Making Friends? - II

Dan looked around and found the person he was searching for. He thought about the effectiveness of speaking to him, it would have been better if he contacted his father. But he had no way of doing it as it was impossible for a random person like him to meet the head of a big company, especially considering their history. Compared to dealing with all the people in the middle and getting an appointment, speaking to the one before him was much simpler and faster. He didn't expect to get any answers either way, maybe he was doing it just to have some agency in his life. Despite the powers he possessed, he hadn't achieved anything other than stealing from some criminals. But, even if his actions had only caused more trouble for him, he won't go back to being afraid of taking them.

He slowly made his way towards the group, there were less people than usual but he could still see the ones he knew. As he got closer, Melisa was the first to spot him; her surprise was clear as she began to open her mouth before quickly closing it. Finally, Brad's gaze met Dan's, and a shock of anger surged through him as memories of his mother's suffering came flooding back. He could feel rage bubbling up inside him, but he forced himself to keep it down as he stepped forward until he stood face-to-face with Brad.

Everyone stared at Dan but he didn't give them any time to question him as he said, looking at Brad.

"Brad, I need to talk to you." there was still some anger left in his voice, even after he suppressed it but he no longer knew who it was directed towards anymore.

The silence continued for a moment before Brad replied hesitatingly.

"Uh, okay... sure." He had never thought that Dan would interact with him of his own volition.

Heavy atmosphere hung in the air as others didn't know how to react to someone barging in all of a sudden. Melisa still looked like she was lost on what to say while Fiona raised any eyebrow at the unexpected development. She observed Melisa's expression and her interest grew further.

"Dan, right?" She flashed a dazzling smile that would make any man's heart flutter and gestured for him to join them. "Why don't you take a seat and join us?"

Dan narrowed his gaze at her question and furrowed his brows skeptically.

"Why do you know my name?" He had a vague idea of Brad's friends and all of them were on an entirely different social level than he was; so some pretty girl from this group knowing anything about him was weird.

Fiona was taken aback by his reaction; usually guys would respond with a bashful grin or some dumb line to get close to her. But something about this one was different - instead of trying to impress her like the others, he looked at her suspiciously as if she had committed a crime. Annoyance flared within her but she quickly suppressed it, deciding she'd take extra effort in embarrassing him later.

Her lips remained curved into a charming smile as she responded, "Melisa told me about you. I also heard that you and Brad were good friends."

Dan merely shrugged noncommittally before turning back to Brad and continuing their conversation.

"Have you been in touch with your father recently?" He asked, eyes narrowed and face tight.

Brad was confused by the question. "Yeah, of course." he said hesitantly, exchanging a glance with the others who shared his confusion.

"There's a loan shark harassing my mom, and I heard it was related to something concerning your father's company," Dan finished, watching intently for Brad's response.

It took a moment for Brad to process the information and he seemed taken aback when he understood what Dan was insinuating.

"Dad will never do that," Brad declared honestly, "If something's like that is going on, then I will definitely talk to him and get it resolved."

Dan didn't say anything else, continuing to analyze Brad's facial expressions while searching for any sign of deceit in his words.

After a while Brad spoke again, voice wavering slightly, "I swear I didn't know anything about it."

Dan sighed before looking away, they weren't at the best of terms now, but he knew Brad wouldn't lie; he never had the need for it.

He also realized that trying to prove anything was futile - even if he suspected Brad's father was involved, there was nothing he could actually do about it.

'Unless I use powers to...' Visions of his actions at the club raced through his mind until Fiona spoke up, her voice tinged with annoyance.

"Oh, is it about 'that' case? I know all about it", she stated scathingly and then changed the topic to a subject that would be difficult for Dan to face, "What happened to your father after all that, anyway?". She said, trying to provoke Dan and make him uncomfortable.

Melisa shifted in her chair and shot Fiona a vicious look as she felt her face flush with anger. She knew that Dan had difficulty handling these sorts of situations and Fiona was solely using him to spite her.

"Listen, Fiona…" she began before someone let out a hearty chuckle. All eyes turned to Dan, who wore a mocking smile on his face.

"You obviously don't know much about the case if you are still asking me that," he remarked coolly. "You probably just read the first two lines of some old news article and lost interest, didn't you?"

