DEVIATE X / / AN UNORDINARY FANFICTION

II.

The next day.

"Remi's really sweet, I promise. You guys will become friends in no time."

I listened as Isen chirped about my roommate Remi. His hand clicked an elegant pen, most likely his, furiously before he set the metal tip back onto a sheet of notes.

"Where is she? She didn't come back last night." I replied observantly.

"She's been gone all week." Isen said. "A family emergency, I think."

Emergency? The timing couldn't have been worse. Exams are right around the corner. But with my arrival, it's much more difficult for me to lighten my load of work than it is for her.

My eyes darted to the library door as it squeaked open. Arlo emerged, his familiar cold gaze scanning the tables before landing on ours. His shoes clicked against the floor before halting behind Isen.

"Isen."

Isen jumped across from me before slightly turning to Arlo's tall stature.

"O-oh....hey Arlo." He tried replying casually, but it was evident that fear contaminated his voice. What was once a light and easygoing aura suddenly became tainted with fear.

"A word." Arlo replied simply before glancing at me again. "Outside."

Isen immediately heeded his words and followed him outside. I looked down at the surface of my desk, fidgeting with my pen as I formulated my thoughts.

His presence....was it coincidental? No....I thought, contradicting my initial thought. He had no purpose here. No books in his hand, no destination set in mind for a specific book. The way his eyes roamed the room appeared to be that he was looking for Isen specifically. But why? Friends wouldn't fear each other, or talk in private unless it was purely confidential and serious.

But seriously, at an inconvenient time like this?

I heard the door creak open again, revealing Isen but no Arlo in sight. His face seemed subtly devoid of color, with his fearful aura replenished by a sense of nervousness.

"Are you....okay?" I asked hesitantly.

"Huh? Yeah!" Isen said, attempting to mask his nervous behavior with enthusiasm. "Arlo just needed to talk to me about an upcoming story he wanted me to write."

"A story? People can request someone to write a specific story?" I raised a brow. That didn't seem like traditional journalism to me; it seemed like this method was only if it were something important and big.

"I mean, specifically he can."

"What do you mean?"

Isen's eyes widened. "You don't know? I'd figured that even new students would find out by the end of their first day that Arlo's the King."

I furrowed my brow. King? I always knew that when Irel attended school here, he was the Ace for two years before he graduated. But is this "Royal hierarchy" really that important? With the way Irel spoke about it, it seemed as "significant" as a chess club.

But it explains Arlo's arrogant and dominating presence. Maybe his aura was fueled by such a dear title. King or not, he seemed like just another face in the hallways to me.

"King," I repeated, this time out loud. "So who's the Queen then?"

"Remi." Isen replied cheerily. "My best friend Blyke is the Jack, and Seraphina's the Ace."

Ace. From what Irel told me, not every year had an Ace at Wellston. An individual had to surpass the ability level of both the King and Queen to become an Ace. It was usually once in a blue moon that this school had an Ace. But only a small percentage of this world had high tiers, hell, even god tiers.

"Yeah I know the hierarchy works." I said.

Isen sighed.

"I wish I was strong enough to have one of those titles. Even though i'm strong, there's only a handful of us at this school who are powerful enough for it."

Huh, so maybe I was wrong about Arlo. Maybe he has abilities powerful enough to support his arrogance and confidence.

"I see." I replied simply as he glanced at me. "So what about you, what are your powers? Usually new students are eager enough to flex their powers with people who're in similar rank to them."

I looked at him. The familiar curiosity I felt yesterday was bubbling up again. So this was the question he was itching to ask me earlier.

I laughed dryly.

"Nothing probably as impressive as what the Royals probably have." I evaded lightly.

"Aw, don't play. Everyone usually flexes their abilities their first week, or at least hints at it. You never even touched the subject. Maybe you're hiding it because it's so damn amazing." Isen teased, winking at me.

I forced a laugh, uncomfortably this time.

"Heh, no, I don't think so." I said and averted my eyes down to my notes. Before he could say anything, I spoke. "We're a little short on time since your little encounter with Arlo. I think we should finish up this session before the library closes." I suggested and flipped the next page of the biology book.

"Right..." Isen said, defeated at my vague response and returning back to work before thoughts about my abilities could resurface again. :;