Chapter 25: Different Day, Same Problems

Takabi's head was in the clouds.

His mind was locked on Carlos and their odd conversation the day before. His hands in his pockets, he absentmindedly took his time heading to school. The attitude and atmosphere Carlos had was completely different from how Takabi knew him all these years. He was hiding something, that much was obvious.

Did Carlos know that Takabi saw the cuts on his arm? Or that he made a mental note of the one on his cheek? He went on a double date with Jewel and Blake, so maybe one of them could tell him what happened.

Jewel, it seemed like they were friends, to a lesser extent.

Blake, from what he could tell, hated him with a strong, but unnecessary passion.

"Maybe I could ask Ariel," He muttered to himself, fingers against his chin as he deepened his thoughts. His footsteps stopped shortly in front of the school stairs, and from the lack of noise he could tell he must've left much earlier than planned. His suspicions were confirmed when he looked around, and not a single bus or person could be found. There were a couple cars in the parking lot, most likely the teachers', so he sat on the stairs and chose to wait it out.

He lowered his head, and closed his eyes to continue thinking it over. Blake, Jewel or Ariel. He could've, should've asked Jewel before he came here, but the idea hadn't crossed his mind at the time. Carlos was another option he hadn't considered until now, but if he knew anything about his friend, it was that now wasn't the time to grill him for answers about his injuries. Worst case scenario, Carlos came to the conclusion to take a blade to his skin, even though that wasn't like him.

In this day and age, anything could change a person. The news has been nothing but negativity and death, not just shootings but random murders and rapes. As far as he knew, something may have happened in the past month he was gone. No one was immune to time, or the pain that time gave a person.

"Why are you here so early?"

Takabi looked up, his eyes locking with a rather nerdy looking boy. He was dressed in a yellow plaid button down shirt and khaki pants. Brown loafers and hair combed back neatly. Black glasses and an inhaler in his shirt pocket. He had a bag slung over his shoulder, and looked to be about five foot four, with pale skin and freckles that trailed across his face in a strange pattern.

"Oh, hey. You're Delaware, right," Takabi asked.

The boy nodded to him, but laughed a bit. "I knew I wasn't popular, but for you to forget me kind of hurts, Takabi. Fine, I'll reintroduce myself. My name is Jesse Delaware." He held his hand out to Takabi to shake. "Nice to meet you."

Takabi took his hand and shook it, blinking oddly. "Why are you here this early in the morning? School doesn't open until around eight. It's only…" He pulled out his phone and glanced at the time. "It's seven thirty two."

"Yeah, I know. I have a key to get inside though so I can get a head start on any homework I didn���t finish. When it comes to grades, having the father for a principal has its benefits."

"Is that why you passed Gym last year," Takabi asked.

"More or less." He pushed his glasses a bit further up the bridge of his nose. "Which reminds me, did you collect all of the left over work yet, or did you not get the chance?"

"Yeah, I got it," Takabi said, patting the bag on his own back. "Jewel has been collecting it for me while I was away."

"That's good. If you need any help, don't be afraid to ask me." He said, walking up the stairs. He stopped and looked back at him, saying, "By the way. I like your hair. White. Definitely cool." Delaware made his way into the school, and Takabi ran a hand through his hair.

"Is it? Never gave it much thought. Maybe I should dye it black or something normal?"

The sound of a car engine filled his ears. From around the corner, a brand new 2015 black mustang screeched around the corner, speeding into the parking lot and stopped just short of a light pole.

The passenger door opened first, and Jewel's head popped out. The girl grabbed her bag and angrily slammed the door as the driver side opened and Blake's head rose out. "Oh, come on! It wasn't that fast!"

"Screw you, Blake! I'll talk to you later when I feel like it," She huffed angrily and sped walked towards the stairs. Her eyes fell on Takabi and her face drained a bit of color, but she forced a smile as she got closer. "Morning. You're early."

"I know, Delaware told me." He blinked, continuing to touch his hair. "Do I look cool to you?"

She raised an eyebrow and craned her head aside. "Define cool."

"I don't know. Delaware just said my hair was cool. I have no clue what he meant." He paused a minute and blinked. "I was thinking I should look a bit more normal and dye it black."

"Do us both a favor and don't even consider it." She said quickly, almost angrily, which caught him off guard.

"What's wrong with black hair?"

"What's wrong with green eyes? Or growing wings outta your back?"

His eyes widened then, his heart all but stopped cold. His expression might've given it away and confirmed whatever nonsense Jewel was spouting, but he tried to keep calm and defuse the situation before the bomb could even be planted.

"What are you talking about? Are you smoking something?"

Her face turned to one of disgust, but she took a deep breath and composed herself. "Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind right now. Just… Just give me some time okay? Welcome back." She muttered, then headed up the stairs as a couple buses pulled in and Blake quickly rushed by, glaring at Takabi before chasing after Jewel.

Takabi gripped his knee tightly. Things are going to get much more difficult, yet he couldn't deny some strange excitement in his chest.

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The bell rang and Takabi slammed his textbook shut.

History was history, and he was free to move towards lunch and stuff his stomach with whatever food he could get his hands on. His eyes glanced at the empty seat next to him, and his face deflated when he remembered Carlos never came in. So he stood from his seat, placed his books in his bag, slung it over his shoulder and walked out of the classroom into the bustling hallway.

Students from his class and others, rushing to wherever they went during the lunch period.

Some of the upperclassmen were crowded around Anna's locker, heads low and small prayers being said before they taped a bouquet to the metal and walked away. Takabi walked up to it after they left, looking over the cards piled up, each one reading get well from a different person. He wanted to wish her well, but there was no point he felt.

