Jason was lying in his bed contemplating his entire existence as he tried to come up with different ways to escape his mid-life crisis.
Should he have faked having an illness?
No, that would take time and preparation; two things he didn't have.
Perhaps if he hit himself hard enough to break something?
No, the effects would last longer than the desired amount of time, and it would also be pretty painful.
Perhaps-
"Young head!" the boorish grown man yelled at the child, "Stop with the plotting and get out here! You have school, damn it!"
So what if he had school? Jason knew tons of guys who dropped out of school and still made it in life.
"Well, none of them dropped out of the seventh grade," he heard the annoying nanny mumble as he buried himself deeper into his bed sheets.
He wasn't going to school and that was that!
"Now, young head-"
"What's with the commotion so early in the morning?" Dad said after the sound of his door sliding open made him loosen the sheets ever so slightly.
"He said he don't wanna go to school." the annoying nanny snitched, "Talking about some guys he knows that dropped out and made it in life."
"You mean the ones on the sides of the road? The ones rotting in jail cuz they can't do simple math?"
School was practically prison anyway.
"You. You. Grab his legs."
Ha! As if it was that easy-
Okay so it was that easy for two grown men to grab Jason by his legs and hold him upside down.
"Do you know how it'll take the blood to rush to your head and make you pass out?"
No?
"If you haven't learned it in school, let's find out now."
Wait, wait, wait!
"What? You don't need school, so this should be fun."
Wait!
"You suddenly want to go to school now?"
No, he didn't.
Jason watched his father sigh as he signalled for his men to put Jason down and leave the room. He sat down next to him and took off his glasses, revealing his scar.
It was the coolest thing ever to Jason. He wanted one just like it, but the last time he said that, he got yelled at, so he kept those aspirations to himself as Dad asked him, "So why do you not wanna go? Did you get in trouble again? If you did, your mom is gonna kill both of us."
Jason shuddered at the thought as he mentioned how much he hated going to school with normal people.
"What do you mean 'normal people'? What? Are we 'not normal'?"
That's how it felt to Jason as he remembered the way everyone would just stare at him as he walked down the hall. If it wasn't for his friends, he would've ran out years ago.
"That's why, huh?"
He just hated the thought of being different from everyone else.
"Screw being normal!" Dad yelled as he got up, "What's so fun about being boring? Nothing!"
But-
"But nothing! They wanna stare? Give them something to stare at! They wanna whisper? Give them something to whisper about! As my son- Grab a piece of paper and write this down."
Huh?
"Don't 'huh' me! Just do it!"
Ugh, fine.
"Ready?"
Mhm.
"Okay, As my son, you are no longer allowed to be boring or simple! Life's too short for it. Got it?"
How could he not when he just screamed it at him?
"That's my boy!" Dad said as he ruffled Jason's bed head while the nanny walked in.
What did he want?
"I love you too, young head, but the Ane is ready to leave sir."
"Perfect!" Dad replied to Jason's nanny before putting his shades back on and turning back to Jason, "Your mom and I got one important meeting and we'll come pick you up after school. How does that sound?"
Jason had to check his schedule for an opening.
"Save some time for your favourite clients, wontcha?" Dad laughed as he went out the door towards the cars.
It had to have been an important meeting, Jason thought as he changed his clothes. Mom and Dad never went to meetings together anyway, and for them to also be taking a full entourage, they must've been meeting with some high-end foreigner.
"Young head."
Or maybe a new dealer?
"Young head~"
Which kind though? Arms? Drugs?
"Young head!"
What?
"School?"
What about it? He already said he was going.
"When exactly?"
When he was supposed to- Why was he asking stupid questions when he could clearly see Jason was contemplating?
"Aren't you late?"
Jason turned to look at the clock and the time scared him enough to run out of the room without a backpack or brushed hair.
He didn't have time anyway, he thought as he ran outside only to be stopped by a certain annoying nanny yelling, "You forgot this, young head!" from his bedroom window.
After a gentle threat from the already late junior high student, the annoying nanny tossed the backpack and lunchbox out the window, and Jason caught it without a second thought as he ran as fast as he possibly could.
*****
As Jason walked down the empty hallways, there was only one thing on his mind: the perfect excuse.
He swore his teacher had a bone to pick with him every time he was late, and always just ran his mouth all damn lecture. Jason genuinely wondered if he ever got sick of it, 'cause if he was asked to write a paper on how annoying and grating his voice was, he would be able to write, at the least, five 10,000 word books.
"Jason."
Well, they'd be more essays than books.
"Jason."
And let's be honest, no one in their right mind would even read that much without trying to prove a point.
"Jason!"
What?
"The principal called you to her office. The announcement went off before you arrived, so just head over now."
The principal? What did that old hag want?
"Jason, don't be disrespectful."
Well, it wasn't like she was young-
"Jason!"
