felt a wave of loneliness. He'd expected her of all people to question him, to find out what was wrong and help out. He hadn't realized how much he was relying on that fact. With his Dad not responding to the call and now Sera becoming busy and distracted, John didn't know what to do... He had the horrible feeling that this would lead to him being all alone again. No. Don't think like that.

The rest of lunch was silent.

John eventually left Sera to head to class, but he wasn't listening. The teacher was just saying something about math and numbers John didn't understand when the loudspeaker in the room crackled on.

"John Doe, please come to the Headmaster's office. John Doe, to the office," The voice echoed around the room, finally getting John's attention. He sat upright in his chair for a second, eyebrows furrowed. Why am I getting called there? Did I do something wrong again?

"Go ahead, John," The teacher told him. Gulping, John stood up and left the classroom. He wondered what was going on. Did something happen with Sera? He shuddered to picture her getting injured. She really could get hurt if she was in some sort of dangerous group... John sighed. No, I don't think it would be that. He doubted anyone would tell him anyway, a thought that made him sigh.

If not that then, what could it be? John took a deep breath. He'd just have to find out. He'd reached the Headmaster's office by now; it was time to go inside.

John pushed open the door. He opened his mouth to ask why he'd been called there, but paused when he saw who was inside of the room.

A white-haired man turned around and looked at him.

Don't I... know him?