A sharp whistle cut through the air just as Noah left the training facility. Before he could fully turn, a familiar figure practically launched herself at him, slender arms wrapping around his neck as soft lips claid his. The scent of expensive perfu – sothing floral and likely worth more than his monthly allowance – filled his senses.
"Sophie," he managed when she finally let him breathe, very aware of the stares they were attracting. "Hi."
Sophie Reign, third-year elite and apparently allergic to subtlety, grinned up at him. "What took you so long? I've been waiting forever." She pouted, still pressed against him in a way that made discretion impossible. "No classes today, and I was so bored."
"Sorry," Noah said, gently attempting to create so space between them. Not that Sophie allowed much. "The simulation ran longer than expected."
"I'm hungry," she announced, fingers playing with the collar of his uniform. "Feed ?"
"Actually, I know a spot." Noah smiled, catching her hand before it could wander further. "My treat this ti. I insist," he added quickly, seeing her start to protest. Sophie's family could probably buy the entire academy without noticing the expense, but this was a matter of pride.
Her answering smile was surprisingly soft. "Okay. Just this once." She glanced around. "Are we walking? I had them take my Clexus back to the apartnt."
"It's in the east wing," Noah said, finally managing to reduce their contact to just held hands – though Sophie's grip suggested she thought he might bolt at any second. "Ever had infused food?"
"In the east wing?" Her surprise seed genuine. "They have that here?"
"Yeah, a friend showed ." Noah carefully didn't ntion Lila's na. "It's pretty amazing actually."
Sophie pressed closer as they walked, her other hand wrapping around his arm. "Tell about your schedule," she said, changing topics with practiced ease. "I want to know everything you're doing."
"Well, I signed up for martial arts with Master Anng," Noah began, trying not to notice how her grip tightened slightly. "Core extraction classes, though those are... interesting. Miss Brooks handles most of our essential training, and combat classes of course."
"Mmm, combat class." Sophie nodded. "Sa as . Though I bet I could teach you a few things they don't cover in first-year courses." Her smile turned mischievous. "Want to train you?"
"Would you?" Noah asked, genuinely interested. Sophie's combat ratings were exceptional, even by third-year standards.
She leaned up, lips brushing his ear. "Everything cos with a price, handso."
The playful threat in her voice made him chuckle, but sothing nagged at the back of his mind. Sophie seed more... clingy than usual. More public with her affection. It had only been a few days since they started dating, and while he wasn't complaining exactly, sothing felt off.
But then she was pulling him toward the east wing entrance, talking about her morning and asking about his simulation training, and the mont passed. Besides, what could be wrong? This was Sophie – confident, straightforward Sophie who never played gas or hid her intentions.
Unlike so people he could think of.
They walked on, Noah trying to focus on Sophie's story about her morning rather than the strange feeling that they were being watched. It was probably just paranoia after the simulation. After all, who would be watching them?
In the shadows of a nearby building, a figure stood perfectly still, observing the couple with unwavering attention. Their hand tightened around a small device until the screen cracked, but they didn't seem to notice.
Or care.
---
The walk back from the east wing felt different – lighter sohow. Sophie couldn't stop talking about the infused dishes, her eyes bright with genuine excitent. Noah found himself smiling at her enthusiasm, even as she practically bounced alongside him, their hands still firmly interlocked.
"You know," she said suddenly, her tone shifting to sothing more serious. "I was thinking... maybe it's ti you introduced to Miss Harper?"
Noah nearly stumbled. "Miss Harper?"
"Your guardian," Sophie clarified, as if he might have forgotten the woman who'd raised him after his parents chose life aboard the Ark over their earthbound son. "I an, we are dating now, right? It seems... appropriate."
There was an eagerness in her voice that gave Noah pause. Everything with Sophie lately seed to be moving at light speed – the public displays of affection, the constant contact, and now eting his guardian? They'd barely been dating a week. Though maybe this was normal? It wasn't like he had much experience to compare it to.
"I'll think about it," he said carefully, earning a slight pout that he pretended not to notice.
When they reached her hostel, Sophie surprised him again by turning around. "I'll walk you to yours," she announced, already pulling him in that direction.
"You don't have to—"
"I want to." Her grip tightened slightly. "Unless you're trying to get rid of ?"
Noah forced a chuckle. "No, of course not. It's just getting late, and I have this... thing I need to catch up on." The lie felt clumsy on his tongue. "I'll see you later tonight though?"
They stopped outside his dorm building, the setting sun painting everything in shades of amber and gold. Noah was just trying to figure out how to say goodbye when a thunderous crash shattered the peaceful evening.
A body ca flying through a second-floor window, trailing glass and debris as it arced through the air before skidding across the concrete in a spray of sparks.
"Holy shit!" Sophie grabbed Noah's arm as students began pouring out of the building, while others – because academy students were nothing if not drawn to chaos – rushed inside.
The supposedly dead body on the ground suddenly twitched. Then, with a roar of rage, the student leaped to his feet, his entire form erupting into flas. "You 1A students are dead!" He scread before charging back into the building, leaving scorched footprints in his wake.
A boy ran past them, and Sophie's hand shot out, catching his sleeve. "What's happening?"
"It's insane in there!" The boy's eyes were wide with excitent or fear – possibly both. "So 1C guys started beef with a 1B student, then his 1A friend jumped in to help, and now it's just..." He gestured wildly at the broken window. "Total chaos! Everyone's powers are out, and—" He broke off as another crash echoed from inside, followed by what sounded suspiciously like maniacal laughter.
Noah's heart dropped. Kelvin. His friend could handle himself, sure, but in the middle of what sounded like an all-out dorm war?
"I need to check on Kelvin," he said, already moving toward the entrance.
Sophie's grip on his arm beca almost painful. "Are you insane? You can't go in there! These situations are dangerous, Noah. People get seriously hurt, and the administration won't do anything because there are too many involved. There's no way to prove who started what."
"I'm not going to fight," Noah insisted, trying to pull free. "I just need to make sure my friend is okay."
"Noah—"
But he was already moving, breaking her hold and rushing through the entrance. The scene inside was pure chaos. The lobby looked like a war zone – scorch marks on the walls, patches of ice on the floor, and what appeared to be so kind of organic growth creeping up one corner. Two students wrestled nearby, one glowing with electric energy while the other seed to be partially made of stone.
Noah dodged around them, heading for the stairs. A guy flew – literally flew – past his head, pursued by another student who was throwing what looked like glowing paper airplanes that exploded on impact. The stairwell itself was a obstacle course of various power effects: patches of anti-gravity, sections where the steps had been turned to rubber, and at one point what appeared to be a small localized raincloud complete with lightning.
He reached his floor just in ti to see soone get thrown through a wall – not into it, through it, leaving a perfect person-shaped hole like sothing out of a cartoon. Sowhere down the hall, soone was yelling about honor and justice while what sounded like a small herd of elephants thundered past.
'Almost there,' Noah thought, pushing through the mayhem toward his room. The door was just ahead, seemingly untouched by the chaos around it. He reached for the handle, fingers just brushing the tal when sothing... shifted.
A white line appeared at the edge of his vision, like soone had drawn a glowing border around his field of view. The world seed to blur, colors running together like wet paint. The sounds of battle faded, replaced by a high-pitched whine that made his teeth ache.
The last thing he saw before everything went white was his own hand, still reaching for the door, now seeming to move through molasses. Then even that faded away, leaving him floating in a void of nothing but that burning white line and a single thought:
'This isn't soone's power...'
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