Fine, Jason huffed as he picked up his backpack and left the room.
What was up with him anyway? Yeah, he was naggy, but he had never yelled at Jason like that before. And what did the principal want? Wasn't she scared of Jason's old man? Was she gonna give him the collection money? 'Cause collection was on the 18th of every month. He really couldn't care less as he hoped she wouldn't take long with her pleading as he opened her door.
In front of Jason, there was the old hag, and her forgetful, possibly-older secretary. Typical.
To the right of him were those annoying third graders he occasionally pushed around and who looked like their grandparents, except for the one dude standing by the lanky alpaca herself.
He didn't hesitate to stand besides his friends, but as soon as he did, they moved to the "victims' side" and looked at him with horror in their eyes.
What was going on?
"You, young man," the old hag said, "Are responsible for the injuries every child in this room sustained."
What?
"Don't try to lie yourself out of this one," the older hag added, "We've got a testimony from every single one of these poor kids."
What did they mean "every single one of them"? Bailey was the one who picked a fight with us and ran away, and Betty and Tony wouldn't have gotten hurt if they just listened.
"My name is Halley." Bailey snapped as Tony added, "And my name is not Tony. It's Brandon!"
"Does that make me Betty?" Betty asked, but names didn't matter!
The psycho girl was the one who beat up all his friends, and the entire thing wasn't even Jason's idea in the first place! It was Robin's!
"Is this true, Robin?" the old hag asked, but of course it was true-
"He's lying, Ms. Principal."
See- Wait, what?
"He's not our friend."
What was he talking about? Jason and Robin had been friends since daycare!
"How would you feel if the son of the biggest crime lord in the entire kingdom just followed and ordered you around? Would you fight back?"
Yes, Jason would fight back, and not stab his friends in the back!
"You were never my friend. You were just a parasite, not that I expect you to know what that is."
He knew what that was. He wasn't that stupid. In fact, Jason always thought he was one of the smartest people he knew.
Why else was school so easy to him? Why else was it so easy to predict and guess what everyone around him was thinking or about to say?
He was a genius, but gangster's kids weren't supposed to be smart, so he used this secret to his advantage. He was supposed to always be the smartest person in the room. So how? How did he not predict this?
"Jason."
How could he-
"Jason."
Not notice something so-
"Jason!"
So clear-
"Jason!"
He could hear the old hag just fine!
"D-Do you have anything to say in your defense?"
Why bother?
"What?"
Why bother and defend himself? He was clearly outnumbered and who was going to believe the words of the West's biggest crime lord's son?
"Guilt-trip isn't going to work, mister." the man said, but he wasn't trying to guilt-trip anyone.
He just wanted them to hurry up and expel him, so he can go home. He was sick of school. He was sick of normal, boring people.
And so, Jason ran out of that room, almost bumping into his former teacher.
"Are you alright?"
He was fine!
"Well, where are you going?"
Home.
"School hasn't ended yet-"
"Stop him!" the older hag yelled, "He can't leave the building without a parent!"
Jason, however, was already gone as he zoomed down the hallways to the back of the school.
He had hopped the fence a billion times before, and the billion and first time wasn't any different as he ran down the street, away from that prison.
*****
Running without looking at where you're going always spells out disaster, but it's raised to a cataclysmic level when you're running through the rain, and in a busy city.
Jason didn't care though. He didn't care about anything as he ran through the downpour with his eyes on his feet.
He thought about counting the steps as he ran, but he feared the tears may pierce through, and began thinking of different ways to get rid of them.
Watch where you're going, old hag, Jason snapped at a then 20 year old Amelia after bumping into her, and to his dismay, she was the taller one.
"You're bullying kids again?" her companion as she held Jason by the collar before she said, "It's about time I teach you some manners."
The creepiness of her smile was a scene that would be forever etched into Jason's soul as they dragged him along to a nearby café.
What did they want with him?
"I'm thinking of getting the pasta." the old hag said to the man, ignoring Jason.
"Pasta? I thought you're on a low carb diet?"
"I am, but it's my cheat day."
"Everyday is your cheat day."
"Shut up."
"Make me."
Could they stop flirting for two seconds and tell Jason who they were?
"Flirting?"
"With this cow?" the man questioned before getting punched in the arm.
"What are you getting, shrimp?"
His name was not shrimp. It was Jason, and he was taught not to accept food from strangers.
"I'm Amelia. He's Harrison. Now we're not strangers." the old hag- Amelia replied before turning to the server and placing their order.
"So why are you running away?" Harrison suddenly said, but Jason was not running away!
"I know a runaway when I see one." Amelia added. What gives? Parents? Money? Siblings? Touchy relatives? Why are you running away?"
He wasn't running away!
"Okay, which way is your house!"
He couldn't tell them that!
"Because you're running away?"
No!
"Are you sure?"
