Kol was at the school's rooftop that day, breeze through his greasy black hair, sun on his brown eyes. That was the only and the best spot for photography. He was so used to the place, he knew all the good angles and all the bad good angles, and there was always space to experiment. That was definitely the reason he only photographed the school roof, not because he was shy to do it elsewhere, definitely not that.
He was a good liar, and sometimes he even convinced himself of his lies.
The wind turned stale. It smelled of that one time the refrigerator stopped working.
What the hell? Where's the stench coming from?
In front of him loomed a dark shadowy figure. If he squinted his eyes enough, he could see a humanoid figure. It looked like a six foot tall, well muscled man on fire. If fire was pitch black.Kol was so focused on the figure that he hadn't realized everything had turned grey, like a B&W filter.
The figure was approaching him. Slowly, but surely, and Kol wished that he would be a little quicker. Sure it was intimidating, but he was getting awkward, not knowing how to react.
"You. Are you the Dead Watcher?" The figure asked in their raspy, nails-on-a-chalkboard voice.
Superpowers were classified under three main categories- the Living, the Dead and the Unclassified. So every person was either a Life Hearer, Dead Watcher or a Unclassified Speaker. Every person except for ones like Kol at least. And that was about all the knowledge Kol had about superpowers. He'd slept through all related classes because they never mattered to him. School wasn't made for people like him.
"Uh, I don't think so, good sir. I'm a uh, I have a disability. I d-don't have superpowers… so no sir, I'm not a Dead Watcher."
Two dark blue orbs appeared on the figure's head. Colour was slowly returning around him, and he could finally breathe properly, without the rotten stench clogging his nostrils.
"Idiot. Explain how anyone other than a Dead Watcher is talking to me right not."
"Sir I don't understa-"
Oh.
Oh.
Shit.
"B- but. How?"
Kol heard a chuckle. The figure in front of him was getting translucent quickly, to the point that they seemed almost nonexistent. He could just make out the slightest tinge of blue and black where they were disappearing.
"This isn't the last you'll be seeing of me, boy."
And it wasn't.
"Seen a ghost?" A voice asked in his ear, making him jump out of his skin.
He turned around to see Lola, the new student standing an inch away from his face. It was only her third day at school, yet she had managed to get everyone's attention with her long twin braids, and pink eyelids. She also had the habit of being very nosy, and sharp tongued. That's what he heard anyways, from the back bench, mid-dissociation.
"Uh n-no", he lied.
"Liar", she scowled. "I can sense spirits you know. There was like a huge presence here. And you look super pale too. Stupid idiot."
"Are you a Dead Watcher?"
"Pshaw, no way. I don't do superpowers."
He cocked an eyebrow.
" I'm a Damaged."
Just like he thought he was.
"And also", She pulled out a necklace from behind her turtleneck. It was golden coloured, and shaped like bird- wings unfurled- with chains hanging from its beak. "A pious Anti Super."
That was Kol's first interaction with an Anti Super, not that he'd had that many interactions. But that was not the only reason he was shocked. Anti Supers rarely revealed their beliefs in person, hiding behind screens and typing out all they had to say. Their hate of Supers and Powers made them an easy target for hate otherwise.
He wasn't sure why one would have such a thought process. All these years he'd thought himself to be a Damaged, he longed to be a Super and thought nothing could have been better than that. After all, who doesn't want power? And about ninety percent of the world's population were Supers- why want to be the underdog?
But Kol decided not to ask any questions because Lola wasn't his friend, nor was he looking to make friends. He had yet to figure out what the hell happened five minutes ago, with the ghost, and why despite numerous times of getting tested, his results always said he was a Damaged.
"Um ok." He walked past her, heading straight for the door.
"Wait!" She called out behind him, "We aren't done talking-"
But he was already bouncing down the stairs, the one sided conversation now over.
It was only when he reached his destination that he realized he was sweating profusely, drenched from head to toe. His ears were buzzing and his vision was filled with blurred colours and dancing spots. He had no idea what was happening, why his body was betraying him. But he guessed his body was and always had been hiding secrets from him.
Blindly he directed himself to a bench and sat down. He wondered if he was alone, outside in the school field. He hoped so, because the thought of him being watched in such a vulnerable and confused state made his anxiety levels rise even more.
A cold hand touched his shoulder in the middle of his foggied senses. The touch was soft and gentle, but the nails weren't. They were sharp, and slightly pierced his skin, enough to let him know that this wasn't a friend.
"What now?" He asked, exhaust coating his words.
"So they've visited you already, huh?" The entity lowered her face so that her lips were directly next to his ears. She sounded like she had a soft voice before turning into a chainsmoker. She even smelled like smoke, which was an upgrade from the last ghost he'd interacted with.
"I will take you somewhere", he could feel her smirk. "Don't worry I apologized to your grandmother in advance."
"You'll be home late today."