"Vanessa..."
Everyone's eyes followed him as the doors shut, everyone except Vanessa. She stayed silent, as though Mason's summons to the office was the very thing she wished hadn't happened.
"Mr Harris, now that you're here, I'll make this brief." The principal cleared her throat as she welcomed him in.
"Principal Margaret, is something wrong?" He walked up to her table with a nervous gulp, his heart thudding. With only Vanessa there, he couldn't help but think it was about what nearly happened between them in the classroom days ago.
He pulled the chair back, and before he could sit, Margaret's eyes flicked up in sudden confusion.
"Are you sure about that?" There was no need for him to seat, after all after monitoring their unholy activities in her classrooms during their spare time, she knew this news would definitely shake him up.
He discarded the idea, his heart pounding even faster now.
"Now then, Mason Harris, Y-"
"We didn't do it!" He spoke up immediately, leaving everyone confused. "I swear we didn't do it, I mean, we almost did but something happened so we didn't do it!"
Even Vanessa who refuse to lock eyes with him earlier had to, she didn't know what to think.
"Hmph, Wimp." Miss Mary muttered under her breath as she looked away.
"What are you talking about? I didn't call you here to talk about how you and your girlfriend spend your free times. I don't care about what you do as long as you don't foil my furniture." Margaret made it clear, and she made it known to him.
She knew what they did when no one was looking.
"Wait so, if you didn't call us here to punish us, then why did you call us?"
Vanessa's eyes shifted back to how they'd been when he first walked in. The principal and Miss Mary exchanged a quick glance, then Miss Mary cleared her throat and fixed her gaze on Mason.
"From today henceforth, Miss Vanessa Reginald will no longer be a student of this institution."
His eyes went wide in disbelief, unable to believe what he just heard. He turned to Vanessa at first, but seeing she had no intention of answering, he slowly shifted his attention back to the principal.
"What is this? What do you mean she's no longer a student here?"
"She's being transferred to a prestigious institution.
"What institution?" He asked immediately.
"That information is classified Mason, even if I knew, I wouldn't be able to tell you."
He ran his fingers through his hair, he couldn't believe it, he couldn't believe it one bit.
"Even her transfer is classified, we cannot tell the students why she's leaving or where she's leaving to. Thanks to your current relationship with Miss Vanessa, you have the privilege to see her off before she leaves."
"Before she leaves? Are you trying to say that I won't see her again?"
They all exchanged glances once more, and that was all the answer he needed.
"Mason." Vanessa called out to him.
"I don't believe this." He turned and walked out of the office, with Vanessa quietly following right behind him.
"Mason wait!"
As the door clicked shut behind her, Mason turned to face her, a disapproving smile resting on his face. "So this is why you've been distant lately? Why you don't pick your calls?"
She couldn't bring herself to answer, her face tightening as though she were on the verge of breaking into tears.
"What school is it?"
"I can't say Mason, it really is classified." Tears escaped her eyes.
"So you really can't tell me that?" Even with his pleas, she said nothing; all she could do was stay silent, hovering on the edge of tears.
Mason scoffed, turned his back and walked away.
"Mason wait! Let's talk about this!"
"It seems, there isn't much to talk about." With his final words, he walked away down the corridor, leaving her alone until she finally broke down in tears.
..
[Titan's Industries]
Chloe, suited up as Lady Impulse, made her way to her manager's office. She was lost in thought, unconsciously ignoring all the greetings that were thrown at her as she passed fellow staffs of the Titan's Industries.
She couldn't stop thinking about it, the previous night, and what had happened.
The vigilantes words struck her like a bullet to her chest, she knew it wasn't true, but the moment she saw him save the two individuals from the mess she herself made, she doubted her beliefs.
But even at that, it wasn't what was bothering her. It was the vigilante himself. There was something captivating about him that she couldn't shake off.
After the ICT staff she threatened revealed the sealed data to her, she didn't go to the docks, instead she stayed home deciding the dress to wear for her photoshoot the next day, until he called her and informed her about the disturbances at the docks.
By the time she got there, she saw the vigilante fighting off the hijackers. It was then it hit her, despite complaining to Shawn about it, she was no different from him. Or perhaps it's because she was already used to it?
The Vigilante, although caught in a blast that should have landed him in the intensive care unit, didn't hesitate to go back. But she, she forgot all about it, and when reminded, tried to make a difference.
But she only made things worse.
"Yeah... That's it." She muttered under her breath as she reached Shawn's doors, she finally figured out what was captivating about him.
Even without any powers, the Vigilante didn't think twice before putting his life on the line to save others.
She pushed open the doors and walked in not wanting to keep her manager waiting.
"Chloe, I'm glad you could make it." Shawn said as he rose quickly from the desk, fastening his suit jacket before guiding her to the sofa at the side of his office.
"Sit sit." He insisted as he poured a cup of coffee and handed it over to her before they both sat down.
"I heard you wanted to see me? What is it?" She went straight to the point.
"Business as usual, you see this is why I like you. This is why you are the face of Titan's Tech Industries." He dropped his cup of coffee and stood up.
"You see, over the past few days, the marketing department made great profits, great success in the launch your new comic, Lady Impulse — Kinetic Overdrive II." He began, turning his back to her as he clasped his hands behind him.
"Um, that's great? What's that got to do with me Shawn?"
He smiled.
"We received many, many feedback from your fans and followers, most suggesting ideas and others their desires to become your slave boy. Which got us thinking, what if we could triple this success?"
"And how do you plan on doing that?"
"It's simple my dear Chloe." He picked up a small remote controller and pressed a button. "We give them what they want, and what they want is to see their favorite hero in the costume she had on in the comics."
A mechanical hum filled the air as the lid on the floor slid open, revealing a sleek clothing mannequin that rose slowly.
And there it was, a newly designed limited edition Lady Impulse costume, at least that's what it was in Shawn's eyes, but in Chloe's...
"What the fuck is that!?"