Convergent- Overwatch AU (Reaper76)

Chapter Eleven

Jack and Pharah stood by the leaderboard that morning, observing the board. "What the actual hell," Pharah whispered, and Jack still couldn't breathe. He woke up with D.Va shaking him violently, pure panic in her voice, and as he quickly dressed and tripped into his shoes he ran down into the cafeteria and almost passed out at the sight of the leaderboard.

He was the last person on the board.

Jack stepped back, trying to breathe but he wasn't doing a good job. Everyone was gathered around the board, Sombra and McCree were still out of the red, Hana was just above it, but Jack's name was bathed in red.

Pharah was number two, Ross one. Ice was third, and McCree claimed the fourth. Jack was shaking so hard Pharah had to put a hand on his shoulder so he wouldn't fall over. D.Va slammed her hand down on the nearest table, "This is bullshit!"

"D.Va..." McCree said quietly.

"No! I demand a reason why he went from number one to number twenty! He was the best damn soldier in the entire building!"

"D.Va..." Sombra and McCree warning. But she kept raging.

"It's crap! Jack is the best person on the entire leaderboard, he should be number one!"

"But then you'd get kicked," Jack said silently. He knew if D.Va went down anymore she'd get thrown into factionless.

"I don't care!" She whirled around toward Jack, "You deserve the position more than me!"

"What's going on?" Reaper and Ethan along with Alice and some other instructors showed up, trying to disperse the growing crowd. Hana jumped at Reaper.

"THIS IS CRAP REAPER!" She practically screamed. She pointed a finger toward the board, "Jack deserves number one, and we both know that!"

Alice gasped, "Wait, what? He was number one yesterday!" She looked around at the other instructors, and they seemed more shocked than the rest of them. Except for Ethan.

"Well, you'll just have to earn your place again." Ethan shrugged, "Now let's just eat and forget this happened-"

"No, that needs to be fixed right now." Alice snapped, "Jack is a great student, he's better aiming than me and he can knock Ross out of the park in seconds. Ross should switch him."

"What?" Ross, who was kicked back against a table narrowed his eyes, "I think I earned that spot."

"He did." Ethan agreed.

"You're biased as fuck." Reaper snarled, turning on Ethan, "I might not be up as high as you, but we get enough people revolting you'll have to change the ranks."

"It's probably just a little misunderstanding. Jack will just have to earn himself again." Ethan shrugged, before turning and walking away, Ross trailing after him like a lost dog.

Jack just stared. He turned around slowly and started walking back toward the dorms. "Jack wait!" Pharah called, but Jack just made his slow walk of what felt like shame and anxiety that was starting to wear his nerves away. Jack tried to breathe, but it stopped short in his throat and he felt moisture in his eyes.

He needed to burn another letter. He shakily took another deep breath, holding his head high and glaring in front of him. He squared his shoulders and told himself he was okay. This is what happens, people get enemies and you get burned. It's life, so focus ahead and tried to stay focused.

Jack walked into the empty dorm, climbed up on his bed, pulled out a paper and pen, and started scribbling. He talked about his meeting with Mercy, how her advice actually has helped. Instead of forcing himself awake he went with it, even if it terrified the hell out of him. He talked about Reaper, how he seemed a little distant, but he was still helping Jack out. He talked about the knives and the girl Leaf.