--
It was 3 am, and Y/n was awake.
"My dude, my gosh," she groaned in slight annoyance. "I have fuckin school."
And without another word, she falls asleep.
...is what she tries to do.
She was sharing a bed with Sera since John had only one bed and one couch and William had taken the couch while John had taken the floor in the living room. It made sense for the only two females to share a bed, even though it was pretty cramped. Y/n shifts in the bed and faced the outside, trying not to make any more skin contact than she already was and forced her eyes shut.
And what felt like hours, Y/n then open them with a feeling of disappointment when she sees it was only 3:07.
"Gosh dang it," she mutters.
"Y/n, are you awake too?"
Sera, who facing towards the wall, moves front and stares at Y/n's back. "Yeah," the female replies with a sad tone. She really didn't feel like waking up dead in the morning but her body wouldn't allow her to even get into slumber. Though, having to know that Sera was in the same boat slightly comforted her; At least she won't be suffering alone.
A few moments of calm silence had swallowed the atmosphere, only disturbed by their soft breathing and the sound of muffled snoring coming from the living room.
"Sera?" Y/n's timid voice cut through the silence, and the female hums in response. "What do you want?"
"What would you do if you had suddenly lost your ability? I mean, you're the Ace because of how powerful and intelligent you are, so what would happen to you if you'd happen to lose it?"
"Damnit Y/n. Please don't even start this 3 am discussion."
"Sorry, sorry."
They continued to be silent for a few more minutes before Sera groggily says, "I'd be okay without it, I think. I mean, look at John. Remember the Poker game?"
Y/n nods, knowing that Sera would feel her movement in the pillow.
"Poker can be applied to real life. The way John and William were so confident in their cards that I backed out, taking their bluff. And if I was able to read their expressions more and if I wasn't so confident in my cards, then I would've backed out when John did his turn. Life depends on how others perceive you, and if you make them believe you have the highest hand, those who are unsure will back out."
The h/c thinks for a while before saying, "Isn't that what William said?"
"Yeah. His words really got me wondering."
Turning her pillow to the cooler side, Y/n then mumbles, "That's how John lives, doesn't he? Acting confident despite being the 'weakest' in the school." Y/n almost snorted when she did that, but she held herself back.
Sera goes quiet for another minute. "Don't you think it was quite difficult to see through during the game? It was like... he was a different person, and was able to read me like a book. It's strange, really," she said, and the words hover over Y/n. Y/n then sniffs and curls up even more. "Yeah," she agreed, "It was quite strange." Not wanting to stay on this controversial topic any longer, Y/n pipes up, "So there's like different names for the cards, right? What card would you be?"
"Well, obviously the Ace," the purple-haired female said with an obvious tone. "Mm. Then what would John be?"
"...I don't know to be honest. I feel like he's like something that has a trick up its sleeve," Sera's voice says softly as her eyes begin to close, and she lets out a yawn. "What would you be, Y/n?" She said in a tired tone.
"I don't know how to play Poker," Y/n confesses, "But I do know how to play with cards. Maybe the person who hands the cards?"
"I don't even know if that's a role but alright."
And there, their conversation ends, seemingly that one of them was too tired to continue, and the other was satisfied with speaking out their thoughts. But of course, as this is a story, this is the foreshadowing of a big event that will affect their lives greatly in the future.
--
After a long day, it has finally turned night.
"Are you sure that's everything, dad?" John asks the man.
William throws his sling bag over his shoulder and nudges it in place. "Yup," he reassures, "I packed light." With his hands in his pockets, John raised a brow and says, "Come on, you flew all the way here to spend one night?"
The man simply nods. "I'm working on a bunch of projects right now... So my editor won't let me leave for long."
Y/n smiles before whispering to Sera, "How nice of him to spend time with his son despite all that," to which the female smirks.
"I just came to check up on you. Make sure you didn't do anything crazy," William says with a light joking tone. John deadpans as a small sweatdrop goes down his cheek. "...You still don't trust me--" "Nope," his dad interrupts. "But I'm happy that I can always count on those two!" He says as he finger guns and winks. Sera returns the gesture with a, "I gotchu," and mirrors him, but Y/n stood there like an idiot, thinking that it was a dad move and wanted to die.
Shaking his hand, Sera nods as she says her farewells. "It's been a pleasure, William," she says with a confirming tone while in the background, John was staring at them with slight surprise to seeing on how well they go together. "Your story is incredibly inspiring," Sera continues, "And I think you're very strong despite your situation. Please take care of yourself."
Y/n pats his shoulder, despite their height differences. "Though I hadn't read your story, I'm glad to see someone like you inspire so many people. Thank you for your contributions." Yeah, she totally didn't sound like a robot right there.
Small teardrops appeared in his eyes as he brings all of the teens into a big hug. With a smile, William said, "Awww, you kids are too much! Come here and gimme a hug before I leave!" "DAD, stop it!" John shouts with a flustered face.
Pulling away, William moves John away from the females and whispered something into his ear. Y/n stares at them curiously before turning her attention to Sera, who was busy tapping on her phone, before watching in the corner of her eye, John pushing his father's arm around his shoulder and telling him not to worry about him.
William seemed conflicted, but either way, he smiles softly at his son and said a gentle, "Alright."
Walking to the parked taxi that was waiting for him, the man gives a wave to the three standing at the sidewalk. "Bye, kids!"
They stood outside for a few minutes to watch the car drive away before going back inside into the comfort of John's home.
