Nexus Academy-Lennox Dorm
Inside Lennox's dorm room, he lay face-first on his bed. His entire body was nearly fully healed, except for his right hand, which remained encased in a bandage cast. The strain on his body had taken its toll, and he primarily relied on his left hand for any movement he had to do.
Lennox, wearing a tired expression and with droopy eyes, muttered, "I love sleep. It's like a temporary escape from all the stress, pain, and life's mess... even if just for a little while." He had just woken up from a brief nap.
As he dragged himself up from his bed, Lennox mumbled to himself, "Now it's time to shake off this sluggishness and get some exercise. I've been glued to this bed for days, and I know the perfect place is the park."
Lennox proceeded to wear a black sleeveless shirt and loose pants sportswear. Over the past few days, he had been dressing himself as his body gradually healed. Despite the challenge of putting on clothes with his cast, he had grown accustomed to it. However, it remained an annoying task. After leaving his dorm, Lennox made his way to a park in Vision City.
In the midday sun, Lennox strolled through the park, observing ordinary people engaging in various activities such as exercising, walking with their families, and a few Nexarcs students traversing the park's to somewhere known only to them.
Choosing a bench far from the crowds, Lennox sat down. As people began to notice him, they instinctively moved away, of coarse like always due to the distinctive glow of his emberflare eye. Lennox, feeling the subtle isolation he decided to relocate first.
Sitting alone on the bench, Lennox gazed up at the sun. He closed his eyes for a moment, allowing the warmth to wash over his body. However, he sensed a change the sun was no longer on his face longer than elsewhere on his body. The he heard a soft sound of breathing reached his ears, and suddenly, he felt something crawling on his face.
Reacting swiftly, Lennox's hand shot up to his face, and he stood up abruptly. Turning around, he discovered Theo, who was on the verge of bursting into laughter, holding a leaf and some flowers in his hand.
Lennox's brow furrowed as he shot Theo an annoyed look. "Theo, what's your problem?" he asked, bewildered. Questions raced through his mind. why was Theo here, and how did he even know I was here?
Finally, Theo couldn't contain himself any longer and burst out laughing, clutching his stomach in pain. "HaHa... You should have seen your face," he managed to say between fits of laughter.
Lennox took a deep breath and settled back onto the bench. Despite the feeling that Theo might be intentionally trying to annoy him, he reminded himself to stay calm. Brushing off the irritation caused by Theo's antics, he focused on maintaining his composure and enjoying the solitude of the park.
"Are you still that depressed about the deaths of Alex and Eve?" Theo inquired, his laughter fading into a more serious tone.
"..."Lennox didn't immediately answer. Instead, he fell into a contemplative silence, as he thoughts of moving to another spot to be alone.
Sensing Lennox's annoyance, Theo believed it was best to move past the incident. Nonchalantly walking around the bench with his hands in his pockets, he positioned himself in front of Lennox. Understanding that dwelling on what had already happened served no purpose.
"Look, why don't you just suck up whatever you're going through and move on, or at least try?" Theo suggested, his tone carrying a mix of frustration and concern.
"I know what you're going through," Theo added, a glimmer of empathy surfacing as he recalled a fragment of his own past.
Lennox looked up at Theo, his eyes reflecting a blend of exhaustion and cynicism. "Do you? Because it seems like all you do is joke around, be too happy to know sadness," he said, his words laced with sarcasm.
Suddenly, Theo took a deep breath, feeling a little hurt by Lennox's words. His hand swiftly arced across Lennox's face, delivering a sharp slap. "You feel hurt from a little depression, from a mistake, when there are others that are more... depressed than you," he said, his tone softening with a hint of understanding.
Lennox sat there, stunned, with his hand on his face, surprised that Theo had slapped him. "Okay, that's enough. You've crossed a line," he declared, rising from his bench.
Theo took a step back as he watched Lennox rip off the cast from his hand. "So, what are you going to do?" he asked, a mix of curiosity and caution in his voice.
After freeing his hand from the cast and regaining the familiar feeling, Lennox brought his hand in front of his face, moving toward Theo. "Sometimes you do certain things that I let slide, but slapping me is a no!" he asserted.
"Well, let's see what you can do about it," Theo challenged, his posture relaxed.
Lennox, fueled by a surge of frustration, launched a swift right jab at Theo. However, Theo swiftly sidestepped, narrowly evading Lennox's fist. Reacting quickly, Theo decisively grabbed Lennox's fist before he could retract it, effectively neutralizing the attempted attack.
Theo then looked Lennox in the eyes with a smirk. "Last time we fought, I was just testing you. So I made it a tie, so let me show you how good I am," he declared.
Releasing Lennox's hand and pushing him away, Theo stood up ready. "No matter what, there are some things that can't be changed, no matter what we feel before or after," he stated.
As Lennox and Theo were about to continue their confrontation, they heard people shouting in the distance. "Look, there are people fighting!"
"Should we inform the guard?"
Ignoring the commotion around them, Lennox and Theo decided to focus on their own disagreement.
'Is what he's saying true?' Lennox wondered, his mind grappling with the uncertainty of the moment.
Caught in the whirlwind of racing thoughts, Lennox was momentarily distracted, unaware that Theo had unleashed a left jab aimed at his head. Reacting instinctively, Lennox ducked at the last second. However, the sudden movement left him vulnerable, and with a quick stance change, Theo capitalized by delivering a powerful kick to Lennox's head.
The impact rattled Lennox's brain, leaving him disoriented and unable to control his body. Helplessly, he crumpled to the ground. In an instant, Theo seized the opportunity, wrapping his hands around Lennox's neck and locking him into a stranglehold. Lennox, now on the verge of losing breath, began gasping for air, desperately clawing at Theo's hands that tightened their grip around his neck.
"Dude, I just want to say... I did a lot of mistakes in the past. I've tried changing from it, and I still am. It's just that...I didn't let it control me when you can to," Theo admitted.
As Theo started to loosen his grip on Lennox's neck, Lennox couldn't shake the strange emotions he was feeling. 'Why am I feeling like this? I haven't felt this way since I was young,' he pondered.
"We are a__" Theo began to say something more, but they he was cut cut short by a sudden explosion.
"BOOM!"
The loud explosion echoed, and both of them turned to the side to see a large stone, like from a building, that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
"Well, that was an unseen arrival," Theo remarked.