~*~
I was on my way to my first class in the institute, Introduction to Magical History.
I was walking alone, and people kept staring at me as they passed by.
Why are they staring at me? What did I do this time?
Then it hit me, maybe because I danced with Xiaojun the other night. Or maybe I was always with Hendery.
I shook my unnecessary thoughts away. I tried to act like it didn't bother me, hoping that I would just slide the hallway without anyone noticing me.
But it was impossible, I already had such an impression.
"Juli,"
My heart stopped and I looked up to find out who called me. As soon as my eyes landed on the maroon velvet suit, I immediately recognized who it was.
I quickly turned around and continued to walk.
"Juli! Wait!" Victor said.
Now the students were giving me questioning looks.
Like how is she that important that the President is chasing after her? What does the President want with a Dummy?
"Stop wasting our time, Victor." I snapped and glared at him. "You want me to stay here? Fine. It's not like I have any other choice, right? But let's just skip the bullshit. I don't need you checking in on me like you were my—" I felt like I was choking when I was about to say the word.
"I just wanted to make sure if everything is fine..." Victor said.
I breathed in and exhaled. "Well, it is. If I need something, I'll go to you, right? Now if you'll excuse me..." I turned on my heels and was about to walk.
"Juli, I'm sorry if I've done something to you, but I just want our relationship—"
"I'll talk if you answer everything I asked before. Everything." I said.
"But I did!"
My blood boiled. I curled my fists.
"Why are you telling me to be just a firebender? What the hell does this mean?" I said as I pointed at the scar that was wrapped with a cloth.
"I'm sorry, you're not ready for that."
"'Thought so," I mumbled. "Have a good day."
"Juli—" Victor called me again but I kept walking.
I walked fast enough disappearing into the crowd. I turned to my right and waited for Victor to go the other way.
I had an idea, I have to look for something inside of his office.
~
I walked all the way back to where I came, and it led me to the Main Hall.
There wasn't anybody around so I made my way upstairs without a problem. I leaned on the door of Victor's office, trying to listen if someone was inside. Then I pushed open the heavy door and successfully got inside his office.
My heart was beating hard under my chest, but I had to ignore the feeling and do this fast.
I walked over to his work table and opened the drawers one by one. All of the file covers that he had were black, and there was one particular cover that was white. I grabbed it and on the front was written,
Ramos.
That's the name of the institute. Without thinking, I opened and skimmed through the inside.
I was expecting to read about the history of the institute, finding pictures of the institute's architectural development or something. But instead, the first thing that I found was a picture of a family.
The picture that Victor showed me,
My family,...
I heard the door flung opened and my heart stopped. I looked up in alarm and gasped slightly.
I thought it was Victor, but it wasn't.
"What the hell?"
Jaehyun stopped and frowned at me.
"What do you want?" I asked him, trying to sound calm.
He snickered, "you must be joking. I am the one who should be asking you that."
"Could you close the door, please?"
Jaehyun smirked a devilish smile, and pushed open the door wider.
"What the hell do you want?" I sighed.
"You need to leave, now. Before I change my mind." Jaehyun said.
I gritted my teeth and slammed down the file to the table.
"Look, I'm tired of your... attitude and I have every rights to be here—"
"Rights?"
"I am—"
I was suddenly frozen and a wave of pain hit my head. I flinched in pain.
I looked to where Jaehyun was standing but suddenly the room started to tilt to the right. I lost my balance and fell on my cheek. I saw Jaehyun's shoes were running to my direction in slo-mo.
"Hey, Dummy. Get up..." Jaehyun said, sounding worried.
My ears were buzzing and I felt a heavy tension in my head like it was going to explode any second.
I felt arms wrapped and me and I was levitated.
Jaehyun was getting me out of Victor's office.
I tried to hit him, but I seemed so slow, at least that's how I felt. "Let me... go..." I tried to say. "Get... away— Ah—" my head was ringing.
I remembered how I got out of the situation the last time. The family picture made me think about the past I never had, so I needed to think of something in the present.
"Jaehyun..." I called.
"Just save it. I don't want you to die I'm taking you to the clinic." Jaehyun said, without even looking down at me.
"Jaehyun..." I said again, "say something."
"What, Dummy?"
"No!! Say something nice!" I said.
"What the hell do you want me to say??" He said as he eyed me in alarm.
"I don't know... Say something or my head is going to explode." I said. "Distract me. Please."
Jaehyun stopped abruptly, not letting me go yet. He looked at me, confused and scared. I felt his heart was beating even faster under my palm. But the pain in my head was still there, piercing from every side of my brain.
