Adrian didn't expect the anger.
It wasn't something he was used to.
For a long time, he didn't react.
He stayed quiet.
He listened.
He followed.
But now things were changing.
And with that—
Something new started to show.
—
He went back to school the next day.
No arguments.
No hesitation.
He got ready, went downstairs, and sat beside Alessio like always.
"You sure you're okay to go?" Marco asked.
Adrian nodded.
"…Yeah."
It wasn't a lie.
He didn't feel overwhelmed like before.
But he also didn't feel completely normal.
It was somewhere in between.
And that was enough.
—
The first few classes went fine.
Adrian focused.
He read.
He wrote.
He didn't rush.
Even when the teacher told them to finish quickly, he didn't panic like before.
He just worked at his own pace.
That was progress.
—
The problem started later.
During math again.
The teacher handed out a worksheet and said, "Work in pairs."
Adrian looked around for a second.
Before he could say anything, someone dropped into the seat next to him.
A boy.
Adrian had seen him before but never spoken to him.
"You're the new one, right?" the boy said.
Adrian nodded slightly.
"…Yeah."
"I'm just going to do most of it," the boy added casually. "You're kind of slow."
Adrian froze.
Not like before.
Not scared.
Just still.
"…What?" he asked.
The boy shrugged.
"No offense. You just take longer."
Something about the tone—
The way it was said—
It felt too familiar.
Too close to something else.
Adrian's grip on his pencil tightened.
"…I can do it," he said.
The boy smirked slightly.
"Alright. Don't mess it up then."
That was it.
That one line.
That one tone.
Something snapped.
Not loudly.
Not violently.
But clearly.
Adrian turned to him.
"…Don't talk to me like that."
The boy blinked, surprised.
"…Like what?"
"Like I'm stupid," Adrian said, his voice steady but firm.
The boy frowned.
"I didn't say that."
"You didn't have to," Adrian replied.
The tension between them grew.
Not loud.
But noticeable.
The teacher looked over.
"Is there a problem?"
Adrian shook his head.
"…No."
The boy didn't say anything else after that.
They worked in silence.
But Adrian didn't forget.
—
At lunch, Alessio noticed immediately.
"You're tense," he said.
Adrian was eating, but slower than usual.
"…I'm fine."
"No, you're not."
Adrian sighed slightly.
"…Someone said something."
Alessio leaned forward.
"What?"
Adrian shrugged.
"…That I'm slow."
Alessio's expression changed slightly.
"And?"
Adrian looked at him.
"…I didn't like it."
"That makes sense."
Adrian shook his head.
"…It made me angry."
Alessio raised an eyebrow.
"Okay."
Adrian frowned slightly.
"…That's it?"
"What do you want me to say?" Alessio asked.
"I don't know," Adrian admitted. "I just… I don't like how it felt."
Alessio leaned back.
"Anger isn't a bad thing."
Adrian looked at him.
"It's not?"
"No," Alessio said. "It just depends on what you do with it."
Adrian thought about that.
"…I told him to stop."
"That's good."
Adrian nodded slowly.
"…I didn't lose control."
"That's even better."
Adrian looked down at his tray.
"…It didn't feel like before."
Alessio understood what he meant.
"Because it wasn't fear," he said. "It was you reacting."
Adrian didn't respond right away.
Then he said quietly,
"…I think I like that better."
—
After school, Adrian didn't avoid it.
He brought it up again.
"…Was I always like this?" he asked as they walked to the car.
"Like what?"
"Getting angry."
Alessio shook his head.
"Not really."
Adrian frowned.
"…So this is new."
"Yeah."
Adrian got into the car, thinking about it.
"…I don't think it's bad."
Alessio didn't argue.
"It's not."
—
Back at the mansion, Adrian went to the living room again.
Marco and Dante were there.
Adrian didn't sit immediately.
He stood there for a second, then said,
"…I got angry today."
Dante looked up.
"Well, that's new."
Adrian ignored the tone.
"…Someone called me slow."
Marco watched him carefully.
"And what did you do?"
"I told him to stop."
Dante nodded.
"Good."
Adrian frowned slightly.
"…That's it?"
"What do you want, a reward?" Dante said.
Adrian didn't react to the joke.
"…I thought it was wrong."
Marco shook his head.
"No."
Adrian looked at him.
"…It's not?"
"No," Marco repeated. "You set a boundary."
Adrian didn't respond immediately.
"…It didn't feel like before," he said again.
"Because it wasn't the same situation," Marco replied.
Adrian nodded slowly.
"…I think I understand that now."
—
Later that evening, Adrian sat in his room with his notebook again.
He opened it and stared at the last thing he wrote.
Then he added something new.
I got angry today
He paused.
Then wrote—
I told him to stop
He looked at the words.
They didn't feel wrong.
They didn't feel like something he should hide.
That was new.
"…It's not bad," he said quietly.
Not like before.
Not like fear.
This was different.
This felt like control.
—
That night, Adrian didn't go to Alessio's room.
Not because he didn't want to.
But because he didn't feel like he needed to.
He stayed in his own room.
Lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
The memories were still there.
The reactions were still there.
But now—
There was something else too.
A different kind of response.
Not freezing.
Not running.
Not shutting down.
But speaking.
Reacting.
Choosing.
Adrian turned onto his side and closed his eyes.
"…I'm not the same," he said quietly.
And this time—
He didn't mean it in a bad way.