"Don't worry," I said with a soft smile. "I'll help you."
She looked at me, genuinely surprised. But then—she smiled back. And this time, it wasn't forced.
\Continue\
With that, we grabbed our food and headed to my usual table. Liá sat across from me, casually sipping from her juice as I bit into my burger—yeah, burger, because the canteen serves them in the afternoon. No complaints here.
She leaned forward slightly, her expression curious."So… I wanted to ask you something earlier."
I wiped my mouth with a napkin. "Sure. What is it?"
She tilted her head, watching me. "What's your mutation? Your power?"
I froze for a second, the burger halfway to my mouth. It would've been easy to lie—I'd done it before—but something about her made me hesitate. Made me want to be honest.
"I can transform into aliens," I said. "From the Ben 10 universe."
Her eyes widened. "Seriously? That's… kind of awesome. So, what—you can turn into Alien X too?"
I chuckled, scratching the back of my head. "Not yet. Maybe someday. Still figuring it all out."
She smiled at that, then took another bite of her sandwich. A moment passed before I returned the question.
"And you? What can you do?"
"Well," she said between bites, "my abilities are kind of like Sabretooth. Enhanced senses, healing, strength. But I also have something a little extra."
"Extra?"
"I can sense emotions. Like right now…" She leaned forward with a playful smirk. "You're feeling kind of bubbly. Happy."
I nearly choked on my burger. "Oh."
She giggled softly at my reaction. I tried to play it cool, but I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks.
Because… she was right. I was happy. Somehow, when I was around her, I just was.
/Scene Break/
After lunch, we were walking side by side through the quiet hallway, heading back toward the dorms. The afternoon sunlight filtered in through the tall windows, casting long shadows on the floor.
As we got closer to our rooms, Liá glanced sideways at me."So… what exactly are you doing locked up in your dorm all day?"
I shrugged casually. "Training my transformations."
She raised a brow, clearly interested."Can I see?"
"Sure," I said, not thinking much of it.
Her face lit up. "Great!" she said, practically bouncing beside me.
I shook my head with a small smile—she really had a way of pulling the mood up.
We reached my door. I pushed it open and stepped inside, Liá right behind me.
The moment she crossed the threshold, she scrunched up her nose."What is that smell?"
I froze. "...That would be me. I was using Swampfire."
Her eyes widened. "Oh my God. That explains a lot." She fanned the air with her hand. "You could've warned me."
"Yeah, I probably should have," I said awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck. "Swampfire's powers are cool, but uh... not exactly great for air freshening."
She laughed, covering her nose dramatically. "Understatement of the year."
Though I can't blame her, considering she has enhanced smell.
[A few moments later]
"So, that's all you do? Transform back and forth until you're out of steam?" she asked, arms folded as she leaned casually against my desk.
"Basically, yeah," I replied, giving a small shrug.
She raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. Not as cool as I imagined… but that belt was awesome," she admitted, referring to the transformation sequence she'd seen earlier.
"You made it?"
I nodded. "Yeah. I designed it using Upgrade."
She took a slow step toward me, then another—closing the distance between us. Instinctively, I stepped back.
"Are you always this honest?" she asked suddenly, voice quieter, curious now.
"What? No, I just—" I started, caught off guard.
"Just?" she cut in, eyes locked onto mine, probing.
"Nothing," I said quickly, deflecting. "I've got more training to do, so… let's talk tomorrow, alright?"
I made my way to the door and opened it.
She gave a knowing smile. "Sure," she said, stepping out with a hint of teasing in her voice.
I shut the door gently behind her, then leaned against it and muttered to myself, "What the heck just happened?"
A second later, her voice came from the other side, amused and smug:"I heard that."
My face instantly flushed. "Of course you did," I whispered, staring up at the ceiling.
----------------------------------------
Number of Chapters in Patreon: 59
patreon.com/Micheal210
Read now