The next day came quicker than Rhian expected.
He woke up early, his body feeling light despite another night of strange dreams haunting his sleep. None of that mattered today. Nothing could ruin the mood he was in.
Today was his first step into a portal.
Yesterday they had been sent new uniform that was fit for more dangerous battles than class fights.
After getting ready, he met up with Aras and Ash as they usually did, walking together towards the academy buildings.
Soon enough, Aras broke off towards his own class without much of a word, giving a small nod before walking away down another hallway.
That left Rhian and Ash.
The two continued walking at their own pace.
Chatting about nothing important. Ash being Ash, throwing out whatever wild thoughts came to his mind, while Rhian listened and threw a few back.
They ignored the looks.
The quiet whispers from certain students along the path.
Rhian didn't care.
Ash didn't even seem to notice.
What mattered more was that for once, Ash wasn't running late. Mostly because Rhian had made sure to wake him up earlier today, practically dragging him out of bed to avoid his usual nonsense.
It wasn't just to help him avoid punishment either.
If Ash got told he couldn't enter the portal for being late... Rhian would probably have to listen to him complain about it for the next month straight.
And there was no way he was suffering through that.
And there was that he wanted his friend to be there on his first portal run.
They finally got to class.
As expected, every pair of eyes turned toward them the moment they stepped in. The stares weren't subtle. They weren't curious either. It was that look Rhian had come to recognize easily now, disgust mixed with interest, like watching an animal at a zoo.
They walked past slowly, side by side, like they didn't notice a thing.
But they heard it.
One guy, sitting a little off to the side, not even trying to lower his voice completely.
"Dirty freak..."
Ash was the first to pause.
That grin, wide, sharp, way too casual for the situation, spread across his face like someone had just handed him a free ticket to chaos.
He turned, leaning down to the guy's level, voice light but clear. "What?"
The classroom looked immediately.
Conversations stopped.
Eyes moved.
Was there gonna be a fight?
Rhian, standing next to him, grinned too.
He stepped forward, joining Ash, mirroring him.
"Yeah, what?" Rhian added, leaning in just enough to close the distance.
The guy hesitated but tried to push through it.
"I said dir—"
"What?" Ash cut him off again, casually.
"I said—"
"What?" Rhian followed, not even blinking.
"I—"
"What?" both of them said at the same time.
By now, the guy's face was getting red. He looked like a kettle about to blow steam, stuck repeating the first letter of his insult like a broken record while both Rhian and Ash stared him down like they had all day to waste.
The guy shot up from his seat, finally snapping, but before he could even fully stand, Rhian casually placed a hand on his shoulder.
Firm.
Not playful like Ash.
It was quiet pressure.
"I wouldn't do that," Rhian said calmly.
The room was dead silent now.
The guy didn't move.
Neither did Rhian's hand.
Rhian wasn't loud. But his meaning was clear, sit down and stay there.
And the guy, despite his pride, slowly sat back down.
Rhian didn't even remember the guy from any of his classes.
Which told him everything he needed to know.
If he didn't stand out, if he wasn't known for his strength, then he wasn't a threat. At least not in Rhian's eyes. In this class, the strongest was obvious.
Nia held that spot without question. And while Rhian believed there might be others close to her level, it definitely wasn't this guy.
This guy threw that insult thinking Rhian would just ignore it.
Most Evolved did, even when they were stronger.
Kept their heads down because reacting usually brought more problems than it solved.
Rhian almost did the same. Almost.
Until Ash stopped.
And if they were already here, already standing in front of him, then Rhian was going to leave a mark.
His hand pressed down harder on the guy's shoulder. Not enough to injure, but enough to remind him exactly who he was dealing with. Enough to take away any idea of standing up again.
The guy didn't meet their eyes.
Ash, grinning like a fox, reached out casually and ruffled the guy's hair like he was patting a child.
"Good boy..." he said under his breath, in that same careless way of his.
Then both of them turned and walked away, leaving the class dead silent, all eyes now not on Rhian or Ash, but on the guy with his pride crumpled and hair completely messed up.
They went back to their seats like nothing happened.
As they sat down, Nia, sitting nearby, chuckled lightly under her breath.
"Childish."
Hearing her chuckle, Ash couldn't help himself. He turned in his seat, resting an arm casually over the backrest, peeking over at Nia with that signature grin of his.
"Ohhh?" he dragged out the sound like he just discovered something scandalous. "You like seeing our boy here act all big and scary, huh?"
He nudged his thumb lazily at Rhian like he was exposing a long-kept secret. "Didn't know you were into the whole 'silent but grabs your soul outta your body' type."
Rhian didn't even bother turning to look at Ash. He just sighed, rubbing his temple with two fingers like dealing with this idiot was becoming a full-time job.
Nia's lips curled just slightly, shaking her head but not denying it either.
"Mind your business, ass-blonde," she shot back calmly, without missing a beat.
Ash leaned back in his chair, laughing to himself. "Nah, nah, I'm proud. Our little outskirt rat growing up so fast," he whispered like a fake proud dad.
Rhian finally side-eyed him, deadpan. "Shut up."
Ash chuckled again, leaning in toward Nia with a grin like he was whispering secrets. "But for real, you should've seen his face when the guy sat down like a puppy. Had that 'yes alpha' energy going strong."
Nia shook her head again, hiding another small laugh.
Rhian sat there, quiet, but even he couldn't hide the small twitch at the corner of his mouth as he stole a glance at Nia.
The door suddenly slid open, and Mr. Callor entered without pause, his large body coming to view.
"I'm sure all of you have heard," he spoke, voice steady and clear, "today you will be entering a portal. Follow me. Don't stray behind."
The announcement was simple. Not wasting another second, he turned and walked out, expecting them to follow.
Chairs shifted as students stood, gathering their things.
Rhian got up at his own pace, slinging his bag over his shoulder. His eyes naturally drifted toward the same guy from earlier, the one who called him a freak like it was supposed to break him.
A quiet chuckle escaped him.
What he and Ash did was childish, sure. Rhian had originally planned to just ignore it, like most Evolved usually did. But thinking back, it still made him wonder how dumb was the guy to keep trying to spit the insult out when it was obvious they were messing with him?
That, to Rhian, was worse than the insult itself.
Weak people were always the loudest until someone looked back at them.
Adjusting his glove, Rhian walked next to Nia as they followed Ash and the class out.