Teen Romance Fantasy

Act 26 (Ty)

"Why are you so fucking stupid?! You really expect me to help you pass the first round, when you're not even diamond rank? We've been sitting here for an entire hour and you haven't learned anything!"

I thought playing Seeker with Siren would be a dream come true. Instead she was constantly nagging me and making me embarrassed with her truly devastated voice, when she realised how bad I actually was. It was almost impossible to look her in the eyes.

"It's not my fault! My teammates are just trash..."

"Sure, always blame your own shortcomings on others." She sighed. "Whatever. We'll stop for today. I think the best idea is if you first start to get a little more familiar with some heroes. Just try playing some rounds in practice mode for a while."

"Why? Practice mode is too easy. Shouldn't I play some rank games?"

"Because I said so you dumbass!"

Siren was close. Too close. I felt her cold breath right on my skin. Her eyes were empty. She looked just like a doll, which really creeped me out. What kind of black magic was she using to begin with?!

"Whatever! It's your turn now anyways. Sit your fat ass down already. We'll start with physics. I made a test for you."

At the end of the day both the freak and I could actually agree on two things. Number one was that I absolutely sucked in Seeker. Number two was that the freak absolutely sucked in school. She almost did not get a single question right. We learned all of this stuff last year so how did she get so much wrong?!

"You call me stupid but you barely got a question right?"

"It's not my fault! The tasks were just unclear..."

"Sure, always blame your own shortcomings on others." I sighed. Guess in that regard we were actually kind of similar. At least she got the calculations right.

The freak did not stay for long. She left the moment she had the chance to and did not even say goodbye. I was not sure if I was glad that she was finally gone or if I was mad because she left without a warning.

At school everyone had been talking about the junior tournament in Seeker. It was the highlight of the week. Because of that I got into some trouble with Kadir. He had a hunch as to why I did not train with him and the others anymore but he never talked to me about it. All he ever did was stare at me with those judging eyes, when Anthony started talking about all the things we needed to try out in order to win.

I had not told them about my resolve to team up with Alexy yet. My hope was that they actually would not pass the first round. At least it would make the situation a lot easier to me. The thing is, I felt especially bad about Anthony. He had been the most excited about it. Then again, he did find himself a different activity to waste his time with, since he started dating Aisha again.

"Yesterday Aisha and moi went to the cinema together. It was très romantique. I think I am in love.", Anthony began daydreaming. He did not even realise that Eric, Kadir and I were laughing at him in secret. Instead he proceeded telling us about the movie they watched.

Christian joined us a little later. He avoided my gaze and sat down as far away from me as possible, even if it meant not sitting next to Eric. Poor Eric, he must have thought that Kadir was slowly becoming a rival and did not even realise that it was my fault.

"What about you Tyson? Do you have any plans for le week-end?", Anthony asked me all of a sudden. I had not even listened to a word he said. Without thinking about it, I told them that I was on a date with Alexy. Clearly Anthony did not like hearing that. He began shaking his head rapidly, eyeing me in a disappointed way.

"Again? Je comprends that you love her but this is the fifth week in a row.", he began arguing but it was not until Kadir opened his mouth that the atmosphere really began changing around us.

"Why are you even here with us, if all you ever care about is your girlfriend?"

"What are you talking about Kadir? Alexy just wants to spend more time with me, since I'm always around you guys. I'll tell her that I'm busy next weekend."

"Next weekend? What good does next weekend do? If you don't want us around you, just say so."

I had no idea what Kadir was even talking about. My gaze shifted towards Eric in hopes that he would help me but even Eric had this hurtful expression on his face. Only Anthony was smiling at me and telling Kadir that he should not make jokes like this but Kadir just sighed until eventually he decided that he did not want to breathe the same air as me anymore.

The others ran after him but I stayed back. I settled back into my seat, exhaling a deep breath until I felt someone cupping both my cheeks from behind me. I looked up at the ceiling and stared right into the freaks dead eyes. Her expression was emotionless. She was back to being Siren.

"What?", I asked through gritted teeth.

"You're an idiot.", she whispered. Her minty breath brushed against my jaw, as her eyes gleamed dangerously. I rested my right hand on hers, feeling the coldness of her touch. With a gentle gesture I raised her hand up in the sky, our fingers perfectly intertwining with each other. Her touch was comfortable and filled with despair. An unusual combination, if you asked me.

Being pulled by a magnetic force, I turned around in my chair, looking at her face more clearly now. The entire time I did not let go of her rough hand. It could have been the hand of an athlete but it was the hand of a broken gamer.

My lips began touching the skin on the back of her hand, breathing in her sweet scent. It was vanilla with a touch of cinnamon. When I closed my eyes, I continued to see her. It was as if her image was burned into my mind. It was not Siren however and neither was it the freak. It was both of them and neither one of them at the same time. The version I saw of her was lovely.

"Why is it that even when I close my eyes, all I can see is you?"

Her lips curled into a bittersweet smirk. She did not answer the question I said out loud however. She answered the question my heart was asking.

"If you don't watch out, Anthony will snap as well eventually. This weekend is his birthday and I have a feeling that Alexy was very much aware of that."