Jaehyun leaned down and put his lips on mine.
My eyes widened in shock.
His lips began to move. It was hot, fiery, and demanding.
Never in a million year, would I expect Jaehyun to do this to me. But it was working. I couldn't think of anything else other than his passionate, sweet lips.
Desperate, I leaned and pulled the collar of his shirt to get him even more.
I wasn't feeling the pain anymore at some point, but I couldn't stop myself. Jaehyun was pressing me even more to his lips.
Now how do I make this stop?
He suddenly pulled away and dropped me just like that.
"You je—"
"Hendery," Jaehyun said.
I looked at the direction where Jaehyun was looking.
Hendery was standing a few meters away from us, and I saw his fist was curling.
"Bro, I can expl—"
Without waiting for Jaehyun to finish his sentence, Hendery walked past the both of us without saying anything.
I turned to Jaehyun. "Why the hell did you kiss me??"
"You asked me to kiss you!"
"I said distract me, not kiss me." I said, annoyed.
"Well it worked, didn't it? A thank you would be nice."
"Thank you," I said. "But you're still a jerk."
With that, I quickly ran to where Hendery was going.
I ran hoping that I would catch up to him, but I couldn't spot him anywhere.
I stopped in my tracks and caught my breath.
"Juli?" I heard someone called my name.
"Jennie, Hendery saw Jaehyun kissing me." I blurted out.
"What in the devil— Jaehyun did what?" Both of Jennie's eyebrows were raised up.
"It's a long story and I think Hendery isn't happy about it—"
"Woah woah woah, stop right there. You aren't his girlfriend why do you— Wait you aren't, right?"
I looked at Jennie, and realized something.
She was right.
I am not his girlfriend, I don't owe him any apologies for anything. It wasn't clear either why he kissed me the other night, so why am I stressing about this? Then his disappointed face flashed in my head and it succeeded in making me feel guilty.
"Why did Jaehyun and you kissed anyway?" Jennie asked, sounding so curious. "Nevermind, now come with me." She grabbed my hand.
"I have to go to class." I said.
"Are you kidding? The class is over, how could you not know—" Jennie stopped herself from continuing, "never mind, sometimes—I mean most of the time, I don't get what's going on in that head of yours. Just come with me, the girls are waiting."
~
Jennie dragged me into her little circle of girl power.
"So Juli, how was your first class?" Wendy asked.
"It was, fine." I lied and took a spoon full of yogurt.
"Now do you know what style you're going to major?" Rosé asked.
"No, I still don't know yet." I said. "How did you even figure out your dominant element anyways?"
"What do you mean dominant element?" Seulgi raised her eyebrow at me.
"Like, how do you know you're a firebender, and not an airbender or a waterbender?"
There was a complete utter silence on the table, then after a few seconds, they burst out laughing.
"You think we are all the Avatars?" Jisoo said, in between her laugh.
"We only can bend one element all our lives." Seulgi said.
Everything that they were saying didn't make sense to me.
I can airbend, waterbend, and also firebend and earthbend.
Is it possible that I am not a bender? That I am maybe a demigod? Whose godly parent is the the god or goddess of the Earth or the Universe because I can control all of the four elements.
"Aren't there people who can bend all of the four elements?" I said and the table got silence again.
Each of them shared a worried look.
"We don't really talk about this but, since you are new to this, we will help you get familiar with what's happening in our world now." Seulgi said, sounding so serious.
"The one who can bend all of the four elements is the Avatar," Jisoo said.
My heart stopped and I suddenly felt dizzy.
The Avatar brings balance to the world, the Avatar is the bridge between the human world and the spirit world
It was what Hendery had said to me in Atlanta.
"It was rumoured that the princess of the Fire Nation is—or was the Avatar." Seulgi said.
"Is or was?" I asked.
"Juli, you're from the Fire Nation but you didn't know about this?" Rosé asked.
"I lost all of my memories of that place, ya know... because of the war." I tried to sound convincing. "That's why I don't know how to firebend until now." I lied.
This can't be true, I can't be the Avatar.
But then Jaemin said that the bounty hunters were asking about the Avatar when they ambushed our house.
I felt like throwing up.
It can't be true.
And princess of the Fire Nation?
This is too much.
"Excuse me, I need to go to the washroom." I said.
I quickly made my way outside of the cafeteria.
My head felt light for a second and then it began to hurt again.
I crashed on the wall beside me. People were looking at me and asking if I were ok but I couldn't hear them. There was just a buzzing sound in my ears.
Then everything became black.
~*~