The Blazing Rebellion

Chapter 56

Blyke POV

Blyke knew that Remi had her reasons for keeping secrets, but he couldn't let her get into something dangerous again. He may have been an awful liar, but that didn't mean he was awful at seeing when other people lied. He could tell Remi was hiding something from him.

Unfortunately, she seemed unwilling to answer his questions when he'd pressed her about it. She'd instead made excuses. Later, she'd managed to distract him for awhile with her talk about John and Seraphina, but Blyke hadn't fully forgotten. It was clear that the two god-tiers were far from the only ones who were hiding things. Even if Isen was completely clueless, Blyke noticed.

He'd been watching Remi carefully for the past few weeks. Not in a creepy way, but he wanted to know if she was up to something. He'd asked Isen to help, too, but that hadn't gone very well... Isen seemed convinced that Remi was hiding nothing. He's just scared that Remi will be a superhero again, though. He doesn't want to go back to that. Blyke sighed. He hated the idea of risking his life yet again, but for Remi, he would. He had to make sure she stayed safe.

It hadn't taken Blyke long to notice something that almost confirmed his suspicions: Remi's tiredness. She'd hidden it well from him for a while, but he'd slowly began to notice that she was showing up to school with darker circles under her eyes. She still put on a happy expression for the Safe House, acting upbeat and energetic, but he'd seen her slump over a few times as if she were about to fall asleep.

The signs worried him. If Remi really had gone back to being a vigilante while knowing how dangerous, it was entirely possible that he wouldn't be able to stop her this time... in fact, there was only one option left that he could think of. He would have to join her.

Blyke had tried to bring it up with Remi a few times the past week, soon after he'd noticed how tired she seemed. She'd also appeared deeper in thought. Blyke knew what the dark expression on her face meant; she was thinking of Rei, or, more specifically, his death. Remi was generally a happy person. The only times he'd really seen her that upset had been after her brother died, and when she wanted revenge. Those facts did nothing to make him less suspicious of what Remi was hiding.

When Blyke had first managed to get Remi alone, he'd been unable to get the words out. They'd been cleaning up the Safe House one day, and Isen had vanished to do something relating to one of his articles. He'd decided to straight up ask Remi for the truth, but something had stopped him. He'd been unable to find his voice, and by the time he did, Isen was back with lots of talk about the latest school gossip. The moment had ended, and Blyke still hadn't found out anything new.

He'd found out fast that there was more than one barrier to overcome. Every time he thought of superheroism, he thought of his own past attempts. The guy with the blue ponytail had helped him in the end, but Blyke had almost died. If not for the other superhero, he was sure he would have. The thought still made him shiver. It seemed that there was a lot more danger in the air at Wellston these days, and he hated it. Things are more peaceful inside of the school because of the Safe House, and yet they're still more dangerous outside... Remi, Seraphina, and John are all keeping secrets.

"Blyke?" Isen asked, distracting him from his thoughts. "Are you there?"

He'd become so lost in his worries that he'd almost forgotten where they were now. Isen waved a hand in front of his face as if to wake him up. Blyke pushed it away, frowning. His friend really wasn't helping much by being here.

Although Isen still didn't believe Blyke when he'd said there was something suspicious about Remi, he had agreed to hang out with her. Blyke had hoped that with Isen by his side, he'd have an easier time asking Remi what was going on; now he wasn't sure if Isen really would be of any help at all. Still, they were here now, and something had to be done.

Things had gone wrong so many times, but this time, Blyke wanted to get answers. He was going to ask Remi something, even if he couldn't figure out how to go straight out and ask if she was a superhero again. With any help, she would feel guilty about hiding it from him. It would make it a lot easier if she just admitted it before he even had to interrogate her. Blyke bit his lip. Am I going too far in trying to find out what's going on? She must have a reason for hiding it... He sighed.

"Blykeeeeeee!" Isen exclaimed, poking his shoulder this time. Blyke had to push his friend's hand away yet again. Okay, enough is enough. We're doing this. He took a step forwards and knocked on Remi's door. They were going to hang out with her today, and he was going to find out what was going on.

There was a moment of silence as Blyke and Isen stared at the door. Remi usually opened the door right away. "Is she okay?" Blyke asked after a moment.

Isen activated his ability and leaned closer to the door, using it to see the motion of anyone inside. A moment later he leaned back, shrugging. "Looks like she's asleep. Or passed out."

Blyke's eyes widened. Instantly, he reached for the door and pulled on the handle. To his surprise, it began to open. She hadn't locked her door the previous night.

"I was joking!" Isen exclaimed from behind him. "Wow, you're a little too obsessed with her."

"Shut up," Blyke growled at him, taking a step forwards. He paused. Am I doing the wrong thing by checking on her like this?

Isen, who seemed to have no qualms, pushed past him and walked into Remi's dorm. Blyke followed him. "Hey, what are you doing?"

Turning to face him, Isen held up his phone and waved it in front of Blyke's face. "Seems like a good chance to get some blackmail."

Blyke frowned and opened his mouth to argue, but Isen had already continued on. He followed. Remi's bedroom door was open when they reached it, too. Blyke felt a wave of relief when he saw her lying on the bed; she looked like she was asleep.

As he was turning to leave again, satisfied that Remi was fine, he caught sight of something else. A pile of clothes lay in front of Remi's closet door. Blyke would've turned to leave, but something was off about the pile. There were a few drops of red on the top item, as if Remi had gotten into a fight.

When Blyke took a step forwards to examine it, he found out why. The stained clothing was one of his own sweatshirts... one he'd covered with a duct tape X.

It was Remi's X-Rei uniform.