As planned, I arrived in the bus parking lot at the designated time. Ducking out of my English class was not a difficult challenge, especially since teachers were not really caring today if random students just went to any class to hang out. It's as if the entire school is in summer mode.

That gave me plenty of time to plan this out. I didn't intend on bringing any weapons with me. I'm going to fight Aaron hand to hand. Even if I end up losing this fight, which I probably will, I have to go through with it. I have to stand up for the people that I care about.

Although, everything felt anti-climactic when my arrival didn't meet with a single student. My fight with the asshole was certainly a talking point among many others, so I was miffed to find only a few sitting far off on the sidewalk, just hanging out mostly. None of them were the guy I was looking for, and there was no audience for this whatsoever. I assumed there would be, based on the teen drama movies I watched a while back.

"Is anyone here? Preferably a certain coward that I know?" Knowing he did not hear me, I went further outdoors into the baking sunlight, looking around for my target, who seems to be late himself. Aaron wasn't anywhere to be seen.

Man. I was looking forward to wiping that heathen's face into the road like it was a sand-paper project. I don't care if I can't fight or if it's dangerous... I can't lose, not if I don't ever give up. I won't lose, because in this case, I'm fighting for the right thing... All of that would have sounded more poetic though if I could find the idiot who challenged me to beat him up in the first place. But after minutes of aimlessly looking around and waiting, the man just wasn't here.

The guy isn't even here! It's been ten minutes already... Screw this! He's the one who failed to show up, unlike me. I'm going back to class.

With a brief walk back to my English class, whose teacher thought I was in the bathroom, I kind of felt relieved to not see Aaron anywhere. As much as I wanted to waste the guy, I don't like feeling this angry and on edge all the time.

So, among Banarus's little group, I tried to lift the energy a little. "Welcome! Welcome!"

Banarus became attentive towards me as soon as I got back in here. "Oh, there you are. Listen, you won't have to worry about that asshole, Aaron. He's absent today."

"Huh?" I winced. Absent? You mean that roach dared to challenge me to a fight, then failed to show up for it? He must know what this means, right? "Well haha! That was easier than I expected." I set my fists on my hips, fore playing as some stupid big hero.

"Reed? What's going on?"

Answering Ms. Moringstar's curious plea, I let her in on the soon-to-be juicy topic. "Simple. Aaron's dumbass challenge me to a fight, today, in the parking lot at two. I did my part and showed, but apparently he's too much of a coward to fight somebody half his own size." I couldn't have sounded more condescending and arrogant, but I wanted this news to spread quickly and overwrite what was in their heads earlier. By not showing up to the fight, Aaron basically just committed social suicide among his own peers, assuming he had any on his side to begin with. Not showing up to your own invoked fight is the same as forfeiture. And based on the timing and condition, it will make other students think that he was too scared to fight me. In the meantime, since I did show up anyway, I'll gain at least a small bit of popularity from it, mainly for being brave.

"That's kind of crude, but Aaron is also kind of a wimp himself."

Did Banarus imply that I'm a wimp just now? "I'm guessing my refusal to back down scared his ass off."

"This still isn't funny Reed."

It will be once Lumina hears a word about it. Banarus should learn to lighten up. I don't know why all girls are like this; they hate men getting into fights, even when a fight is justified. Lumina isn't like that at all. If she were physically here on earth, I'd have to try and stop her from making Aaron disappear in a more horrific context. Hell, she would be the best gang boss around here, too hot and dangerous to get near.

"Don't worry about it Banarus. That asshole doesn't scare me any day. If he does try to challenge me to another fight on another day, I'll be happy to rearrange his face for him." Right before the end of my own declaration, I slammed my fist into the desk below me, emphasizing the effect on how serious I was to such a promise. It got the four of them looking at me weird, so I decided to clarify my motivations to them. "Really, I was going to let the whole thing go back there. But, nobody dares talk shit about my friends and gets away with it unscathed."

Malica found my reasons to be most charming. "That's so brave of you to stand up for your friends like that."

"Brave?" I corrected. "It's totally normal considering who my friends are."

I'm no mind reader, but the way Banarus was looking at me after I said that gave me clues that she was most impressed by my personal charisma. I meant every word, and I think she knows it too now. Still, it reminded me to be a little careful about that fact that this can all still accidently expose the fact that I have a secret friend I'm hiding from them, so I put a lid on the subject. "Whatever. That field day was the strangest day that I've had all year. But I think I'm feeling better now."

"Good enough to sit with us again?"

Banarus's question did strike me as odd. I've been sitting with Banarus and Malica this entire time. However, they've more often excluded me from certain conversations without telling me why, which is why I've most recently just been ignoring them in return. Though, the real reason I'm not paying them attention most days is because I'm either too busy talking with Lumina, or sulking in a depression when she isn't available. But considering the way Banarus had problems with Aaron yesterday, I figured that I owed her one. "Sure, why not?" I mean, I'm already doing that right now, so I'm sure she meant me increasing some engagement with them. That will really be more up to them than me, since I usually put in the effort to be social.

"So, did you hear the forecast for tomorrow?" It's not my best way to find something new to talk about, but I've made it apparent to check the weather forecasts every single day ahead of time.

Sounding most unimpressed, Banarus shrugged my excitement right off. "It's just a downpour."

"And I'm going to be standing right in it." As soon as I said that, Banarus and Malica both became jumpy with surprise, letting me realize that Maddison and Ashly were ignoring our discussion.

"What?" "Why?"

The smile dominated my mood just thinking about it! Banarus nor Malica think of heavy rain as anything good associated with it. It's cold and wet. But that's precisely why I'm excited by that forecast. I don't care too much either way if the rain enters Georgia or not; it's not the point. It's what the rain brings by that counts. "Because that wonderful rain is bringing with it a cold front to Georgia. It's finally going to get cold again!" Other people might hate the rain or get all gloomy and depressed by the storm's presence, but not me. Ever since I learned that the rain often blocks out the sun and cools the place down, I now worship that weather of art these days, when it's not pouring too much warm humidity through anyway.

"Why does that excite you? And you shouldn't be standing in the rain for fun."

Neither of them have a clue. I'm excited because I'll have a chance to connect with Lumina again, right there in the wet rain and cold air. It will give us a powerful connection, which we can use to start back up where we left off. I'm sure Lumina has learned more of what to talk about in the two day period.

Out of nowhere, Malica interrupted my moment to backpedal on something. "Wait. Can we go back to the part where Reed almost got into a fight? This is news to me!"

Somebody please keep everyone up to date on the news! But still, why should she even take interest in that? It's not like I'm some big hero... But I will be rubbing it in that moron's face for a long time. Fine, I'll tell her how it all happened. I might as well indulge in whatever they want for the rest of the day, since I have nothing better to do anymore. "Actually, this all started when I met someone with the same first name as you..."