" 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚘𝚗 " [𝙼𝚘𝚘𝚗 𝚔𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝]

【１９ － Ｂｅｃａｕｓｅ ｗｅ ｃａｎ】

Excitement rose up through you as you woke up, only to be shut down by the realization that you had school today. 

You hit your head against your pillow a few times before you finally contained yourself, and almost wobbled to the dresser. After pulling out an outfit for the day, you shrugged off the feeling of dread that was overcoming you, and sadly slipped into the kitchen where you ate bread and butter. Not toast, since you remembered what happened the last time you tried doing that.

- Small Time Skip - 

You were running down the sidewalk, chasing nothing but the time as you skidded past the park and into the school building, and, after scanning the entire hallway at least four times, you speed-walked into your classroom, mindful of the many eyes following your path to your seat.

Exhaustion practically dragged you down in your seat as soon as the many test papers hit your desk. After a long sigh, you slowly started working on the first test in the pile, noticing in the corner of your eye that Gabriel was going through the exact same treatment. 

You remembered the little pep talk Steven had given you yesterday, and to be honest, you were glad that he gave you it, as his little cheers crowded your mind and pushed back the ones that were making you feel worse than you were already feeling. 

- Long Time Skip - 

"Hear me out. We take down that random gang, right? Easy, simple. Just a little pow pow, and boom, you're done. I mean, hey, if you could take down that big strong guy, a couple more shouldn't be that bad. If it is bad, though, make sure to just levitate outta there before you get seriously injured. I'm sure it won't, though," Esther rambled while you two were sitting on the park bench again. "Also, I'd like to add that they mayyy have a security system around the place where they meet up, but don't worry, I know how to hack into it, and, with enough luck, they'll find out in abouttt three minutes. You can back down if you ever need to, again—"

"Esther." You looked at her, and for a couple seconds, she looked back, you both staring into each other for a long moment. It felt like forever had passed once you continued. "Don't worry. I can handle myself." 

"...Right," she said, more to herself than you. She nodded, looking away. "Well. Imma go head back home, don't want someone worrying that I, y'know, died or whatever." She waved it off, and you both saluted to each other while giggling before walking out of the park.

Once you made it to your room, you gave a small wave to Marc who was sitting on the couch. He waved back before standing up. 

"How's you're day been?" He asked first, walking near you who was sitting on the counter. "Did anything... bad happen?" 

"No, nothing 'bad happened.' I'm not letting those dumbasses even come near me anymore, anyways." You say, giving him a look while you hop off the counter. He nodded, seeming to think about your answer, and you used the opportunity to reach up and mess up his hair. He scoffed, fixing it while you stifled the chuckle that escaped. He suddenly reached down and messed up your hair, and you stopped laughing to glare at him.

"You're the one that started it.." He mumbled, probably not intending for you to hear him, but you did anyway.

"You sound like a little kid." You said, folding your arms afterwards.

"Why, you little—" he lunged at you, most likely to grab you, but you dodged him, using the opportunity to run around the house, him chasing right behind you. Marc was about to slow down until you were stopped when you bumped into a tall figure- Khonshu.

"Jesus, are you kidding me? I was winning," you complained while Marc carried you like a baby.

"Sorry, child, but he is technically my avatar." He explained, and you avoided making eye contact with him.