On Friday, exactly a week after their last battle, Theo approached Ryan at the start of morning calculus class. It took more effort than he'd like to admit to summon the nerve – less because he was nervous about the rematch than about interrupting while Ryan was hanging out with his popular friends.
Sure enough, they shot Theo dirty looks. He gulped down his fear and focused on Ryan, who was watching with a condescending smile, chin resting on the back of his hand. "Um. Hey. I'd like to talk."
"The hell you wanna talk about, emo kid?" snarled the tallest boy, who might have been on the basketball team. Despite himself, cold sweat broke out on the back of Theo's neck.
Before he could gather the courage to retort, Ryan spoke up. "Hey, hey, relax," he said with a casual wave of his hand. "Sure. What've you got to say, Theo?"
"In private." Theo felt stupidly glad his voice didn't waver. Much.
"You got some nerve, emo kid." Tall boy cracked his knuckles.
"Relax, dude. Not gonna take long. Sure, let's go." With that, Ryan stood up and ambled toward the classroom door, hands in his pockets. Theo hurried after him, not keen on being stuck alone with a bunch of pissed-off jocks.
They passed Sam's desk on their way out; Theo felt her gaze burning through the back of his blazer. He knew she wanted to back him up, but he'd told her he wanted to do this alone, and he was glad she trusted him.
Once out in the hall, Ryan leaned an arm against the wall and smirked down at Theo. "Let me guess. You want a rematch? Someone's a masochist."
Theo swallowed. Like a stick stirring silt in a river, Ryan's words sent the old doubts rising inside him – doubts that he'd done his best to suppress this past week. He dug his nails into his palms, pushing them away. He'd made his choice. No backing down.
"That's right," he said.
"The hell, man." Ryan swept a hand through his hair. "You got a goldfish memory or what? You won't learn unless you get it hammered into your thick skull over and over, huh? Well sure, if it gets you to finally give up."
"I'm...I'm creating the arena this time." Theo could barely hear his own voice above his racing heartbeat. "Montvale Park, after school."
"So you learned how to make arenas, huh?" Ryan cocked an eyebrow. "You wanna show off? That's cute. Not like it'll make a difference."
"So? Will you accept?"
"Already said I would, didn't I? But get this straight, I'm not gonna waste my time on round number three. You may not believe it, but I've got better things to do than beat up losers. Peace." Flashing a two-fingered salute, Ryan swaggered back into the classroom.
With him gone, Theo finally managed to draw a full breath. Not that it helped much, since the air still reeked of Ryan's cologne.
Well, he'd issued his challenge and managed to stay calm, refusing to rise to Ryan's provocations. Step one out of the way.
Now, he and Zenith just had to win.
~*~
The school day crawled by like a snail stuck in asphalt. By the time the last bell rang, Theo felt like he'd been released from purgatory.
It wasn't over yet, of course; first he had to get through the trolley ride home. Up until now, Theo had not realized just how many stops this trolley made. He tried to distract himself by chatting with Sam, but he couldn't put his heart into the conversation, only managing one-word answers to her enthusiastic pep talk. Eventually, she caught onto his mood and stopped talking, and they spent the rest of the journey in silence.
She only spoke again after they finally reached the park and met up with Zenith. As they stepped through the gate, Sam touched his arm. Theo spun toward her, startled.
"Hey," Sam said, smiling. "Don't stress out too much, okay? We're all behind you."
Grateful, Theo nodded. "I know. Thanks, Sam."
He could do this. He'd spent every day this week training with Zenith and Sam, perfecting the strategy all three had come up with together. All he had to do was keep a clear head and follow the plan.
So he took a deep breath and cast the arena spell. It appeared almost instantly, swallowing him in its pink glow. When the light faded, Theo stumbled forward only for Zenith to catch his arm.
"Thanks," Theo said, a little breathless but otherwise fine. Opening the arena no longer made him dizzy, though it still drained a lot of Levia. He wouldn't be able to use his strongest spells.
