Late in the night and amidst the darkness of the room, with no one else around awake, a pair of golden rings faintly illuminated the space around them.
With Hope's head resting on his chest, John tenderly and carefully caressed her hair. The sound of her breathing was steady and profound, indicating how much she was enjoying the world of dreams.
Meanwhile, despite the knock of sleepiness in his mind, John kept his eyes wide open. At this moment, he was amidst many thoughts that kept him awake.
The dagger… He muttered inwardly, his mind voice serene. I was starting to wonder if it wouldn't simply show up, thinking that maybe my Fragment could have possibly chosen for me a universe where the dagger wouldn't end in the school's hands. I guess I was wrong, and this raises a few things to be reconsidered. John's nostrils flared, then he reached his hand outwards the bed.
Retreating it, his phone hovered up above him in his grip. The screen's glow was set to the minimum to not perturb Hope in her sleep.
On the upper corner of the screen, John noticed a small symbol of notification that wasn't there a few minutes ago when he set the phone aside to let Hope fall asleep. Looking at it, he noticed someone had texted him just a couple minutes ago.
Looking up his conversations, the young man's eyes fell on the conversation with Rebekah, one of the only three people he shared his contact with.
They had conversed quite a bit earlier regarding the upcoming visit to Las Vegas. And now, her last text was regarding it as well. And with the text, an address and an archive were included.
It's quite far from the center of the city. Just show what is in the file and they will allow your entrance. These words followed, ending the messages sent by the Original Vampire.
Downloading the file and taking a look at it, John inwardly nodded before closing it and the app. Then, he moved to what he intended to see from the very beginning.
Hm… it's obvious the school has a way to locate supernaturals. Most likely the globe showed in one of the episodes. I probably should ask Hope about that since she is the creator of the spell or Dorian, since I can suppose he is the one who locates them through the globe by Alaric's words on that day. John clicked on the search bar and the keypad appeared before him. If they hadn't brought Rafael to the school until now, that means he hasn't triggered his curse yet. Or… he doesn't exist. Those are the two options if I take into consideration Dorian looks at the globe everyday. Better verify that first.
Looking in the searching bar, John held his fingers still for a moment before mentally sighing. Better not to search directly for him. The chances are almost infimal that someone might question me about it in the future. Better safe than sorry. He decided, his fingers approaching the keypad. He was a football player in his school, right? Let's start with it. Way less suspicious than looking for someone's name directly.
Moving his fingers, John started searching for high school football games in the city of Atlanta.
And then, when he pressed enter on the keypad, many sites and news appeared before the boy's eyes. However, the one he ended up choosing to verify what he wanted was Atlanta's High School Football Association's website.
Many things appeared when John clicked on the site, and the one he chose to look at was the calendar. There, beyond many games set to happen in the upcoming weeks, there was also a small note on the upper part of the page, taking up a certain amount of space from the screen.
So the season was delayed and the play-offs will take place this month and early February. John thought after reading the note on, scrolling down afterwards before clicking on the first game, revealing the teams who would be playing and the players selected for it.
In the first game, the one that would take place tonight, John wasn't lucky and didn't find Rafael's name. But he continued to look through each game, expectant to find it.
Luckily, the amount of games weren't much since they were the playoffs and in no time, John found what he was looking for.
Tomorrow night, on Saturday, Downtown Atlanta High would have a game that would decide if they would be qualified for the second round, deciding if they would be among the top 16 teams in the State. And in the school's team, there was apparently a promising young man with great numbers in the season so far, with him confirmed to play.
Looking at his picture and the name, John didn't need to think much to know he found who he was looking for.
Rafael Waithe - Guard and Tackle. There he is. John thought, the image of the young man of similar age to him was very familiar. He was tall, muscular, had dark eyes and brown skin, an almost mirror image of the person he had seen interpreting Rafael Waithe in the series.
But he looks younger. John mentally added, noticing the traces of youthfulness still present on the young man's face.
After looking at the picture for a bit longer, John went back to the previous page and looked at the calendar again, his face taken by a thoughtful expression.
Okay… so Rafael exists. And this is the first game after the full moon. So, he hasn't killed his girlfriend in the accident yet. That means I can prevent the whole plot from starting by making sure he doesn't take the wheel the night he loses the game. However… Rolling down the page, John sighed. Which one of these games will he lose? With tomorrow's game, he might have five games. Wait, it's four. The finals are after the full moon. So, I have to guess which one of these games is likely for him to lose. Taking into consideration I am guessing that Dorian is watching that globe all the time, his team probably loses in the semifinals. But… let's not make guesses without base and use what I know to confirm. Thinking that, John opened another tab on the browser.
There was one more confirmation John had about the incident of Rafael which ended up in the accident that ended up killing his girlfriend. On that night, while both were discussing in the car, it was a rainy night.
So, to better guess a date, John went to learn the weather forecast for Atlanta.
No forecast of rain for tomorrow. I guess that's a good thing. I don't have to rush back when finishing my things in Vegas. John thought, looking further into the weather for the next week. And apparently no heavy rain for next week, but the forecast so far into the future isn't precise. Hm, I guess I will have to keep an eye close to that and decide when to act. Getting to this point, John turned off his phone and put it aside.
He adjusted himself slightly on the bed, one of his arms around Hope and the other by his side.
The girl fidgeted slightly in his embrace, but John calmed her by rubbing her cheek weakly.
I better go to sleep as well. I've got a long trip tomorrow. John closed his eyes, the world of dreams welcoming him.
[Scene Break]
Later, by the end of afternoon, John stood before the school's gates. On his back was a black backpack, with his adjusting the tightness of it around his shoulders so it wouldn't tremble much during his flight.