Sera had plopped herself comfortably on the couch with her phone as John takes a seat at the other side of the couch. Y/n placed herself on the kitchen chair and was reading over some notes from the lecture they had. Then, letting out a sigh, John then brings up, "Phew, finally finished that assignment."
With a bored look, Sera looks up from her phone and asks, "Want me to look it over?"
"Nope nope nope!" Out of sight, out of mind," John quickly interrupts. With a laugh, Y/n then says without looking away from her papers, "Was it really that bad?" with a mocking tone. "Uh...yes."
Not wanting to stay on the topic in fear of having to show it, John remembers, "Sera, your last day of suspension is tomorrow, yeah? You excited to go back?"
And with a quick blunt, "No," made John sweatdrop.
"I can already anticipate what'll happen," she says almost sullenly as if she doesn't want to go back. "The moment I step back into that building, my suspension will be everyone's topic for the month." She stares back down at her phone with a cold stare. "Everyone talking about me... Just like old times. Such a drag..."
Then her next answer makes John tense up. "It would've been better if I'd just gotten expelled. Then I could do what I want."
Y/n didn't even have to look at the black-haired male to see his reactions; She could feel his mood take a huge shift in the room. "I don't really know, Sera," Y/n hums from the table, "But someone like you, expelled? Imagine the outcome."
"Nothing good can come out of it," John mutters darkly.
Sera makes a face and lightly used her foot to tap on John. "Come on you two, it was just a joke."
"Y-Yeah, I know!" John jolts. Y/n frowns as and stacks her notes, standing from the chair and began heading towards the room.
"I'm gonna head off to bed early. Goodnight you two."
John turns to look at her receding form. "Ah okay, Y/n. Goodnight!" "Goodnight Y/n."
Y/n slightly swallows. "Sera," she calls. "Be safe tomorrow, okay?"
The purple-haired girl looked at her with confusion and tilted her head. "Okay...? Why?"
Y/n seems to be in her own world for just one moment, before returning a small, "Just be careful," and stalked off to the bedroom.
Both of the teens on the couch stared at her with a bewildered look, not really knowing why she had such a sudden shift in mood. Even Y/n couldn't explain the sinking feeling of dread in her, and for the first time today, she feels helpless.
Y/n hopes that it was just paranoia.
--
Just paranoia.
Y/n was skipping classes again and was lying in the shade of the roof with a frustrated expression. It made her nauseous and her head slightly aches, and her teeth were clenched. "I shouldn't be skipping classes like this," she breathes, taking in the small hints of dust and the smell of fresh air. "... I should probably get to class."
She lays still, unmoving from her spot for ten minutes as she struggles to find any motivation. "W-What the hell?" Y/n whispers as she stares at her shaking hand before clenching it. It was as cold as ice.
"M-Maybe calling Sera would be a good idea..."
She reaches for her phone and searches in her contacts, which wasn't hard since she only had John, Sera, and the pizza place, and pressed the Ace's number. It rang for a bit before turning into voicemail.
That's when Y/n realized something was wrong.
"That's strange... Sera is on her phone 90% of the time," she murmurs with furrowed brows and gets up from her spot and started to head down the stairs from the roof. Clicking dial again, Y/n stares at the screen hoping to see the numbers that would show that the other person had picked up their phone and was now on the line. And just as she feared, it didn't pick up.
It was almost time for school to end, so hopefully, they didn't mind her leaving early.
Luckily John's residence was only a few blocks away from the school, and Y/n could make it there in a few minutes at her full running speed. She began to sprint there with her phone in her hand and was constantly dialing Sera's contact.
"Come on! Pick up!" Y/n pants frustratingly as she stares at her small device that was clutched harshly. "Pick up, damn it!"
And like as if her pleas were heard, Sera had finally picked up her call.
"Hello?" Y/n nearly shouts. "Sera, are you there?"
There were small and barely audible noises coming from the phone. "Sera?!" Y/n calls out once again. As she placed the volume higher, the sound of heaving breathing, one of pain, was heard.
"Sera is this a joke?!"
Turning sharply around a block, Y/n could see John's house coming towards view with no signs of Sera outside, meaning that she might've been out in town or inside.
And with heavy and unstable pants, Y/n tiredly walks up the stairs of the house, reaching for the doorknob. "Sera, are you--"
Her hand halted from reaching and turning the metal.
Blood.
"Oh fuck," Y/n's pupils dilate and her body tenses up in fear before bursting the green door open. "SERA?!"
Her voice echoes from below.
Y/n looked down and sees Sera's phone still in the call with Y/n, and lying there was a barely conscious purple-haired female, blood covering her hand and the side of her body.
"W-What...!"
Y/n quickly runs over to her fallen body and nearly rips off Sera's dirtied pink sweater. "Oh shit, oh fuck," her breath hitches with every word that came sputtering out of her mouth. "SERA!"
Grabbing her face, Y/n studies and sees the half-lidded eyes and slightly parted mouth, the sweat that came from face and rolled down. It was something that Y/n was sure she's seen before and knowing where it might've come from only set more gasoline to the fire.
"Sera? Stay awake!" She pleaded as she pressed pressure on the wound
A shadow loomed over the doorway and Y/n's heart sank. She whips her head and met eye contact with bright yellow pupils who stared at her with absolute terror. "Y-Y/n..." And when he looked at the person that the female was so desperately trying to save, Y/n could hear something in his mind snap.
"SERA?!"
--
oh shid nibba
this is the beginning of dark john
unedited
*this is the longest chapter i have ever written lmao