Dion finally gave in and explained everything to mom, after hearing it she smiled then she stood up, patting their heads as if they were small children.
"So that's what happened, but next time you two want to act like a couple at least warn your poor mother first."
Then she walked toward the kitchen, still laughing while Dion and Denver stared at each other.
"…We're never doing that again," Dion muttered.
Denver nodded seriously. "Agreed."
After some time Denver decided to go out, mom's laughter still echoed in her ears as she shut the front door behind her.
She pulled the hood of her jacket over her head, hands stuffed into the pockets, trying to shrink into herself as much as possible. The evening air was cool, brushing against her cheeks like a gentle reminder that the world kept moving, whether she was ready or not.
"Fresh air… finally some fresh air," she muttered.
She walked down the familiar street, every step carrying a strange weight. The neighborhood hadn't changed much it was still the same houses, same cracked sidewalks, same flickering streetlights that always turned on a few seconds too late. The only one that change, was her.
She kept her head down, still wary of the Zen Clan. Even though nothing had happened since the mall incident, paranoia had wrapped itself around her mind like a tight coil. Anyone could be watching and anyone could be another weird woman.
So she walked and walked, until she reached the park.
The old playground stood there, slightly rusted but still alive with the sounds of children laughing. A few kids were playing tag, their voices ringing through the air. Parents sat on benches, scrolling through their phones or chatting lazily.
Denver hesitated then she stepped inside.
She sat on the seesaw, pushing herself up and down slowly, pretending she was ten again. Back when life was simpler, back when her biggest worry was homework and whether Dion would delete embarrassing videos of her.
She pushed harder the board suddenly lifted higher, and for a brief moment, she felt weightless like an air.
A few kids stared at her, wide eyed.
"Whoa!" one of them shouted. "She's flying!"
Denver laughed softly, jumping off and landing on the sand with a small hop.
"…Time flies fast, huh?"
Her voice sounded distant, even to herself, two days. That's all she had left before goin to WGR. Before everything changed, before she stepped into a world that might not let her come back the same. She left the park and walked again, letting her feet guide her instead of her mind.
Eventually, she stopped in front of a convenience store.
The convenience store was the one where she and Noah, Dirk, and Allan used to hang out. Where they bought cheap snacks, shared ridiculous dreams, and argued about which gift user would win in a hypothetical fight it was pure happiness.
She stared at the automatic doors for a moment, then sighed and walked in. Then the bell chimed and her world froze, inside, near the snack aisle, stood three familiar idiots.
Noah was reading a magazine, adjusting his glasses like a true nerd. Dirk was leaning against the fridge, sipping soda like he owned the place. Allan was arguing with the cashier about a discount that definitely didn't exist.
Her heart skipped and for some reason she reflexively turned around and walked right back out.
The doors closed behind her as she stood outside, staring at the pavement.
"…That was close."
Inside the store, Dirk blinked. "Did you guys see that hooded lady?"
Noah nodded. "She walked in, looked at us, then left immediately."
Allan shrugged. "Weird, anyway about the discount..." he continued to argue with the cashier.
They went back to being idiots eventually as Denver walked away she didn't know if she felt sad or relieved.
Probably both.
She wandered the streets again, aimless, letting nostalgia guide her until she stopped in front of her old school.
The building stood tall and unchanged, a concrete monument to a life she had already left behind. The gate was open, which was strange there supposed to be no class to day because it was summer break.
Curiosity tugged at her then she proceed to walked in.
The guard booth was empty.
She peeked inside and found the old guard asleep, head on the desk, mouth wide open.
"…Nothing change huh? the guard is still useless," she muttered.
Some things never change and she stepped into the hallway. Her footsteps echoed softly, the sound bouncing off the lockers and walls like ghosts of the past. She passed classrooms one by one, memories flooding back.
The classroom where she slept through math class. The hallway where Dirk once slipped on a banana peel and blamed Allan. The stairwell where Noah confessed that he thought that the teachers were government spies.
Good memories, embarrassing memories and painful memories.
She stopped in front of her old classroom for some reason the door was open. That was strange, then she walked closer and she heard some noises like something scraping and something was moving inside. Curious, she peeked inside and froze.
A boy stood in the middle of the classroom his back was facing her. His hair was a vivid shade of green, like fresh leaves after rain, and it moved unnaturally, as if touched by an unseen breeze. His eyes were a striking yellow green, as if glowing faintly, it was also sharp and observant inhumanly calm.
His skin was smooth and pale, almost flawless, and his features were refined, like something carved by a sculptor rather than born. A straight nose, defined jawline, and a side profile so perfect it felt unreal.
To put it simply he was gorgeous, the kind of beauty that looked noble and distant, like his presence screams royalty.
But that wasn't what shocked her it was the classroom, desks were floating, chairs hovered in midair, spinning slowly like planets around a sun and books were suspended, pages flipping on their own.
The air itself felt distorted, like reality had been bent, her breath caught in her throat.
"…What the?"
The boy slowly turned his head noticing someone was behind him and the moment his eyes met hers, every floating object in the room stopped as if the world itself had paused.