Chapter 10

1.5K 66 15
                                    

John woke up before Arlo did. Waking up, he was surprised with the blond's presence beside him, but he felt embarrassed when he realized that he was holding him when he woke up, and that his arms probably restricted the blond from moving towards the mattress.

Not wanting to wake his friend up, John gently removed his arms, standing up afterwards to to brush his teeth and washed his face. Then, he checked his phone and realized that it was only six.

He still felt sleepy, but John wasn't really the type who would fall back asleep easily once he woke up. So instead of sleeping again, he went out to do some jogging like he always does.

Jogging not only helps him feel more awake and keep himself in shape, but it also gives him some time to think.

He've thought about what happened last night.

He revealed a part of himself to the blond. It wasn't purely the truth about himself, but it was a lot-- it was everything that Sera knows about him, it was the limit of what he could reveal.

Although it hasn't been a month since John encountered the blond, he thought that maybe it's good for Arlo to only believe what he knew. If John told him early on, he wouldn't doubt his words, just like Sera.

John was aware with the school's curiosity about him, since he didn't really fit the criteria. Wellston only consists of three types of students after all, they are either both rich and talented, just rich, or just just talented. There's mostly rich and talented students in Wellston.

Since the school has high academic standards, even those who excel on a normal school would likely find it difficult to keep up. Therefore, those who are just considered rich are also quite intelligent compared to normal students, and aren't really looked down upon since they're still rich and influential.

The 'just talented' students however, are more of a mixed. Some talented students are able to study here because they are considered as a genius or a prodigy on a certain field, while some are just far more intelligent than any normal student.

They're not rich, but they're not poor either, although they'll seem poor in comparison given the majority of the school's population. Not all get bullied, but John have encountered a few.

Needless to say, no matter how you look at it, John was just below everyone else. He's not rich, nor talented, although he's not sure if his ability to mime could be considered a talent, whether it's a talent or not, he's simply not a genius nor a prodigy. His grades were barely passing an average too-- Sera is one of the reason why isn't even failing yet.

The fact that Seraphina, the Ace, the richest and the smartest girl on their school, was his best friend was another reason for them to be more intrigued, and John guessed that they'll lose their minds if they found out that him and Arlo are in a relationship-- although it doesn't really seemed like they are.

Still, as much as possible, he prefers it that there isn't much known about him. John values his privacy, he'd like it if his friendship or relationship with Arlo remains private.

Just like the other things about himself.

--------------------------------

John returned to his apartment at almost 7:00 am, he felt more awake than he did earlier, and he was now covered in sweat.

When he opened the door, he saw Arlo standing near his cabinet, his eyes were wide, surprised with John's presence.

"Where have you been, John?" Arlo asked, pretending like he didn't know about John's schedule.

"Just went jogging, I didn't bother waking you up since you probably haven't gotten a proper sleep, and it's still early so..." John paused, "By the way, are you hungry? I have some bread there and some fruits-- but we can go out too, I just have to take a bath first since I'm kinda sweaty."

Arlo nodded his head, "I'm fine. "

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'm not planning to stay much longer anyway. My mother called, and she's visiting apparently."

"Is that so? You should atleast eat something before leaving Arlo."

"I will then."

Not long after that, the dark haired man went to the bathroom to take a bath, while Arlo sat on the table, eating a piece of bread as he calm himself down.

Arlo's plan was to search John's items once he's taking a bath, however, the blond have already done it when he woke up not long after John did, pretending to be asleep until he leaves.

He first searched the drawers, making sure that everything is arranged as they originally are once he was done.

The blond was looking for some birth certificate, adoption papers, or any documents proving John's legal identity.

If John was just wandering around the streets, it's logical that he wouldn't have one. But if he was taken by the circus owner or if their headmaster really did saw John performing, he must have had a registered name now, since he shouldn't be able to enroll at Wellston if he doesn't have atleast a legal name.

However, there were no documents on his drawers, and so, Arlo then proceeded to search on John's cabinet.

The dark haired man's cabinet was just his clothes, uniforms, mime costumes, casual clothes-- there isn't much to see, not even an envelope that is possibly hidden underneath or beside the folded shirts.

That was what Arlo thought, but upon closer inspection, after removing some of his folded clothes, there was a small black box on the corner on the left, the top of it  was covered by clothes, so it wasn't easily seen.

Without a second thought, Arlo took the box, opening it to see what was inside,

And when the blond opened it, he was surprised with what he saw.

Inside the box was a black and gold ring, encrypted with a wolf's head placed on a shield, surrounded by chains and leaves.

While it may at first appear like an ordinary decorated ring, Arlo knows that it's more than that. He couldn't exactly pinpoint which the symbol belongs to, but Arlo's sure of one thing.

The ring that John has, isn't just a simple ring, but a family crest.

With his discovery, Arlo snapped a picture of the ring, returning it to it's box and placing it at the very corner of John's cabinet like where it originally was.

Then he returned the clothes, fixing it and closing the cabinet once he was done. He was almost caught, since not long after that, John arrived.

Arlo couldn't wait to leave. He must know about that ring, about it's origin, about which family it bares, and what exactly John's identity is.

Cards and Diamonds: UnOrdinary Where stories live. Discover now