Burn Bright or Collapse Furiously (Ahri x OC)

Chapter 4: Math with Ahri and Syndra

Branden had just left yearbook and went to math class. His mind was clearer than before but still had sparks of anger. Ahri was surprised to see that she was in an upper math class. It was only the second hour but Branden wanted to get out. Ahri was still concerned about Branden's mental state; she wanted to comfort him but he never wanted any interaction with her.

I had just exited yearbook with anger still filling my mind. As long as Ahri is near; i will not be comfortable, I thought as I walked through the halls. I reached my math class and sat down on the right of Syndra. I was always good at math and enjoyed it to a certain degree. Syndra was always great at math but was never motivated to do it. I remember Sarah telling me to try and not hang around her too much; she thinks her attitude would rub off me. I turned and looked at Syndra with a smile; she looked at me with a confused face "Did you need something?" I was shocked, I guess i'm not the only one in a bad mood.

The bell rang and I saw that Ahri sat down on the left of Syndra. Why does she always have to be near me in every class?! I exclaimed in my head. I suddenly had a realization, Wait... why is Ahri in my math class? I'm in a higher math class and she sucks at math... I pondered this thought for a while. I quickly completed the assignment of the day and decided to talk to Syndra.

I looked at Syndra; she was hungover in her chair. "Hey, are you done with the assignment?" I asked Syndra, "Yeah, It was easy." she responded smugly. "Why are you moody today? I'm here if you want to talk." I asked with caution knowing she would probably scowl my question. She had immediately sat up in her chair and looked at me with a shocked face, "You actually care about me?!" I was completely shocked and a little scared of her response. Her purple eyes made contact with mine; her dark purple eyes always sent shivers down my back. I immediately noticed that Ahri had looked over and had anger build again but was quickly gone after I saw Syndra's sad face expression.

Ahri's Pov

I was trying to complete my math assignment and was super frustrated. How on starlight do people manage to solve these?! I thought frustrated. "Why are you moody today? I'm here if you want to talk" i heard someone say this on my right; I look to my right and see that Branden is giving Syndra words of encouragement. He still has a heart! There's still a chance! I exclaimed in my head. I suddenly had a heartwarming flashback of him...

Flashback seven years before the present

Me and my group were in a forest scouting for the next attack. "This area is marked and cleared!'' I yelled towards Xayah; she looked at me and nodded. I moved into the next area. My ears twitched as I heard sniffling and familiar voices. I moved closer to where the noises were; I moved a tree branch to see that Neeko was leaning against a tree and Branden was kneeling near her. I stayed hidden to see what was going on.

"Neeko are you ok?" asked Branden with concern, "I'm just scared of these creatures; my curiosity has led to many mistakes... I-i feel like a burden to the team..." Neeko responded with tears in her eyes. I see that Branden has moved closer to Neeko and gave her a hug; she hugged him tightly and with tears in her eyes. Neeko had completely broken down; Branden's left sleeve was soaked in tears. I have never seen Neeko so sad; she was always curious and never looked down. Were these inside thoughts that she held in? I thought as my ears drooped while feeling a bit guilty.

I noticed that Neeko had wrapped her tail around him and tightly hugged him tightly like a pillow for a few minutes; Branden was rubbing her back in sympathy. Branden finally broke the silence, "You are no burden to the team Neeko; you are courageous and a special part of the family." Neeko had pulled from the hug and stared into Branden's eyes. Neeko still had her arms and tail around his waist; She then started to look down. Branden started to run his hand through her hair. Branden cares so much for us, I thought.

Branden took a deep breath and started to speak in a slow and calm voice, "Everyone goes through tough times, it's in our nature to do so and it's ok to be sad." Neeko was still looking down, it looked like she was processing what he said. "Neeko... you have powers that none of us have and you are amazing at what you do. Never shadow your light and accomplishments with every little mistake." Branden said soothingly.

Branden stopped running his hand through her hair and moved his hand onto Neekos chin and tilted her head up. The two made eye contact and I saw Branden smile faintly. "We all love you and support you with all the light we have. No mistake or wrong doing shall tear our family apart." Neeko hugged Branden tightly and with tears of relief. I was on the verge of tears as I was amazed to see that he calmed Neeko down. "T-thank you... You are right... I am too harsh on myself." Neeko released her grip and looked at Branden with a smile on her face "I'm glad i have a family..." She hugged him again but more passionately this time. "I'm glad we have you." Neeko said with relief and happiness. Branden passionately hugged her back, "I'm glad we have you too."

I just came out of my flashback and saw that Branden was talking to Syndra. He was comforting her and was showing heart and sympathy, That's the Branden I know. Syndra seems to be a hard person to talk to but Branden cracked through that, I held onto that thought for a while.

Branden's POV

I was talking to Syndra with a calm tone, "what's wrong?" Syndra looked at me; I could tell she had been through a lot this morning. "I just am just not feeling myself today, I don't know why." Syndra responded sounding sad. "I'll be honest, I am feeling the same today. I have had bad times before..." I responded looking at Syndra. We looked at each other for a few seconds; she broke the silence, "Why are you helping me? I'm used to not having people to talk to." I looked at her with sympathy, "I know what you are feeling; I have had that feeling many times. I just don't want others to experience what I had to go through. Plus you never talk to anyone" I responded with a scared laugh; i was scared that she would hurt me after that last comment.

I see that Ahri had looked over and was intrigued. "Syndra?" Ahri asked. Syndra had turned to her left and faced Ahri; she responded coldly, "What do you need?" Thats a cold response, I thought. I see that Ahri was also surprised at the cold response, "Can you help me with some of the problems?" I see that Syndra was studying her. Unless you are her friend, talking to Syndra is difficult. Is Ahri worth Syndra's time? I thought anxiously about what was gonna happen next.

"Sure, which problem did you need help with?" Syndra responded quickly after studying Ahri. That was fast, it usually takes a while to talk to Syndra, I thought with shock. It looked like she had done most of the problems except six problems. I let Syndra help Ahri as I started to pack my stuff early. "Thanks Syndra" I heard Ahri say as I zipped my backpack up. I looked up to see that Syndra was looking at me; I was startled to see her so close to me. "How did it go?" I asked with curiosity. Syndra smiled at me "It went fine, she just needs to know how to set up the problem."

I saw that the bell was gonna ring soon. I quickly looked at Syndra confused, "You usually don't speak to people that aren't worth your time. What was different about Ahri?" Syndra looked at me with a smirk, "She's.... different." Before I could ask why, the bell rang and she quickly left. Different... what does she mean by that, I thought as I left for language class.

I loved writing this chapter and I hope you guys enjoy it!

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Have a great day!