Things That Were Never Meant: UnOrdinary (Arlo x John)

Chapter 18

John couldn't make Remi go away, no matter how many times he told her to leave, she was just there. He noticed that Blyke still hasn't given up too, whenever there's an opportunity, he tries to talk with John, offering him things, asking him if he wanted to come, and suggesting things like working on their assignments together.

The dark haired man remained as cold as ice, pushing both of them away. He's satisfied with just Sera.

Seraphina who wouldn't hurt him, Seraphina who wouldn't judge him and leave him. He would fake as many smiles as he could in front of her, and he would ignore everything that kept on killing him.

However, the amount of time he's with Sera has lessened, and she doesn't text him as much as she used to. Their different schedules couldn't be helped, but he wished that she would hang-out with her more. She hangs out with Evie mostly now, and Seraphina tells him that Remi and Blyke are good people, and that if he gave them a chance, she knew that they'll be great friends.

John felt like Sera was slipping on his hands, he felt like she was pushing him away, even though he knew she wasn't.

He was just a mess, trying to fix himself, but he couldn't do it if Seraphina wasn't there. He couldn't smile without her, he couldn't.... Breathe.

John was aware that he was getting worse. It became more difficult to sleep at night, and he kept on dreaming about Claire and Arlo's betrayal, and the terrible things that followed after that.

He really was trying to fix himself and be better, but it was so difficult. Not when he couldn't look at himself, not when he kept on trembling everytime he remembers.

Today, he doesn't even know what to do. His father sent him a message, telling him that he would stay in a nearby hotel for a whole week and visit John.

He still couldn't face his father, or more like he doesn't know how to face him. John almost begged to the headmaster not to tell his father about what Zeke did to him. His father knows that he was hiding his abilities, and if his found out that he was hurt, he would force him to reveal it.

"John, you're not paying attention at all!" his teacher yelled, it was loud enough to snap him back.

The whole class was staring at him, and he felt so anxious. Their judging eyes, was enough to make his hands shake, and John could only feel shame.

"S-sorry... Can you repeat the question again sir?"

The professor sighed, meeting his eyes,  "Just sit, I'm not repeating the question again."

This wasn't like John. He wasn't like this, he doesn't tremble when eyes are on him, and he doesn't stutter with his words. Thankfully, Sera wasn't there to see him. Sera wasn't there to witness John making a fool of himself.

Unfortunately, once the class was done, Blyke approached him, while Isen stood nearby.

"Are you alright bro? I hate that prof, want to plan murder?"

John just blinked at him, he doesn't even have the energy today to tell him to leave.

"Just kidding... You look really pale today, I can bring you to the clinic if you're feeling terrible."

"I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine to me, heck you look like you haven't slept for weeks!"

"Doc doesn't want to see me." he reasoned.

"Well, the last time he had to treat someone must have been weeks, ever since Arlo threatened the students, no one has been fighting you know?"

It was the only good thing that happened to this school after John's assault. No one dared lay a finger on anyone due to their fear of being expelled like Zeke, sometimes, it makes John wish that Arlo have threatened them sooner.

It was ironic, a lot of times, John have to argue with Arlo just for him to protect Sera, and when he's not asking him from anything anymore, the blond just wasn't just able to stop Seraphina from being bullied, but every low tiers as well.

"Come on John, if you're worried about the lessons, I can take notes for you." Blyke suggested.

"There's no need, there's only one class left anyway."

John remained in the class until the last subject finishes, his heart was racing, and he was afraid of seeing his father. He doesn't head to his dorm immediately, instead, he hangs out on the rooftop.

His father still haven't messaged him telling him that he've arrived, but he could still be there, just like the last time when he surprised John by coming in unannounced.

He may not have the keys, but Blyke could still let him in, and as much as John wanted to, he couldn't text Blyke to tell him to not let his father in either.

John just stayed on top of the rooftop, until it started getting dark. Then, he headed back to his dorm, nervous as he turned the knob using his keys.

As soon as he went inside, he couldn't believed what he was seeing. Arlo was there, so was his father. They were sitting on the couch with Blyke, and with the looks of it, his father was chatting with the two of them.

"Son, what took you so long? I told you I was going to visit today didn't I?" his father asked, noticing his presence.

"I have to do something, sorry I lost track of time." he scratched his head, putting in a fake smile.

"You've never told me about your roommate and your other friend, I'm glad that you're finally interacting with others!" John's father looked to happy, and he couldn't bring himself to ruin it.

Even if he wanted to tell Arlo to leave, he couldn't, so he does what he could do.

"Blyke has really helped me a lot, we didn't really got along at first, but it turns out we're more similar than I thought!" he said, "I've bumped into Arlo a couple of times, then I invited him for a drink, and we started hanging out since... They've been really great friends to me, sorry I didn't tell you dad, I kinda wanted to surprise you too."

"Is that so? Looks like you have a lot of stories to tell, how about we eat outside?" William faced his son's friends, "Both of you can come to, tell me what my son was like, and the embarrassing stuff that he've done."

"Dad!"

John wanted to bury himself alive. It was probably painful to watch, and he could see how surprised the two was. John didn't want to betray his father's expectations, and Arlo and Blyke also doesn't want to disappoint his father too. For the night, John would put up his facade, he had to act like Arlo was his friend, even if he was the person who've hurt him the most.