Moonhaven 2 (M2): Round 2

Chapter 12: Sonder

After about seven minutes and a near thorough pat down, Alex was finally free to leave the bleachers. Every player from both teams had gone into the locker rooms for an intermission, and Alex would have gone the same way as them but spectators weren't allowed, so he went to the other rear door located at the side of the school.

He travelled as fast as he could through the halls to get to the locker rooms by the gym, while at the same time trying to ignore the voice in his head telling him that this search for Number 16 was futile. Alex knew that maybe it was, but it was also a bold move that he didn't know he was even capable of attempting.

Since meeting the group, he'd been doing a lot of bold things that he would have never considered attempting back in New Orleans; nowadays he was determined to at least try much of the opportunities that came his way.

Just as he crossed into a hallway intersection, he crashed into someone, both parties nearly stumbling to the floor. It was a boy, about Alex's age, fair skin and deep blue eyes prominent on him, along with his silky blonde hair.

"Oh, shit," the boy gasped, startled by the collision.

"Sorry, sorry. Did I scare you? I scared you. Really sorry about that. I sometimes have a tendency to not make any noise when I move. I'm like an owl, or a jellyfish. Again, really sorry," Alex rambled.

As he got a closer look, Alex realized that it was number 16 in the flesh, just about a foot or so shorter than him. He clasped the boy's arm to keep him steady, and then he smiled because he believed that smiles were very contagious. But number 16 didn't smile, and instead stared back at him as if looking at a ghost.

"I-It's fine — I'm fine," the boy stuttered. "I-I'm like a baby horse myself sometimes."

"Foal," Alex corrected.

"W-what?"

"A foal. It's a horse that's younger than a year old." Alex cursed at himself in his head. If Lev was here, he'd call him a wise-ass. "But anyway, I actually came back here to find you. I was at the game kind of late, like thirty minutes ago, but I'm glad I got there when I did before I missed that wicked goal you made. A shoulder feint and then a 360 spin all in one go, I don't think I've ever seen anyone else do it before. Awesome, dude."

"T-thanks," the boy stammered out, his cheeks going mildly pink. "Uhm, do you play soccer? You s-sound like you play."

Alex shrugged, not really wanting to get into the topic. "I did, some time ago. It didn't last long. Personal stuff. I haven't really breathed a word of soccer since they mentioned there would be a game on the announcements today. I heard the crowd and I couldn't resist. Hey, mind me asking where you were off to? You seemed a little...strained, before we bumped into each other."

Number 16's cheeks grew rosier in barely any time at all, and Alex strangely couldn't deny that it was more adorable than when Skelkin had tried to climb Lev's bed once.

"O-oh, just...the washroom. I was having a bit of trouble finding it," the boy replied.

Alex chuckled, suddenly remembering how much trouble he'd had finding any of the washrooms during his first couple weeks at Somber Ridge. He pretended not to notice when he saw number 16 blushing even more. "Well, there's one just at the end of this hall, I think." He pointed to his left.

"Y-you think?"

Alex chuckled again. "Yeah, sorry. You'll have to take my word for it, I'm still new here myself."

"Oh, really? From where?"

"New Orleans. Came here back in August." A shrill ping rang out alerting the two, and Alex reached into his back pants pocket to extract his phone. He had set an alarm for fifthteen minutes so that he wouldn't lose track of time again. "Oh, I really gotta go, I've already been here too long. It was nice watching you play. Hope you win!" He withdrew his hands from number 16's arms, and it was then he realized that he was still holding onto him.

He waved goodbye to the blonde boy, feeling a warm though strange sensation stewing in his stomach as the boy returned the waved back before he spun on is heel and scurried down the opposite hallway. If Carsyn was here, she'd probably call number 16 an 얼짱 (Ulzzang), and despite Alex not being familiar with the beauty culture, he would agree.

As he trailed through another hallway intersection, Alex then bumped into someone else. Another boy, seemingly the same age as Alex. A slender form dressed in posh clothing, and his hair a neatly slicked peanut colour.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I should've paid more attention," the boy said. He bent down to pick something up from the floor, and Alex realized that both he and him had dropped their phones.

"Don't be sorry, it was my bad. I should've watched where I was going." Alex said it, yet all he could bring himself to do was watch the stranger lower himself to the floor and gather the phones.

"Nah, but I was on my phone," the boy admitted. "Texting while walking in the halls may not be as dangerous as driving and texting, but I still should've tried to spare a glance away from the screen every couple seconds. This one's on me."

And then, Alex felt it. A profound feeling swarmed him as he silently gazed at the boy, who was checking to see if Alex's phone had any visible damages before returning it.

"...you have your own complex life, filled with laughter, sadness, adventure and whatnot, same as me. Life's not long enough to fret over minor mishaps like this. Don't worry about it, man."

The boy laughed as if what Alex had said was the most refreshing thing he'd heard all day. "A moment of sonder," he mused. "I used to get that feeling all the time as a kid." His affable mood fell when his phone rang. "I have to go. I know you said not to worry, but again, I'm very sorry." He raised a hand goodbye and started off further down the hall as he rushed to answer the call.

"It was nice bumping into you!" Alex shouted as he waved back. He didn't waste any time sticking around, and dashed through the left hall, heading to the front entrance so that he could finally make his way to the park.

What neither he nor the boy he'd bumped into had noticed was that Nick had been covertly watching their run in from the right side hall of the intersection. He didn't move from the spot until both of them had left, something dubious glittering in his eyes, then he pulled out his phone and made a call.

"What?" demanded a calm yet menacing male voice on the other end of the line.

Nick went on as if the tone were friendly. "Hey, tell me again about that guy that barbecued Turtleneck over the summer."

"...you mean, Alex Prior?"

Nick's grin was sinister. "Yes — yeah that's the guy. Actually, tell me the whole story again — start to finish. Don't leave any details out."

"Nick..." the voice became virulent in warning. "If there's a problem, you'd better tell me now."

"No no no, I'm just taking a precaution is all. You can tone it down, I can practically hear you screaming 'I'll kill for the cause'. I'm handling it — I will handle it as soon as you tell me the story again."

For a moment, the voice was silent, and Nick suspected that a critical 'no' was going to surface. He considered for a brief three seconds throwing in some cheap yet worthwhile compliments despite knowing that the tactic usually never worked on 'him'.

"Fine. Come to the house later," the voice finally said. He hung up before Nick could get a word of gratitude in.

Despite how abrupt the call ended, Nick was exhilarated. Swiftly, he spun on his heel and headed for the school field to watch the rest of the game. He couldn't wait till the next time he saw Alex.