Aexiq parted ways with Yuenelia after she has safely reached her house.
"See you tomorrow," she gave him a little wave before entering her house.
Aexiq smiled and waved back.
He breathed a small sigh of relief. It was his first time walking a girl home and he was holding onto his nerve.
However, he recovered quickly and focused on the issue at hand. He went back to the location where he met Yuenelia earlier and checked the multiple alleys around the area.
"That man," he mumbled, touching his chin. "Didn't feel normal."
He stayed in that area for quite a while to trace down the person's residual energy but found none.
"Probably nothing," Aexiq persuaded himself and left but in the back of his mind, it only made him more worried.
He made a mental note to always look out for the suspicious man starting today. It would be bad to have a stalker or pervert prowling in the neighbourhood.
The moment Aexiq left, something emerged from the dark corner of the alley furthest from the place he searched.
"Troublesome annoying meddler..." the man's eyes flashed a dirty yellow glow, gnashing his pointy teeth.
"Soon...very soon...I'll be free..." his body oozing with sinister energy as he slowly merged with the growing shadow cast from the setting sun and disappeared completely.
...
Yuenelia started going home with Aexiq the next day since she agreed to it. Their similar interest made him very easy to talk with.
Aexiq would occasionally glance sideways and caught a glimpse of the subtle but abnormal shadow creeping along.
She might not have noticed the shadow following her but he did. Telling her would only make her anxious so he kept it to himself.
It didn't feel like the entity would do anything in his presence and he seemed to realize that. As soon as he approached Yuenelia yesterday, it quickly retreated. That was a relief in itself.
'Does number three know about this? Or did it only happen yesterday?' he pondered. 'Judging from how protective he was of Yuenelia on our first meeting, there's no way he would leave it be.'
Aexiq still hasn't gotten around calling Zordyz by his name in his head as he did for Yuenelia.
They didn't start off on a good note after all.
The only reason Zordyz didn't glare at him was that he spoke up for him on the first day in class.
'Based on how aggressive he was with me, I would've thought that he'd just yelled at those people.' he almost grinned but stopped himself.
"You're very advanced in class. Are you sure you need to attend any of it?" Aexiq asked casually.
"I only studied them myself, it won't be adequate. It's important to learn from a proper teacher." Yuenelia replied.
"So you're fixed on your job already? That's nice." he smiled.
"Yes. It's my life goal to find a new cure," she said.
Her tone of voice was joyful but her expression was somewhat melancholic. Aexiq didn't miss the change in her mood.
"I haven't planned that far ahead. I just went with the flow," he tried to divert her attention.
"Living in a family of doctors makes it natural for me to pursue it too," he added.
"Were you forced into it?" Yuenelia looked at Aexiq, slightly tilting her head.
He shook his head.
"I don't particularly dislike what I'm doing right now. I'm starting to like it more."
'Now that you're here,' he said in his head.
"Almost all of them are working in the non-magic medical field. I guess that made me want to try magic cure for a change, just to see how far I can go."
"Wished I have a more solid goal like yours," he said after a long pause.
"It's still early to determine what to do at this point. It's the path you choose after high school that really matters. Once you've gained enough knowledge, you can start from there." Yuenelia said with a faint smile.
She doesn't like to use words like "I'm sure" or "you will". It just adds unnecessary pressure and expectation.
Aexiq was touched by her very soft encouragement. She made him feel at ease.
He had an indifferent attitude when he first transferred to Hertbane High. He always ends up talking in a sarcastic tone when people tried to have conversations with him. Over time, they all started to avoid him.
The first time he met Yuenelia and Zordyz in the school hallway, his cut-and-dry manner of speaking irked Zordyz. Zordyz would have started a fight if Yuenelia didn't intervene.
He was so sure that the awkward atmosphere will make it impossible for Yuenelia to want to talk to him.
She could have just walked off but she hurried Zordyz away instead to end the tense situation. The moment she smiled at him, all of the awkwardness melted away.
His heart skipped a beat and that was that.
'You're lucky to have her around, number three,' he thought, feeling envious of Zordyz.
And Zordyz ended up sneezing on the court right after he scored a point in the game.
"Who the heck is badmouthing me?" Zordyz cursed under his breath, rubbing his itchy nose.