"You have everything ready?" Hope asked by his side, wearing a long-sleeve sweatshirt. Despite her natural resistance, today was especially cold outside.
To her question, John nodded. "Yes. I got everything." He said after a last pull on the bag's strings. "Last chance to come with me. If not, we will only see each other tomorrow."
"My answer remains the same." Hope shook her head at the idea. "I've never been there, but the details I've heard are enough to keep me away." Close to him, Hope dusted off his shoulders and smiled warmly at him. "Just come back in one piece, okay?"
"No problem." John nodded. He lowered his head and captured Hope's lips briefly, holding her chin. "I will at least bring a souvenir to you."
"I wouldn't be against that." Hope showed a small smile of happiness.
Smiling as well, John ruffled her hair to bring himself some enjoyment. When she pushed it away, he huffed and started walking towards the gates. More exactly, he was putting some distance towards her.
As his feet started to detach from the floor and his body floated in the air, John smiled down at Hope. "I am going. Try not to be too antisocial until I am back."
"And you don't be a stranger." Hope had a look of sentimentalism and awe when looking at the young man up above. One for knowing he would be going away and another for the concept of flight still amazed her.
Turning around, John faced the sky before giving one more look over his shoulder. "See you later, dear." He faced forward, his body accelerating against the air.
Whoosh!
In under one second, John wasn't within the borders of the school anymore and his dislocation left the air where he left whistling for a moment.
Standing where she was, faced with the not so weak wind impact that blew her hair back, Hope glazed at the horizon and spotted a figure which just got farther and farther. And for the first time in a while, she felt a strong sense of longing in her chest.
"Tsk… I really fell for him." Hope muttered, her eyes locked on the distance for some time before she turned around, walking back to the school.
…
Up in the skies, John shook his head from one side to the other. The song coming from the bluetooth earphones putting away some of the boredom brought by the long trip.
I miss my anime music playlist. He thought, a vast sea of green beneath him.
As he cut through the wind, he would sometimes spin around and do some maneuvers, a smile of enjoyment taking over his lips when feeling the freedom of the skies.
Looking up high, John noticed a flock of birds close to him. They were closer to the clouds than he was, but looking at them, he couldn't stop the urge but approach them.
When getting closer to them, John got himself surprised to notice the birds–gooses–weren't scared of his presence and continued on their path. They kept their V-shaped flock and calmly navigated through the skies.
Getting even closer, to the very midst of the flock, John slowly surpassed the leader and flew above it.
The goose, acting instinctively, looked in the boy's direction but didn't act. It kept flying on its path while its beak opened.
Quack!
Hearing the goose's sound, John chuckled deeply. "Hello to you too, I think." He said, patting the goose very lightly before departing.
As he crossed miles and the forests beneath him were disappearing and buildings were visible in the horizon, John didn't think much before ascending higher in the skies. The air around him was compressed and pushed violently, the surface of his skin heating due to friction, but far from enough to damage his clothes or even himself.
In no time, John found himself amidst the clouds, surrounded by a white, soft world made of mists and water.
Despite being hit by countless droplets of water that hurt more than the air pushed against his body by his own speed, the pain was still laughable to say the least. What really troubled him was how turbulent was flying here, even at how fast he was.
Hiss…
As John pushed forward through the white mists in front of him, the air hissed in his ear. Enough to overcome the sound of the music.
Thankfully, the boy didn't spend much longer in the clouds than needed. When sensing the origins of the electromagnetic waves coming from the cities were becoming distant, he shot out of the clouds, a bit of mist following his figure as he once again started to fly over places untouched by humanity.
As he continued to fly, John looked up at the sun. It was almost like he was chasing it since Mystic Falls.
I am definitely stronger than a few days ago. John thought, feeling the energy from the celestial body bathing him and being consumed by his physique. I am twice faster when compared to my trip to Columbia, at least. And that's without my soul fully adapting yet. As he soared through the skies, a contemplating look took over the boy's expression. I wonder when this will be finished. I feel like it's close, but I can't pinpoint an exact date. Preferably, the closer the better.
As he cut through the skies, John would sometimes lose himself to his own thoughts so to entertain himself as well. Beyond that, he would also do other things, like appreciating the many sights around him.
From an east state to a west state, many beautiful visages like mountains, plains, rivers and even deserts were seen by the boy.
Sometimes, very rarely, he would stop by a small shop or two and buy himself something to drink and a souvenir, mostly keychains referring to some symbol of the state he just visited.
Also, through this trip, many animals were met along the way. Sometimes, the young man would take his time to enjoy playing with them. He even chased the falling feather of a hawk he was flying after and purposefully landed quite strongly near a bunch of deers feeding just to scare them away a little, which earned him a laugh when successfully accomplishing what he wanted.
Through this many activities along the trip, time went on and besides the environment around him changing because he was moving, the greater world around John was also changing despite of him. The sky changed, with the chilly blue sky from Virginia now replaced by the clear dark sky, sparkling with the many stars over it.
The change in the time brought some relief to the boy, as he didn't need to worry as much about someone noticing him traveling at half the speed of sound.
Also, since the ceiling of the world was now dark and everything under it was as well, it was easy for the boy to notice something beyond at the horizon. Many lights were peeking from the line, with some buildings appearing as John approached his destination.
"Las Vegas…" John muttered, slowing down his speed while appreciating the sight that seemed almost a little dystopic by the many neon lights.
As he lowered his altitude, with the sounds of the city reaching up to him as well, John released a sigh that mixed expectation and a little bit of nervousness. After all, the City of Sin was a sight he only saw through other media. This was his first time in this memorable city.
"Let's see what you have for me." He said, his figure disappearing through the night.
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A/N
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