Yes!
"Then why exactly were you running through the streets in the rain when a kid like you should be in school right about now?"
Jason stopped to think about the answer, but that was soon the least of his problems as he saw a school security guard outside.
He tried to use Amelia and Harrison to hide himself, but the two of them looked at each other before ducking and exposing him perfectly.
What were they doing?
"Not helping you till you answer the question~" Amelia said with a smile.
"Why were you running away?" Harrison asked again, and Jason's choices were limited even more than before as he thought of running out of the store. Though, that would make him look even more suspicious.
He either had to open up to two strangers or get caught. There was no way in abyssus Jason was getting caught, he decided as he told them how he got expelled.
"And that security guard outside is after you?"
Yes, so they had to leave!
"Sounds fine to me." Harrison said as he got up to leave.
"But what about my food?"
"We'll feed you later, Bessy."
"Don't call me Bessy!"
"Why not?"
"That's what you call your favourite cow on that weird vet show!"
"Aww. You're not on a vet show, sweetheart." Harrison said to Amelia as Jason grabbed their hands and pretended to be their kid as he and the gray eyed, blonde haired security guard briefly made eye contact.
He swore he had never seen him around school before, but he didn't think much of it as they headed towards the building where Mom and Dad's meeting was going on.
He hoped to ditch the two morons there after explaining the school matter.
However, the more Jason thought about how Mom would react to the news from school, the less energetic he was to get to the mansion where they were probably meeting another major crime lord or something.
*****
"So we just wait outside?" Amelia asked as she scoffed down Jason's lunchbox like the hungry hungry hippo she was, and no.
They weren't just going to wait outside, Jason decided as he walked up to the gates, and knocked on the window.
No answer.
He tried again, and there was no answer. In fact, no one was in the security booth, he noticed as the three of them made their way inside anyway.
"Woah, your parents are loaded, kid."
That wasn't his house. In fact, Jason had never been there before, but he still found the still quiet hallways strange as they walked down the halls until they found a three-way fork in the road.
"Convenient."
Harrison wasn't wrong, but they had no choice but to split up as they made their way down their own hallways.
Jason started to think of excuses as he made his way further down the creepy hallway, but he decided only wimps would find it scary as he tried to walk nonchalantly.
He decided he wasn't scared of anything until the sounds of footsteps running towards him, made the 12 year old sprint down the hall until he was standing in front of two huge doors.
His instincts were telling him not to go in, but the pattering was getting closer and he had no other choice.
If he had known what was behind the door, Jason would have just stayed outside, he thought as he watched a man smile as Dad fell to the ground in front of his gun.
He couldn't comprehend what was happening. It felt as though his eyes and mind had disconnected themselves as the man turned to face a broken Jason.
The man lifted the gun and pointed it at him, but he couldn't move. In fact, he didn't know how to. It was as if he had forgotten how to move.
He was scared, he thought as he watched the bullet fly towards his face, only to be stopped by Amelia as Harrison picked Jason up and ran.
Jason heard a few more bullets fly, and as if one had hit his brain back in motion, he screamed in terror as the tears poured down his face.
As his face caught up with reality, breathing became difficult until everything suddenly went black.
*****
That was the fifth time Jason had tried calling Thomas, and the fifth time it went straight to voicemail.
What was going on? First, that blast from the northern tower, then Harrison and Thomas go to investigate, and now-
"Harry's not picking up either." Amelia said uncharacteristically worried, at that.
"Well, excuse me for being worried about the attack."
She was excused.
"Ugh! You can be so annoying at times."
Jason gloated at the compliment as they ran through the hallways of the palace, until the ground started to shake.
"An earthquake?"
No, that wasn't an earthquake, Jason thought as he grabbed Amelia and prepared to shield her from the collapsing ceiling.
Naturally, he closed his eyes as his brain still wasn't accustomed to using magic as a reflex.
He was prepared for the feeling of the large blocks of cement which held up the castle's ceiling to collapse on his upper back, but he wasn't ready for the sounds of an empty field to surround him.
At first he thought had died and gone to Eustraria, but his hypothesis went down the drain the second Amelia whispered, "Don't move. Don't let them know you're conscious of your surroundings yet."
Surroundings? What was going on? Was it another attack? But it didn't feel like they were in the palace anymore.
If they were being attacked, their attacker(s) had to have been messing with their senses. Regardless of what they were doing, Jason obediently waited for Amelia's signal before turning around and pointing both his knives at the attacker behind him.
An attacker he personally knew, but hadn't seen for years.
"That's right." Halley Markson said as she faced Jason, and Amelia faced Nayeon Park behind him.
What did they want?
"Richard's plan." Nayeon said, as Amelia replied, "You're a tad bit late to stop him."
If they were going to lie, they could've at least tried to do it well.
"What are you talking about?" Halley asked, confused, "We want to stop the man who plans on destroying the world."