But that was fine, because he had something even stronger.
Zenith nodded briskly before releasing Theo and striding to the center of the arena, hand on his sword. With the dawn light washing his armor in rosy highlights, he looked so majestic Theo's heart ached.
He didn't get to admire Zenith for long before his Levia stirred and a smaller copy of the arena spell appeared on the ground before him. When it faded, Ryan was standing there, hip cocked and hands in his pockets. He'd changed out of his uniform into a polo and jeans and obnoxious aviator sunglasses over his eyes. As he swaggered toward Theo, he flipped them up and flashed his trademark grin.
"So this is your arena, huh? Cute." He flicked his gaze up at the sky. "Where's the peanut gallery?"
"They're not here," Theo said flatly. He'd decided on it, not wanting the added pressure of their presence, not to mention they might not all be able to fit in the arena's limited space. Thankfully, they'd accepted it without complaint.
Ryan snickered. "Don't want an audience to see you get your ass whipped a second time, huh? Except your girlfriend Sarah, how sweet."
"It's Sam! And I am not his girlfriend!" Sam shrieked, shaking her fists.
Ryan snickered again, but Theo had already run out of patience for banter. "Enough." He stepped in front of Ryan, blocking him from Sam. "Let's start the battle."
"Eager, huh? Well, sure. Avia!" Ryan snapped his fingers and harsh green diagram appeared in the pink sky. Its surface flooded with light and just like in their first battle, Avia emerged from its depths.
Though the trees blocked his view, Theo made out her outstretched metal wings, the deadly curve of her bow. Cutting right to the chase, Ryan cast a spell and an arc of green arrows appeared within the bow.
Zenith dashed forward, weaving through the trees until Theo could no longer catch a glimpse of his azure cape. Avia revolved slowly in the sky, bow pointed, but did not fire yet.
"So that's what you're trying to do," Ryan drawled. "Betcha thought you were being clever, huh? But your stupid tricks aren't gonna work on me."
He waved his hand. With that, Avia fired. The arrows plunged through the treetops, cutting a path of searing green light and scattering leaves and branches everywhere. Theo barely had time to sense a spike of panic through the contract before Zenith rolled to a landing In front of him, covered in twigs and dirt and breathing hard.
The final arrow struck a tree so hard it blasted out of the ground. Sam screamed as it flew toward Zenith and Theo, but Theo was ready. He cast the basic blade-sharpening spell, and Zenith charged and slashed the tree in half. The two halves came crashing on either side of Ryan, making him jump.
"Hey, watch it!"
Avia swooped above him then. With so many trees felled, Theo could now see nearly her entire silhouette, the green symbol on her forehead blazing like a beacon.
"You really think you can hide, loser?" Ryan shouted. "A bunch of stupid trees aren't gonna stop me. Avia, get him!"
Flinging up his arm, he cast a new spell. A massive arrow slid into Avia's bow, buzzing and crackling with barely-controlled energy.
Though Zenith dove back into the dense trees, Avia fired the arrow anyway. Theo's heart jumped. This didn't make sense, it was going to miss –
But rather than strike the ground at his feet, the arrow made a sharp ninety-degree turn and plunged into the trees, green light streaking after it. "What – "
"Get it? Doesn't matter where the hell your worthless knight tries to hide," Ryan gloated. "That arrow will chase him to the ends of the earth."
He was breathing hard, his face shiny with sweat. The spell must have used a lot of Levia. Even so, he probably still had more in his reserves than Theo did.
A tracking arrow. Theo hadn't expected that. It meant he and Zenith could no longer rely on the trees for cover. For the first time, doubt flickered inside him – but it sputtered to nothing in the face of Zenith's resolve.
That was right. This tracking arrow wasn't enough to stop them.
Zenith's resolve sharpened, and Theo knew his knight had heard him.