"Why won't you just stay away from me?" Ryan asked in exasperation, staring at the girl before him, her lustrous black hair tied back in a ponytail, her blue eyes fixed on him with that curiosity that always unnerved him.
"I just found out something interesting," she said with a cheeky smile, completely ignoring his question.
Sigh.
He looked around the lecture hall. There were a lot of people here, but the spot he always sat was more isolated, that is, until she started sitting here too, and now he got death glares from half the room, the worst of them from a certain guy.
"Can you just leave? I don't like the attention you bring, so go back to your boyfriend," he said, leaning back and closing his eyes.
"Ugh," he groaned, opening them again to find her fist on his arm. She had just punched him.
'What the hell is wrong with this girl?'
'And why is she so fucking strong?' That was the one question that still didn't make sense. She looked so fragile, yet she packed a punch.
Most people, if not all, had heard about what he did in the past, and it kept them away, knowing he wasn't right in the head. After all, one of the things he did back then was pulling the trigger on some kids.
"I have problems, you know," he said, trying once more to remind her he was dangerous, but she ignored that too.
"I don't have a boyfriend, and I've told you that countless times," she said, then added, "As I said, I just found out something interesting."
At this point Ryan gave up trying to chase her away. He remembered the huge scene he caused last time, acting like he'd get violent, yet here she was again, acting as though they were best friends. It all started a week ago, after an encounter the morning before lecture where he collided with her 'boyfriend,' as he'd dubbed him.
What made it stranger was that no matter how annoying she was, he always felt relaxed with her around, a fact he would rather die than admit.
"What?" he asked, exasperated.
"Our names are similar. We have the same first letters," she said with that cheeky smile.
"Really?" he asked, feigning interest. "So what's your name?"
"Ugh," he groaned again, glaring at her. "Do that again and I will-"
"Ugh," she punched him again, wearing a pout.
'What…'
'I think this girl is actually the crazy one,' he thought, bewildered beyond description. She just never stopped surprising him. Maybe he was the one who was supposed to avoid her, she might have been more dangerous than him.
"How do you not know my name?" she asked.
"Because I don't care," he said.
"Fine," she said, then grabbed his bag. "Hey, give that back," he said. "Just wait a sec," she replied, then wrote on the back with a pen eraser, 'R + R.'
"Why the fuck did you write that?" he asked, annoyed, snatching it back and trying to wipe it off.
"So you won't forget it," she smiled, then, "Aww!" she cried, as he knocked her on the head and leaned back, satisfied.
"Why did you do that?" she asked, frowning, holding her head.
He stayed silent.
"Fine then," she smiled, falling quiet too.
After a while he spoke, "What does the R stand for?"
"Just look," she said, he opened his eyes to find she'd done something worse, written on his shirt without him even noticing. 'Ryan has a crush on Renay,' written boldly.
"FUCK YOU!"
...
..
"Haa!" He sprang up, eyes meeting darkness.
"Huh? What happened?" he muttered, then realized he was on a bed. The place was completely dark, he couldn't see a thing.
"A bunk?" I muttered, his hands hitting metal the moment he stretched them upward.
"Zel," he said, but there was only silence.
"Zel," he said again. No reply.
It was then that he realized something was wrong, very wrong. This was the first time the voice hadn't responded when he called.
"Wait," he muttered, eyes widening as he felt a sensation he hadn't felt since before he awakened. "My mana, it's back. How?!"