"Who did you hear that from?" Amelia questioned, "Let me guess. Raphael Sullivan?"
Raphael Sullivan? Wasn't he dead?
"He's supposed to be, but I doubt a bunch of kids like you could pull off anything without his help."
What was Amelia talking about?
"Didn't you ever think about it? Why the terrorist holding the bomb conveniently dropped it next to the daughter of a trained assassin? Why the guards placed on the heir to the throne of a kingdom did nothing to ensure the princess' safety as she searched for terrorists? Don't you get it? He's been using you since day one."
"What about you two?"
What? What was Nayeon talking about?
"Hasn't Julian been using you too?"
Of course he was.
"Then why don't you join us?" Halley asked, but there were a few reasons why they couldn't pull off this superhero-supervillain mashup.
The most prevalent was the fact that they wanted to kill Richard.
"That's not true-"
Jason and Amelia lept from the defensive positions as they each attacked the girl they were facing. With two glowing army green knives, Jason sliced down all of Halley's turquoise arrows as he tried to find a way to break her defenses and physically attack.
Fortunately for Jason, that chance arose a lot quicker than he had anticipated as she switched to dual swords mid-battle.
"What made you like this?"
She really didn't know when to shut up, did she?
"Why did you leave town all those years ago?"
Did she mean after she and her friends got her expelled for a harmless prank?
"It wasn't harmless-"
Jason took the opening he saw as he sent Halley flying with a kick to the abdomen, but the little stubborn feign continued talking.
"Torturing someone isn't a harmless prank. Why can't you be honest with yourself?"
He was honest with himself! Just because he wasn't pouring his emotions out to Halley didn't mean he was living some sort of lie!
"I saw you once," Halley said as she blocked Jason's knives with her swords. "There was a homeless kid who stayed on the streets. Everyone knew about him, but no adult ever did anything about or for him."
Get to the point!
"That day you tortured me, you were wearing his shoes."
So what? That didn't mean anything, Jason yelled as he dogged Halley's attack and successful attempt at getting up.
"That same kid later grew up to be the man who first introduced the love of my life to the darkness that has consumed him."
Poetic words for someone who's about to die-
"Don't let the darkness consume you too."
Two.
"What?"
There were two men. The first was a conman who got beat in his own game, and decided to cheat.
"What are you talking about-"
The second man was a broken man.
"Jason-"
No one deserved to die that day! No one should've died! Jason's parents shouldn't have been killed. He knew Halley hated him the exact same way he hated her!
"I don't hate you."
Stop lying! Jason had killed her grandmother and father, not to mention one of her best friends!
She wanted to know what happened the day he left town? Jason was more than happy to recreate the moment as he lifted his arm to kill the stupidly positive and hopeful friend of a murderer. He wanted nothing more but to make her feel the pain he felt that day, but his arm wouldn't move.
Why wouldn't it move?
"This isn't you, Jason."
And he knew?
"Yes, I do."
Jason was sure he did.
"Don't do this. There is already so much blood on your hands."
Shut up, Jason screamed as the intervention by his Magi threw his concentration off, allowing for Nayeon to attack from behind.
As the pearl white light got closer and closer, Jason began to hear voices he never thought he would hear ever again.
Mom, Dad, even the voice of his annoying nanny.
Then Amelia, Thomas, Starlight, Harrison, Richard, Felix, and finally-
"I always thought you were an idiot."
Louis.
"Don't worry. You haven't kicked the bucket. At least, not yet, but Halley is probably trying to convince Britney not to kill you right about … now."
B-but they also received the report. He was already-
"Yeah, but you really shouldn't be so eager to join me. With Rebecca's constant complaining, I may lose all my hair before the wedding, but speaking of complaining, what's wrong?"
What did he mean "what's wrong"?
"I mean, why did you hesitate? Why'd you doubt yourself? And why did you look so disappointed when I said you aren't dead?"
H-he didn't know what he was talking about.
"A fight with Felix?"
No! Why would he even be a part of the conversation?
"If you deny yourself of love, you may never be able to have it, you know?"
When did he get so philosophical?
"When did you became an idiot, Teach."
He wasn't an idiot.
"Then you should know, you deserve to live."
How could he possibly deserve such a thing?
Louis, however, couldn't answer Jason's question as he woke up in that field, tied up to Amy.
He noticed Nayeon and Halley were staring at the sky as it lit up and darkened at random spots over and over again.
"You said you don't trust Julian." Nayeon commented, and Jason confirmed her comment. "If you don't want to join us and you don't trust your own superiors, why didn't you just run?"
Because the old hag behind him would have given him an earful if he suddenly left.
"You stayed because of her?"
Her and the perverted old man too. After all, everyone else in the world hated him.
"That's not true," Halley said without turning around, "I never hated you."
Typical.