Fiona was taken aback by his response again; Brad had said he wasn't good in social situations so she had expected him to break down easily but instead, he was confronting her. She was going to argue back against him, but he didn't allow her the chance.

"Don't worry, I will save you the trouble," he continued with a slight change in his voice, which went unnoticed by everyone.

'He killed himself. Too bad, honestly, I would have loved to see him rot in prison for the rest of his life.'

Everyone opened their eyes in astonishment as Dan spoke nonchalantly about his own father. Melisa was especially stunned; the Dan she knew wouldn't have been able to answer that kind of question, let alone talk back. Finally, it began to sink in, that she wasn't only one who had undergone drastic changes.

But Dan wasn't finished, he tilted his head at Fiona, studying her.

"You are trying to insult me by bringing up my family's past, but why?" he seemed to be jogging his memory, "I don't think I've ever done anything to offend you, hell, I don't even know your name."

He glanced at Brad and Melisa, who were seated across from him. He then returned his gaze to her, giving her a smile that showed he was aware of something.

"You are not really good at this, are you?" He said with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Fiona seemed dumbstruck. "What?" she finally managed.

"Getting under someone's skin, I mean" he continued, "Things always came easy for you, right?"

Fiona began to grow increasingly nervous as she realized what he was doing.

"You got angry at what I said to Brad," He examined her expression carefully. "It looks like you two were close, but now Melisa is here instead, and it doesn't sit well with you. That's why you're trying to get at her through me."

The group stayed silent while Dan waited for a reaction from Fiona, but none came.

"You should find something better to do with your time," he said dismissively, "you have all the advantages in the world but all you can think about is putting someone like me in their place?""

Brad sensed that the situation was escalating further into territory that couldn't be controlled easily so he intervened.

"I heard about your accident from your mother", he asked, trying to change the topic, "she said you got better, how are you feeling now?"

Dan was surprised to find out that his mom had even reached out to Brad.

"I am fine now, it wasn't serious." Dan replied, his tone softening slightly.

Melisa let out a gasp of shock. "You were in an accident?!" She blurted out, her voice raising an octave as she processed the news.

"Yeah, but like I said, it wasn't serious." Dan replied casually.

"Okay..." Melisa studied him carefully, before her shoulders slumped and she looked away. Her throat burned with a heavy sigh as the guilt and shame of pushing him away after she had disappeared overwhelmed her. She had selfishly decided to move on and forget past memories that bothered her - including Dan and their inseparable friendship. But hearing about his accident pulled all of those emotions back in at full force, and she could only imagine what he'd been through. She had found a way out of her despair but Dan still had nothing. Her heart began to ache, realizing how cold and distant she had been towards him when they met again. She couldn't take it back, but silently promised herself to reach out soon.

"Well, I gotta go then" Dan gave a short excuse before standing up and walking away.

Silence lingered for a while, as everyone tried to process what had just happened. Evelyn was the first to eventually break it, as she spoke slowly.

"Who...was...that?" She squinted, an expression of curiosity on her face. "I have never seen anyone shut up Fiona before, especially a guy"

"Yeah, they are usually too busy drooling over her to make any intelligible sounds." Amber pointed out with a sneer, her tone dripping with disdain.

"They don't literally do that, but yeah, this guy was weird." Ray shared his opinion as well.

Fiona was still glaring at Dan's retreating back, deep rage etched on her face. Brad was also surprised by the situation.

"He wasn't like this before, what changed him?" he seemed to be lost in thought, his own exchange with Dan completely escaping his mind.

Evelyn paused thoughtfully before suggesting, "I was skeptical when Fiona brought it up, but we should ask him to hang out with us. He is definitely more interesting than you made him out to be."

Melisa had her own ideas brewing as she watched Dan exit the cafeteria. How could she approach him now without feeling uncomfortable? She had been the one to end the conversation before with a few hasty excuses after all. Then suddenly it hit her; she still had something of his that she had never returned.

"Do you know where he lives?" She asked Brad, who nodded and gave her the address of the house that Dan rented. She decided to meet him after classes and try to reconnect, even if it meant revisiting some painful past reality.