Truth is, she probably would never be the same mentally. Seeing a family member ripped into bloodsoaked pieces would have that kind of affect on a person, especially a human.

A human. Since when did I think of everyone like that, He wondered.

Something heavy shoved him into the locker. He snapped his eyes back, trying his hardest to restrain his eyes from glowing, and spotted Blake towering over him.

"We need to talk. Now, freak. Meet me on the roof, and don't make me come looking for you." He threatened, before disappearing into the crowd.

Growling, he waited a minute before following him, taking out his phone and texting Nana: Roof. Listen out if anything happens.

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"So, what did you want? And can we hurry up, I want to eat."

The air was strangely harsh on the school's rooftop. Takabi paid it no mind though, as his attention was solely on Blake. The jock had called him out, and he wondered why. He couldn't feel or hear any faint breathing or heartbeats, so he took a strong guess that they were the only two up there.

Blake crossed his arms, playing it cool. "I'm not good with that secret agent type shit, so I'll get right to the point. What are you?"

"The fuck you mean," He replied, but deep in his mind, had a good idea of what he was referring to. Jewel had dropped a pretty big hint this morning. "I'm a damn person."

"No, you aren't. The other day… " He paused a moment, as if he was rethinking what he was going to say. "The other day, Jewel and I ran into these dudes on our way home from the movies. We didn't take my car 'cause it was a nice night, and we wanted to enjoy it. Anyway, these three guys were following us for a couple minutes, so I turned and asked them if they needed any help or something. Next thing I know, I'm flat on the concrete in an alleyway and Jewel is screaming for her life. The guy claimed he was a vampire."

Takabi laughed then, not exactly from the ridiculousness, but because he couldn't let himself show any sort of worry. It would only make himself look bad. "Sounds like you need to lay off the laced weed, man. Is that all?"

"Let me finish, freak," Blake said harshly, and Takabi's face turned serious. "They were looking for you. You, specifically, and I didn't know why. I mean, you're a nobody, just a face in a crowd of losers that just sticks out more. I wondered what made you so special that three guys would show up outta nowhere and nearly kill us." He paused, before leaning against the fence on the roof edge. "Then he showed us."

"Showed you what? That drugs isn't the answer to your problems?"

"Shut the hell up and just fucking listen, damn. I said there were three. Aside from the guy who claimed to be a vampire with no proof," Blake bit his lip and sighed, looking back at the parking lot. The school rang, signifying lunch was over, and Takabi and his stomach growled in frustration. "The other guy did. Know what's the kicker?" Blake looked Takabi in the eye, the impatient boy shrugging his shoulders and basically telling him to get on with it. "That guy looked exactly like you."

Takabi felt his whole world shatter and freeze. Those simple words, which he should have ignored, sent something through his soul and made him think.

Think hard.

Think deep.

Think about everything Nana had told him and he came to one conclusion.

One simple conclusion that he found difficult to believe.

It wasn't his sister going around. It was his supposed-to-be-dead brother.

"You're fucking nuts. Keep away from me," Takabi responded, before seemingly hurrying towards the door to the stairwell.

Blake rushed over, placing a heavy hand on his shoulder and spun him around, placing a heavy punch against his cheek. The pain was minor, but it still annoyed Takabi. He shoved him back hard, Blake tumbling to the floor, before getting up again. "No, I want to see it. Show me, you freak. Show me those fucking wings of yours."

"Back the hell off." He growled in response.

Blake rushed at him, throwing another punch. Takabi ducked and side-stepped away. That didn't stop his pursuer, and only fueled Blake's determination. Blake spun around faster than he anticipated, and hopped after him, before raising his foot and kicking him hard in the gut. That got a slightly stronger reaction, but Takabi fought down the urge to smash Blake's skull into pieces. Murder was not on his agenda today.

He dropped his bag and tackled Blake, trying to throw the jock off his feet. Blake brought his knee up and struck Takabi's nose, effectively breaking it and causing blood to spew, before he grabbed the dazed boy and slammed their foreheads together and pushed him down. Blake got on top and began throwing punch after punch, drawing more and more blood from him.

He was fighting his healing factor. If he did anything out of the ordinary, he would reveal himself, what he really is and knew Blake wouldn't keep his mouth shut.

Yet from the way Blake was punching him, he knew there was a chance he could actually die. Blake was trying to pull something from him, trying to get Takabi to fight back and break him.

Fight or flight?

Flight didn't work, and holding back his fight didn't do much good in this situation.

Defend. The voice in his head, that had remained silent until now, finally spoke.

He didn't hesitate to bring his knees up between the two and kick Blake, the jock flying in the air and landing hard on his back, the air knocked out of his lungs. Takabi spun and landed on his feet, his wounds steaming and closing up. Any swelling went down, cuts and bruises fading until his face was as untouched as before.

Blake got up, laughing. "I was right. You are a fucking freak."

He jumped to his feet and sucked in as much air as he could before running at Takabi again. He threw a punch, and Takabi ducked and brought his right fist forward, much harder than he had planned. He only realized this too late has Blake's ribs shattered under his single punch, and the jock flew back into the roof fence, smashing through and over the edge.

Time slowed and seemingly stopped altogether as Takabi's eyes widened, and he stood there frozen as Blake's body thumped hard against the concrete. He dropped to his knees as the rooftop door opened and Nana rushed outside, her eyes wide as she looked at the opening in the fence, then ran towards Takabi and dropped to her knees. "What happened?! Takabi, answer me!"

He couldn't.

He couldn't do anything, but look at his hands in absolute horror. His suspicions were confirmed the second he heard someone scream from over the edge.

He killed him.

He had actually killed again, and this time, the guilt was much more severe when it settled in his heart.