Adrian's Tale

Exposition pt 2

     "And you're sure he'll be okay?" The nurse glanced at me, annoyed, but in my defense I was just worried. He was one of my best friends after all! I mean, is. Is one of my best friends.
     The nurses carried John out the gym toward the nurse's office. They didn't allow me to see him, so i was left to assume the worst about his condition. I talk shit about my friends a lot, but that's all it is. Talk. They really do mean the world to me, even if i do tend to tease and prank.
     "Adrian! The bell rang!" Apparently the Coach had been calling my name. This whole incident had left me out of it, I guess. who the fuck kicked that ball anyway? no one had any idea, but whoever did it must've been hella strong.
     Looking back at it, i low key wish i had thought to look at John before I got help. I say low key, because if i had, it might've been too late to save him. but then again, perhaps I was exaggerating.
     I opened the door to the thankfully empty changing room and quickly changed. Soon as I had slung my backpack over my shoulder, i was out as fast as possible. Usually i tend to avoid running at all cost, but i had a meeting with Al after school and my logic was the sooner i got our studying over with, the sooner i could see John.
     Despite my claims of hating running, i did rather enjoy the wind in my hair and the garbled mess of the outside. It was as though i was in my own bubble, the world rushing past me, barely visible and hardly audible except for nature's static. Okay, so i rather liked running. But i also hate it for the reason thats about to occur. As i skid to a halt in front of History Class, i could barely breathe and my legs felt weak. These are problems i tended to ignore while i ran, but were unavoidable once i stopped.
     I had just barely managed to catch my breath when Al walked out the classroom and smiled at me. "You came!" They said excitedly.
     "Well of course!" I assured them. They smiled sheepishly before beginning to walk, leaving me to follow alongside them. "So where are we going exactly?"
     "Well, you know the fountain of course?"
     "obviously... what are you getting at?" the fountain wss right in the middle of the common area, what kind of question was that?
     "well, i guess you could say I found a, passage below it... it'll be easier to show than tell." a passage, seriously? the idea wasn't wasn't that unbelievable, this place had been built during a war or something after all. maybe this "passage" could be one of the forgotten evacuation centers kids loved to spread rumors about.
     "And you didnt bother to inform anyone about it?" I quizzed.
     They gave a nervous laugh. "Well i mean, i thought about it, but didn't wanna go through with it cause... umm...." I waited for them to continue, but they quickly changed to subject.
     "Hey! We're almost there!" They announced excitedly.
     We stopped in front of the fountain, and Al began brushing their hand along the water-splattered sides, looking for something. a quick glance around the area revealed that no one else was here, so i forced myself to chill.
     "you sure about this?" they were taking a while, and it was starting to get on my nerves.
     "Certain- look!" They splashed their hand into the water and pressed hard on the fountain floor. after a split second, the water stopped and I frowned. was that all? apparently not, as the next thing to happen was the water draining down a newly opened hole. I stepped closer to peer inside, just in time to watch the hole expand wide enough to fit someone, and wide enough to expose the ladder beneath it.
     "holy shit..." I breathed, and Al grinned widely, gesturing for me to go in first. although I was a bit apprehensive, I still lowered myself on to the ladder, letting my feet find firm footing before climbing down, slowly but surely.
     The ladder lead to a small room, barely big enough for say, five people. the walls and ceiling were made of the same stone as the fountain, and water pooled into a tiny yet deep puddle (lake?) on the far smoother stone floor. Sunlight fell from the hole at top, and several unlit lanterns lined the walls. I jumped down, narrowly avoiding the puddle as I marveled the place in wonder.
     A smile that i didn't bother trying to hide quickly spread on my face. I was in awe- this place was amazing!
     "Pretty cool huh?" Al asked as they jumped down beside me.
     "'cool' doesn't begin to describe it!" shit, I could kiss them right now! but I settled for hugging them tightly with an excited squeal. they laughed, hesitantly hugging me back before I pulled away.
     "so, uh... wanna study?"
     I managed to gather my composure as I nodded and sat somewhat away from the lake. Al began lighting the lanterns as the hole above closed, casting the room in a warm orange glow. We got out our books, with Al seeming a tad... nervous, about something.
     "You okay Al?" Al jumped at the sudden sound of my voice and quickly assured me that they were fine, not nervous at all, whatsoever, because what would they even be nervous about?
     My backpack gave a loud "thud" as I dropped it on the floor in front of me. Some dust puffed up in a cloud when I did so, but Al did the same with their backpack so it was probably okay.
