unOrdinary: The Alternative

Chapter 23

The four made their way to the station and boarded the train. Seraphina took to standing within the bustling locomotive, holding onto the railing for stability, while the other three took seats beside each other.

In between his small talks with Remi and John, Blyke spent his time listening to some music, absentmindedly tapping his hand and foot to the hard rock song he was following the rhythm of, though he paused after feeling Remi tap his shoulder, stopping the music to hear her. 

"So what made you guys want to spar, either of you prepping for a rank match?" Remi asked, looking between the two. 

"Not particularly..." Blyke answered slowly as he looked to John, not sure of what info would be okay to share.

John shrugged, "Blyke asked me, I didn't see a reason why not. Plus, I want to see how good of a fighter he is."

"Got'cha!" Remi nodded. "Well, I'm certainly excited to watch it play out. Just don't underestimate him, alright? Blyke's a pretty capable fighter all around, even when it comes to close range." she told John with a pointed finger. She was sure if the gap in their strength was smaller, he could definitely give her a run for her money.

"I'll keep that in mind," John nodded with a smile, sparing a glance beyond Remi to see Blyke scratching his cheek rather bashfully. 

Admittedly, John couldn't blame him. Remi seemed to radiate positivity, it'd be hard not being affected by it if you talked to her, or were even just around her.

Beside them, John closest to her, Seraphina had stayed silent throughout the trip, going through the motions on her phone, finding that she wasn't sure what to do with herself. She could feel there was still a sort of gap between her and the others, something she was all too familiar with. A pathway to meaningful interaction too difficult to cross. 

"Sorry I didn't give you an invitation earlier."

Except for one of them, of course. Seraphina's gaze quickly drifts away from her phone to John, looking up at her with another smile.

"Didn't think It'd be all that interesting to you. Why did you want to come, actually?"

"I wanted to see your ability from an outside view." She admits. With John able to mimic an ability as complex as hers, she found a curiosity in what he could do with one like Blyke's.

"Is that so?" John questions, sounding a bit disappointed. He leaned over in his seat, propping his arm on his knee and resting his chin in his palm. "I hope that's not all that made you want to tag along."

Something in Seraphina's eyes soften. The thought of it just being a way to finally take a chance to do something outside the ruleset of the life she was accustomed to was kept hidden beneath that surface answer. Beneath that...maybe there were a few other reasons. Ones that couldn't hope to see the light of day, for now.

John's ability...?

As John and Seraphina converse, playful jabs at each other certainly throw in wherever they could, Remi realizes she's never seen John's ability in action before, only what the aftermath was. It was certainly strong, whatever it was, and she can't say she wasn't curious—it's been in the back of her mind since Blyke told her and Isen about his roommate.

Well, she supposed that gave her another reason to be excited for what was to come, another secret of the mysterious transfer student would soon be unraveled!

Remi giggled to herself, the influence from binging Nancy Drew books in middle school was creeping back up on her.

"Do you need to say something, Remi?"