THE DIFFERS : THE UPRISING

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As we walked to school together, I gently put my arm around her shoulders. It felt strange at first, but she leaned into my touch. I did feel bad for forcing her to do this, though.

Nothing of this was intentional from her, we were forcing her into something that would probably destroy her. She wasn't even able to have a real relationship.

When we entered the hallway, the usual stares and whispers followed us. I felt her tense, so I tightened my embrace, giving her a comforting smile. I couldn't do much, that was infuriating.

"They're noisy," I said softly. "Sorry for that." She looked at me with her gentle face that could make the world melt and I forced myself to look away.

She was too pure for all of this.

First period passed at lightning speed. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Nara's face didn't make me feel any better. Sometimes she was a total mystery and other times a literal open book.

"Any news?" Ember asked, looking at me.

"Nothing new," I replied. "But we need to stay vigilant." More than ever these days. It had been a pretty silent and comfy time these past months. But now everything felt rush, like we were about to enter war zone.

We were all chatting and laughing for once without much tension. I sat next to Willow, smiling timidly at one of Ethan's jokes. Suddenly, my phone vibrated. I glanced at the screen and my face went rigid.

"Excuse me, I have to take this call," I said abruptly, standing up. I walked away, my heart pounding. It was a number I didn't know but I knew. I simply knew it could either mean bad news, or we had hope for something better.

"Raiden, it's your mom," the voice on the other end said, sounding hurried. "You need to be careful. The town is starting to do strange things, you have to protect each other. Be very careful."

"Mom?" I said, my voice trembling. "Are you okay?"

"We're fine," she said quickly, but it was enough to stop my beating heart. "But I can't talk for long. Just stay safe. Find her and protect her." Before I could say anything else, she hung up. I stood there for a moment, my mind racing.

When I returned to the group, I could see the concern on their faces. I sat down silently, nervously fidgeting with my phone.

"Rai, are you okay?" Nara asked softly bringing me back to earth.

I nodded, but the worry in my eyes was unmistakable. Finally, I took a deep breath and spoke. "It was my mom," I said, my voice low and trembling. "She told me we need to be careful. The town is starting to do strange things, we have to protect each other." I stopped, feeling overwhelmed. Aria took my hand and I gripped hers tightly.

I needed to anchor myself to something real.

"It's the first time I've heard from her in a long time. She didn't have time to say much before she hung up." I looked down, the stress evident in my voice. "If she's taking the risk to call me, the situation must be really bad."

"Your mom?" Willow looked at me, her eyes full of concern. I nodded but didn't say much more, leaving her in the dark. No one else spoke about it either. She could know, but I wasn't in the mood to talk about them.

No one dared to speak after. I glanced around at everyone, feeling the weight of this unspoken truth. What was awaiting us, that was something I shouldn't dig too much into. It was obviously not what I expected.

The rest of the day was quiet. I brought Willow to our place after a café. I was a bit anxious, but mostly excited for her. We told her about the training, I could see she was eager to start, despite her uncertainty.