"Hello? Who am I speaking with?"
Sera was startled by the voice. Her voice hasn't changed since the last time they talked with each other. But Sera didn't know how to feel after hearing her once again
...
"Hello?"
Leilah waited for a response, but none was given, and thought that the call was just a fling. She sighed "I'm hanging up"
"W-wait!" Sera actually didn't mean to say a word, her subconscious made her do it, and when she realized it, she gasped and covered her mouth with her hand
"Who's this?" Leilah raised an eyebrow
'She doesn't know?' Sera thought, 'Maybe my voice has changed overtime?'
"It's... It's me, Seraphina"
"Sera!?" Before Leilah knew, she jolted up from her sofa and shouted. Darren stared at her confusedly
...
The line went silent once again. The two didn't know what to say to each other. But the older sister decided to break the silence
"How... How have you been?" Leilah cringed at her own question. What did she expect for an answer? She was the one who probably made her life worse
"I'm fine... I guess" Sera replied halfheartedly
"Why did you call me, Sera?"
"I-I didn't mean to. It was an accident"
"So you didn't mean to call me?"
"N-no! That's not what I meant!" She quickly reassured, "I just... didn't plan to call you this soon"
'Her tone... It doesn't seem like she hates me?' Leilah asked herself, 'I should probably just meet her in person. This call won't bring us anywhere'
"Sera, how about we meet up somewhere? To catch up between us?" Leilah asked
"Huh? O-okay sure... but where?"
"Hmm, anywhere is fine!" Leilah replied, "Do you have a place in mind?"
"Hmm... yeah, I think I might"
...
...
*click* the call ended
"See?" John began, "That turned out for the better, didn't it?"
"I'll punch you in the guts again if you do that" Said Sera furiously, but John seemed to be enjoying it nonetheless
John chuckled, "Yes ma'am"
A short while later...
The call already ended between them, and they agreed to meet at a certain place the next day
'Sera, she seemed more lively than I thought she would be...'
Leilah thought. Not only is she now more easily approached and easy to talk to, you'd think Sera would be devastated after experiencing a powerless life
Back when they still used to live under the same roof, Leilah always tried to approach her when there's a chance, but she was mostly turned down. Whether it was of her own choice or our mother's
'I wonder how she changed so drastically...'
"Leilah? What's wrong? You seem happy" Darren that was still in the kitchen asked
"It's Sera... she called me out of the blue just now" Leilah replied. She didn't know that she was smiling if it weren't for him asking
"So you call her 'Sera' too, huh?" He asked, raising an eyebrow
"Hm? Who is the other person?"
"It's Seraphina's friend, John" He replied, "I've told you about him, remember?"
...
'John... the one that my team tried to take away his powers, and thankfully failed. Is he the reason Sera changed over the year?'
"You gave my phone number to her, didn't you?" she asked, "Thanks, Darren"
"It was nothing really... In fact, she was the one that asked me first"
"Is that so?..."
The next day... School hallways
As Sera walked through the hallways, she kept fidgeting her hands nervously. She wasn't even looking at where she was going anymore, she was looking at the ground
But she somehow still managed to catch her attention on her peripheral sights. It was Evie, walking ahead before her, holding her notebook as usual
'Evie... she might help me calm down a bit' She thought, and immediately approached her
...
"Morning, Evie" Sera greeted
Evie turned her head to the voice, and suddenly... her eyes widened, shocked for some reason
"Hm?" Sera raised an eyebrow, "Evie, what's wrong?" She raised her hand and tried to hold Evie's shoulder because she thought Evie was spacing out
But Evie stepped back, she gave off a bit of a fear expression, and that's when Sera realized something, her face darkened
'Oh... That's right. She might know by now that my powers came back. Is that why she's distancing herself from me?' Sera thought, disheartened by it
"Evie... is it because my powers came back?"
"N-no! It's nothing like that!" Evie replied nervously, but it was clear as day that she lied
"You don't have to be afraid of me. I'm still your friend, am I not?" Sera asked, trying to reassure her
"It's... I just think I'm not worthy to be your friend anymore"
'So that's the reason?'
Sera thought, "Evie... you're one of the most people here that I'd like to be my friend. It doesn't matter if you're a low or a high-tier"
But Evie didn't respond, more like she was still hesitating
"At least come to the canteen with me, please?" She requested, "If you happen to dislike it, I won't force you to stay"
"But..." Evie muttered, "Won't people think weirdly of you if you hang out with someone like me?"
"I don't care about them. I just want to hang out with you like usual" Sera said, determined. She didn't want their friendship to end just like that. It would mean all the build-up they had up to this point meant nothing
"O-okay!"
'So she was just worried for me after all? That's so like her...'
After school... Remi's room
"You can now emit an energy pulse?" Remi asked, surprised "Let me see!"
"Why are you so excited?" Blyke raised an eyebrow, "It's nothing amazing compared to your improvements"
"Just shuddup and lemme see already!" She demanded furiously
Blyke sighed, "Alright, here goes nothing" He shut his eyes, and focused all his energy to the core and blasted it without using too much power *BOOM!*
Remi flinched a bit backwards, and all the papers on Remi's desk flew all over "Woah... that's cool!"
"I didn't use its full power. We are in a tight room after all. I didn't want to damage anything"
"But you can also regenerate yourself now, right?" Remi asked, excited "You're finally a high-tier!"
"I guess so..." He halfheartedly replied, "But Remi, do you think we're finally strong enough to--"
Remi's face darkened suddenly, "Don't be stupid. We might be strong in this school, but it's still nothing compared to the outside world"
"Yeah... you're right"
...
"Anyway, Blyke. Why are you still living in Isen's dorm?" Remi asked, "Are you still afraid of John?"
"I mean, yeah... why should I not?"
"He's nothing like you think, you know?" Remi tried to assure Blyke
"Now that I think about it, you seem to be a lot closer since you two became vigilantes. Did something happen?"
"He just seemed... different, compared to before he defeated us that morning" Remi stated, "Maybe he was just frustrated"
"Yeah, no shit was he frustrated alright..."
"It's not like that, you idiot!" Remi replied, "It's like the look of someone disappointed, time after time"
...
"If you say so... Hey, has anyone ever said to you that you're kinda blunt now?"
*Joker The New King - Ch 66 End*