     I got out my Algebra 1 book, yet another class i had to retake this year, and began flipping through it. "oh- I took that class last year!" Al announced, clearly glad to be of help.
     For the next hour or so, Al helped me memorize some useless maths equations that I'm never gonna use in life ever.
     We were interrupted by Al recieving a text on their phone. I took a breather while they answered it, stretching and wincing when my young bones wailed like they were 80.
     once our break was over, I noticed that Al had began stuttering in their nervousness, but whenever i asked them about it, they brushed me off like it wasn't important. We were barely friends, but i still wished they'd stop being so secretive! Maybe i could help...
     They kept receiving texts too, which only seemed to add to their nervousness. eventually I grew fed up and slammed my book closed.
     "okay Al, what's up?"
     "Dammit Adrian, I was trying to procrastinate this!" They half-shouted, sounding rather upset with themself. Al sighed and combed a hand through their hair stressfully before quietly apologizing for yelling.
     Confused, I asked them what was wrong yet again. This time, they answered, albeit vaguely. "Do you know what a clairvoyant is?"
     Of course I knew what a clairvoyant was. A clairvoyant was someone who could supposedly read the future. Most of the ones in real life were bullshit, though some fairy tales tell of clairvoyants helping heroes on their journeys. "Yeah, go on..."
     "What would you do if... If I... was one?" The question hung in the air for a moment, allowing me time to ponder over it.
     "That'd be pretty cool I guess, but I don't think it would affect much," was my honest reply.
     "Cool, cause I am one, but, not the kind you're thinking of, probably..."
     "...So you're not bullshit?"
     "Well, no, look-"
     "Then why are you telling me?? We hardly know each other!"
     "Because you're the hero in this story, Adrian!"
     "Hero? Me? Al, I think you're being a tad delusion. I'm just a kid who can barely get straight D's in class. I don't have time to be a 'hero'"
     "What if I could prove it to you?"
     I sighed and laid back dramatically. Heroes were always some cis/hets ready for adventure at the drop of a hat. I'm none of those- how was I gonna go around hero-ing when I'm too busy with school? Honestly, sounds like a hassle. Being a hero was so not on my top priorities! "Fine, prove it."
     "Great-" they started to get to their feet. "we'll just get on our way, and-"
     "Excuse me what?" I grabbed their arm and pulled them back to a sitting position. they half-fell clumsily. "I can't ditch! plus, I have no reason to trust you!"
     Al groaned- I'm sure I must be annoying them, but I found I didn't care too much. Soon they'll realize they had the wrong person.
"How about this- soon as Lily recovers, we're going."
     I tried to think of some more excuses, but came up empty handed. "Fine." I begrudgingly agreed. I got up and stuffed my books into my bag, slinging it around my shoulder. Flues took a long time to get over- if I was lucky, I'll have conducted some excuse to not go on some suicide mission by then.
     "Perfect!" Before I could leave, they grabbed my wrist, forcing me to look at them. "You probably think I'm crazy, and that's probably my fault for not explaining this well. But... please actually take this into consideration? I didn't wanna dump this all on you but I've been hesitating enough and we're almost out of time."
     "Out of time for what?" They just gave a mysterious smirk and let go of my wrist. I sighed, both in frustration, and because I knew they were right- which just made me more frustrated!
     I walked over to the ladder, and as if sensing my intentions, the hole opened once more, letting water refill the hole that i didn't even realize had been emptied. as I climbed up, the outside light clearly showed that it was early evening.
     Al and their stupid adventure idea was all I could think of on the walk back to the dorms. This topic isn't something I've ever bothered studying, but Id like to think I knew enough to survive if Al proves right.
     In the average adventure group, there's a Clairvoyant, Hero, and Clicker. The Clairvoyant knows stuff about the future, the Hero both fights and leads, while the Clicker is technologically advanced- or, knows stuff about gadgets. There are other people in a group of course, such as the Joker, Healer, Thief, etc, but they're not always in a group.
     Al mentioned it just being us three, which is fine, that's not the part I have a problem with. The part I have a problem is the fact that I can't fight- I'm too physically weak. And while I'm rebellious, I'm no leader. With all these facts adding up, I can't help but doubt myself as a hero. If Al's right about me, could I really lead this group? Or would I inevitably fail it?
A/N: Feel free to correct any mistakes you find, and please vote if you think I'm worthy!