4 Chapter 4: A Choice

"…I forgot that your mother already left you and your father to copulate with another man."

"..."

There was a sudden silence that filled the air after Dante's words; with the only thing whispering in the air was Aaron's teeth gritting and hitting each other. And as his friends saw his hands turning into fists, the four of them once again surrounded Dante, tightening the circle they made so that he wouldn't even think of escaping.

Before anything could happen, however, their circle was suddenly broken as a tall student suddenly joined them; immediately but lightly pulling Aaron's hand away from Dante's hair.

"Hey, Aaron, brother," the tall young man quickly raised both his hands as he let out a small chuckle, his long braids that reached his shoulder slightly bouncing as he did so, "I thought we was tight, man? You alright?"

"This is none of your business, Trae. Get the fuck away before you get involved," Aaron almost snarled, but he wasn't looking at the young man, Trae, at all, and instead just continued to stare down at Dante.

"Woah, woah. I know it ain't anyone's business. But bro, bro—we friends," Trae looked at Aaron's group, only for them to quickly avoid his unusually golden eyes that seemed to reflect everything in the room.

"No, we're not friends," Aaron breathed out. He was going to step closer to Trae, but his friends quickly stopped him.

"Well, we was," Trae sighed before shaking his head, "And since we was, I feel like I have the moral obligation to tell you that the teachers is coming here."

"Shit. Let's just go, Ron. It's not worth it."

"We can just wait for the bitch to go outside, let's go. I can't be in trouble again, I was already suspended last week."

"..." Aaron's teeth almost bled as he once again stared down at Dante. But after a few seconds, he just violently kicked Dante's desk before stomping his way out of the classroom along with his friends.

"Bro, damn. Damn! Come one!" Trae exclaimed; opening his palms in disbelief as he went to grab Dante's desk and return it in place.

"You… good, man?" And as he gently placed Dante's desk back in place, he could not help but raise his eyebrows as he realized that Dante had not even left his seat once through the entire commotion, "You need help or somethin'?"

"I am more than good, Trae. Thank you," Dante finally stood up from his seat, nodding his head as he looked Trae straight in the eyes. And as Trae saw this, he could not help but take a few steps back.

"...You sure?"

There was a reason why Aaron and his friends tried avoiding looking at Trae's eyes, and that was because he was a superhuman — the only one in the entire city. Golden, almost glowing eyes were the proof that someone has absorbed a magistone, and his eyes were just that.

Trae, however, was weak in comparison to the other superhumans. His only ability, to turn his nails into sharp, hard-rock claws. But of course, all superhumans, even the weakest ones, are always granted increased strength, speed, and durability, making them physically stronger than even Olympic-level humans — the reason why Aaron and his thug friends avoid him.

Even with his abilities considered one of the weakest, however, Trae was one of the only superhumans that fought against the scorps when they attacked Boston a week from now… and Dante watched him die countless times trying to sacrifice himself for other people.

Trae was an orphan. His parents took their own lives when they found out that the magistone they painstakingly bought illegally with all of their money, only gave their son a Rank-F ability. And yet despite all the things he has been through…

"You're a good man, Trae."

"...Huh?"

And as Dante patted his shoulder, Trae could really only blink in confusion. He watched as Dante just casually walked away, not even explaining anything about the situation as he stepped out of the classroom,

"...What in the hell was that?"

***

"This is odd."

Dante's eyes reflected the scenery outside of his school, and yet he was still having a hard time recognizing anything. There was the large track and football field, the crowd of students that walked past him, and the shape of the clouds that he had already memorized…

…and yet everything was still somewhat of a blur.

It was almost as if he truly just woke up from a sleep that lasted an eternity. He needed to make an effort to even recognize the ground beneath his feet.

And as he stepped forward, he was very careful — something he had never been for a very, very long time. He was no longer stuck in this Week, and he was feeling somewhat… anxious. The football field, the crowd, the clouds…

…they were real.

He needed to remind himself that they were real… and not just the toys he had been playing with anymore. If he hurts any of them, if he destroys something, if he kills anyone — they won't return.

"Has life… always been this fragile?"

And as his thoughts once again escaped his lips, the students that were walking past him all moved away; trying their best to not even make eye contact with him — everyone knew who he was, and they did not want anything to do with him.

Dante Liberato, the estranged son of the Liberato Family, the wealthiest and largest Italian Mafia in the country. But of course, as Aaron said, he did not actually have any power within the family.

His father was the Underboss, one of the sons of the Godfather of the Liberato family. Dante, however, despite his heritage, does not hold any authority simply for the fact that he was the son of a whore.

But still, he has money… lots of it.

"Hm…" Dante then looked back at the school building, before shrugging and walking away, "...I suppose all of this will be gone a week from now."

And now that he was no longer stuck in the loop, his first task was to not actually die.

"Should I just leave…" Dante placed his hand on his chin, "...Or save them?"

"Dante!"

And as soon as Dante stepped out of the gates of the school, he was welcomed by Aaron's fist. This time, however, even as Dante was completely lost in his own thoughts, his feet moved on their own as he stepped to the side…

…tripping Aaron and causing him to roll several times on the cold, hard ground.

"This…" Aaron's eyes started to twitch as he saw the students starting to gather, looking down at him with smirks on their faces,

"...Grab him!"