I woke up late. Again.
I didn't rush. I took my bath without caring how late I was for school. I hadn't shown up for four days, so one more delay wouldn't matter.
As I ate breakfast slowly, I thought about the dream I'd been having lately. Flashes of it came to me ,blurred, broken — but I didn't dwell on them.
I live with my parents, though they're rarely around. Always traveling for work, gone for over a week at a time.
This week was no different. And I didn't care.
I left home and walked toward the bus stop when a woman screamed behind me.
I turned. A crowd had gathered, staring up at a young woman standing on the edge of a tall building. She was about to jump.
Some shouted advice. Others just stared. A few pulled out their phones, recording and taking pictures like it was entertainment.
I joined the onlookers, waiting to see what would happen. That's when I saw it — a figure standing beside her.
It didn't look human.
It's eyes locked with mine. It smiled.
No one else seemed to notice it.
To the crowd, the woman leapt by herself.
To me, the creature shoved her.
She spun as she fell, hitting the ground like a squashed taco. Blood splattered nearby bystanders. Panic erupted; some fled, others filmed.
It was strange. The building wasn't tall enough for a fall to shatter someone like that.
Yet her body was in pieces.
The crowd murmured theories. None of them mattered to me.
My eyes stayed on the figure still on the roof. It admired its work before vanishing.
I looked at the corpse one last time and walked away without a shred of pity.
---
My name is Will Evert. Somehow, I have no emotions.
I don't know if I was born this way. My past is vague, my memories short. I can't recall anything older than a week.
I thought that was normal. I never bothered to ask anyone.
I felt normal.
---
When I arrived at school, late as usual, I noticed something strange.
Jake — tall, handsome, the so-called prince charming of the school — was staring at me with something like hostility.
Good at sports, top of his classes, adored by girls, even friendly with teachers. Everything I wasn't.
Why was he staring? I didn't know. I didn't care.
---
By lunch, I headed to the cafeteria. I picked up my tray, found a table, and ate alone.
A girl approached.
"Can I sit here?" she asked, smiling.
"Yeah, you can," I said without looking up.
"Do you eat here often?"
"Yeah."
She paused, as if thrown off by my flat tone.
"You're always alone. Don't you have friends?"
"I have none."
She fell silent, disappointment flickering in her expression.
---
"Do you want to be my friend, then?" she asked suddenly, still smiling.
I stopped eating and looked at her properly for the first time.
"I'm Love. Nice to meet you."
I knew who she was. Everyone did. Beautiful, graceful, with deep ocean-blue eyes and silky blue hair. Smart and athletic, too.
But that wasn't what caught my attention.
Her Life Scale read 100% GOOD.
---
I've never seen a human with that scale count, I thought out loud.
"Why do you want to be friends with me?" I asked. My voice came out flat, suspicious.
"I was told to," Love said. "They said it would be beneficial to me."
"If you were told to make friends, why not pick someone else? I barely talk to anyone."
Her gaze didn't waver. "No. It has to be you."
I studied her face for a long moment, then shrugged. "Fine. If that's what you want, do as you please."
She smiled. Somehow, that smile warmed the ice in my chest — just a little. We shook hands, sealing the deal.
---
School ended. I was halfway home when two classmates blocked my path.
They didn't waste words. They grabbed me, dragging me into a narrow alley and shoving me to the ground.
I stood, brushing dirt from my uniform. Pain meant nothing to me.
"Yo, Will," Jake greeted, smiling in a way that promised trouble. He gripped my collar. "Stay away from my girl."
Despite the fake politeness in his voice, his eyes were sharp with anger.
"Who are you?" I asked.
That made him snap. "Not only did you touch Love, but you don't even know me? Me — the face of the school?!"
His fist slammed into my gut. I hit the trash bin hard.
---
"Now do you remember me?" Jake sneered.
"If you're talking about Love, she told me she has no friends," I said, standing like nothing happened.
"Hitting me won't solve your problem. So quit it."
That only fueled his rage. He rushed me, punching my face.
"That's what I hate about you!" he roared. "You're too damn calm! Even now you act like you're in control! I'm supposed to be the coolest guy in school!"
He kept punching. My expression didn't change.
---
"If you think she's after me because I'm 'cool,'" I said, spitting blood, "maybe you should try being cool yourself."
It was the first time I could remember bleeding.
"I'll rearrange your face so she won't even recognize you!" Jake snarled.
He punched harder. I let him. Avoiding people had always been natural to me — not about emotions, just… choice.
Blood dripped from my lips. Then something inside me caught fire.
---
It wasn't pain. It was rage.
Crimson light burst in my chest, spreading like wildfire through my veins.
I tapped Jake's chest lightly — and sent him flying across the alley.
"How weak," I said. My voice was different now. Darker. "That's all it takes to beat you?"
I wasn't myself anymore. My lips twisted into a cruel smile.
---
I could see my body from the outside — like I was standing behind myself.
In this strange space, I stood beside… me. Only older, with burning red eyes, crimson hair, and a cloak of fire dragging at his feet.
Wrath.
Outside, my body pulsed with red aura.
Two more bullies charged at me. Wrath moved my body like a predator. My fists blurred, each blow light yet devastating. Bruises and burns bloomed on their skin.
They dragged the unconscious Jake away.
---
Control returned to me.
"What was that?" I whispered.
For the first time, I felt something new.
An emotion.
And It felt like it's has attached to me.