Would his brothers mind if he went to the same school with them?
Niven kept fiddling around with the tie around his neck before smoothing over some creases on his jacket. He's been trying to call his father for the past couple of hours yesterday and once the man finally managed to pick up, he only answered with curt answers before explaining he was busy and hung up. And not to forget to eat dinner.
But ah, Niven was too busy worrying about school that did the opposite of what his father told him.
So he got up extra early and prepared a large breakfast. Some fruits in bowls, a large bowl of cereal, some eggs in a nest with toast... he really went all out.
And his first class was about to start. But he really didn't want to go. And he definitely didn't want to run into any trouble, especially his brothers. The very thought of them knowing that he's here made him frightened. They'd definitely get pissed.
With his grip tightening on his new bag, Niven slowly opened his door and popped his head out to see no one out in the halls. Maybe if he walks over to class really early then no one would notice him?
That's what he did. After riding the elevator, he immediately stride through the academy's pathways and finally saw the large castle-like building looming over him. Niven became more nervous. Could he even figure out where his first class was?
The first thing he did, he called Gabriel immediately and explained the situation several times since the man couldn't hear him clearly because of his whispers.
Gabriel would be coming, but Niven had to wait outside of the entrance. Though he didn't exactly know where the entrance was at either. There was a very large bridge with columns supporting an arched roof connecting right into the hallways of the academy, there wasn't a door anywhere. So he patiently sat right on top of the bridge, already bored.
If he could, he would've dozed off if it weren't for the fact that the blond felt a murderous intent right behind him.
Niven whipped his head back to find cold eyes striking down at his blue ones. The blond merely looked away and ignored him before yawning again. He should be fine since he isn't challenging him, right?
"Hey, you're blocking the way."
"Apologies, I'll move." Niven grabbed his bag and moved a few steps over before leaning against the bridge's column, still yawning. He didn't sleep too well last night, he was really tired.
"What's with that attitude of yours?" Instantly, Niven felt a wave of dominance over his being. He felt his knees buckle under heavy pressure and looked up to get an even clearer view of the student.
The male before him lifted his hand up and pressed his glasses further up his nose before staring down at him, his dark navy eyes filled with superiority. The man sneered, "Have you forgotten to bow, you dimwit?"
"Why should I... bow?" Niven murmured and looked at him up and down. He seemed handsome, but he needed to work on that attitude of his.
"You little—hold on, I haven't seen you before. Are you perhaps new?" The student squinted and stood closer to get a good look at Niven. "Strange, your uniform matches mine."
"Pardon?" Weren't all uniforms supposed to match here? The clothes they wore were all white with a large cape over their shoulder, along with some gold chains as mere decorations. Don't all student wear these?
While he grew confused and kept glancing between their uniforms, the student before him kept a close eye to Niven's face. He's never heard of anyone joining late in the academy before. Why didn't this one come a month ago? How did he even get accepted this late?
Niven looked up to see him standing close with a displeased expression. He blinked his eyes. Did he need something?
When they finally looked at each other, Niven found himself to be a little shorter and had to crane his neck up to meet his eyes. The brunet was still staring at the blond's blue orbs. They reminded him of someone but he couldn't seem to figure it out.
The brunet sighed and pushed his glasses back and lifted his hand. "Whatever, even if you are in the same class as I, you should still bow before your superior."
Niven felt awkward to be around this guy. Maybe if he just walked away he wouldn't have to deal with this? He should probably text Gabriel about this.
And then Niven felt a sudden pain wreck throughout his head. His chest ached so much that he couldn't breathe and before he knew it, he was grabbing onto the bridge for support before collapsing on the ground.
What was this pain? What was his ability?
His throat didn't feel or seem any different. This man wasn't actually hurting him was he? Perhaps... was this a low-echelon?
He couldn't exactly think of anything else before the brunet snapped his fingers again, letting a searing pain travel through his neck and down the base of Niven's throat. The blond instantly cupped his neck and felt a searing discomfort in his throat and choked for a moment.
The brunet kept snapping his fingers until he promptly stumbled against his feet. He looked down to see his shoe untied. He furrowed his brows, he was sure to look his best today. How infuriating.
Because of this distraction, Niven was able to take a moment to breathe and struggled before dropping his bag onto the ground. This sort of pain... his neck didn't feel any different after it ended. It definitely didn't feel like he had any bruises.
The throbbing escalated to a point of tears pricking at the corners of his eyes before he gasped for breath and abruptly coughed, looking back up at the guy. "I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to up-upset you." He took a few moments before getting right back up and clearing his throat to see the brunet, still holding out his hand.
There he was, not feeling any discomfort whatsoever. It's like nothing happened at all.
In that moment, he saw the disbelief in the brunet's eyes before trying to snap his fingers. The male looked down at his hand and murmured, "How did you... aren't you in pain?"
"P-Pardon?" Was Niven supposed to die or something?
The boy wanted to see if the brunet was alright but suddenly got a text from Gabriel to meet him inside. Niven looked up from his phone and grabbed his bag from the ground. "I'm sorry... I have to go. B-Bye."
"You—don't just leave!"
"Ah," Niven spun around and tried his best to put his voice above a whisper. "S-Sorry!"
And then he disappeared in less than a second, thanking Gabriel silently for saving him while leaving that strange man behind in the dust.
Niven wanted to sigh. He hasn't even stepped inside of the building and was already getting attacked. He figured that this academy was different form most, but was it really filled with these type of people? Why should he bow? It didn't seem like he was from royalty whatsoever.
Still, that ability of his was just to cause pain from illusion. It must've not been very strong since he already broke out from the spell. The power itself was nothing more than just a low-echelon, he assumed that the glasses guy didn't have time to properly cultivate that ability. Unless that wasn't actually his power and just used a portion of magic, but Niven wasn't too sure.
The more he thought about the brunet, the more he grew worried to step foot into this place. Ah, why won't his father come and pick him up? He really doesn't want to be here.
"Young Master!"
Niven bumped right into the man and stumbled backwards. He was so frightened by the sudden appearance that he trembled before being having his arm grabbed by Gabriel, who seemed even more concerned.
"Young Master, what happened?"
"I-I—I was... there was-"
"Did someone challenge you?"
"I was told to kneel." Niven whispered. "Another s-student told me to kneel and I-I didn't and I was being for-forced to submit."
"What?" Gabriel suddenly grasped the boy's shoulders and proceeded to check him all over. "Master Niven, did he hurt you in any way? What did he look like? Did he give you his name?"
"No... but he had glasses and... um, wore the same uniform as me."
Gabriel didn't say anything. Niven wondered if he said something wrong, but the blue haired man gave him a hug and let out another sigh, "You must've been frightened. Don't worry, I'll escort you for the rest of the day."
"Ah, that's not necessary-"
"I will also make sure to inform the other teachers about your arrival so don't be afraid, they watch over every student."
"I-I don't want that-"
"Young master, if anyone else tries that same tactic with you again, don't hesitate to reach out towards me." Gabriel leaned back and patted the boy as if he were some dog.
The blond's face fell. "I want to go home."
"Well, let's hurry off to class then! Young master, I know you'll be able to make a lot of friends! Just look at your cute face, who wouldn't want to be with you?" Gabriel pinched his cheeks as they crossed the bridge and headed over to the hallways.
Niven struggles to get away from the male's hold. "S-Sir... I don't want to go."
"Don't be too hard on yourself. You'll be fine. According to your old school, you're incredibly smart. Just leave everything to you loyal servant."
"Bu-But I never hired you as my servant," Niven softly responded. "And how did you know where I went before?"
Gabriel abruptly stopped and made a worried face. "Master, looks like you've arrived to your first class. Have a good day, I'll be waiting here for you!" And then he pushed the blond right into the classroom, not waiting for his reply.
As soon as Niven walked in, everyone's eyes stopped and the chattering halted.
He looked down towards the ground and felt extremely uncomfortable. He looked back towards Gabriel, but the man gave him a thumbs up and suddenly disappeared into thin air. The boy was shocked. Did he actually run away? Impossible!
"Welcome, you must be the new student I've been informed of. Niven, yes?" His teacher gave a bright smile to the boy, who seemed even more nervous.
He let out a quiet reply, "Y-Yes?"
"It's good that you came early. Go ahead and introduce yourself."
But he didn't want to.
Still, Niven went ahead and stood in front of the students. He loosened his grip from his bag and pushed his glasses up. With an aloof face, he managed to utter a tiny sentence.
"I'm Niven. I recently enrolled. Pleasure to meet you all." And then his confidence dropped and he instantly placed his eyes back down on the floor.
While his teacher, Mr. Abberline, gave a satisfied grin, Niven felt the stares become increasingly difficult to stand.
"Niven, go ahead and have a seat to whatever is available. Class shouldn't start in another ten minutes or so, but if we start early then I'll be able to dismiss you all early and you boys can have some free time to yourselves." Mr. Abberline went ahead and stood up. "Let's get started."
Niven nodded to his teacher's words before scurrying around to find an empty desk. As he walked past the other boys, he found them to glare back. Some of them happily waved and expressed their greetings, though he still felt concerned to be around anyone.
When he found a desk, he noticed the same person he bumped into this morning sitting beside him. The brunet also looked back at him before snorting, "Yes?"
"N-Nothing. Sorry." Niven fumbled around with his cape. He was afraid of him. How come they both have the same class together?
What exactly was his father thinking when he enrolled him in this place?