The halls weren't really filled with people, but they weren't empty. Noah thought it was the perfect place to confront Leeroy.
Not really for his own safety, but to make sure he didn't kill Leeroy.
His body was itching for violence but he wouldn't feed it, especially here. All his kills had to be as anonymous as possible. Not a single way for it to be traced back to his normal life.
And he had a lot of motives to kill Leeroy that could be used in an investigation. Their history went back to high school, years Leeroy spent bullying him in the smallest ways.
He always thought Leeroy was just a tall idiot, but the current Noah knew how crafty and manipulative you needed to be to do the things Leeroy did.
The tactics Leeroy chose to torment his targets made sure that if they reported, then his targets would go down with him. Either that or he was very careful. He stole from Noah throughout their time in school but was never caught.
The one time Noah chose to confront Leeroy about this had ended in a fight. Or rather it ended in an opportunity for Leeroy to beat the hell out of him. Then he made sure to remind Noah that they would both be suspended if the fight was reported.
All that was annoying, but Noah wasn't concerned with that. What he did hate was how Leeroy had gotten the former Noah to become their piggy bank.
This started the shaky path that slowly led to the former Noah hanging himself. The debts he accrued from having to buy not just for himself but for Leeroy and his ilk too, the shame and secrets he kept from his family, and finally Noah's own self-hatred.
It was a slow poison that convinced him that he was better off gone than being a burden to his family. One that had been completely removed from his veins when the two versions of him were combined.
He watched Leeroy come out of the classroom and look around for him. His hands shook and the nasty glare in his eyes deepened. Behind Leeroy were his two lackeys, Tyler and Max, both were easily as tall as Noah was, Tyler was almost six foot ten.
They all played basketball since high school, Noah did too technically. He tried out for the team and got on, mostly because he was a decent shooter. But he hardly played any games in high school and just gave up.
The three of them were approaching him now so he had to focus on controlling himself. Leeroy looked like he would throw a punch the moment he got here, but he got into Noah's face instead.
"Are you going mad?" Leeroy asked. "Who gave you the balls to talk to me like that, Dumbo? Did growing a couple inches make your brain smaller?"
"I'd ask you the same question, you've been this tall and dumb for longer," Noah mocked. "And let this be the last time you ever call me something other than my name. The next time won't go so nicely."
Leeroy's hand reached up to grab Noah's black hair till he apologized, but Noah grabbed the hand, jaw tightening.
"Don't you fucking dare."
"Let go." Leeroy's face scrunched up as Noah's fingers dug into his arm painfully. He couldn't move his arm an inch from Noah's grip.
After a long pause to make sure Leeroy understood the situation, Noah released him and stepped away, swallowing the rage and hunger inside him.
His skull felt like a fire trap. And it would only get worse the longer he stayed here
"What do you want? You have five minutes before I go back into class."
Leeroy was just glaring at him, but Max seemed to want to get something done today. He stepped forward.
"We were supposed to ask you about Dalton and the guys you left with yesterday. I-Isaac himself came to our fucking houses, man."
Max had always been the cowardly type, he probably went along with everything Leeroy did just to please the oaf. So Noah wasn't surprised the idiot was afraid of Isaac. After all, they were both cowards.
But the fact that it was Isaac himself reaching out and not some grunts was interesting. Isaac was one of the best enforcers in the mob for a long time, he became a captain shortly before Noah died in the previous world.
He was known for being brutal and very loyal to Georgie especially. If it was possible, Noah would like to not kill Isaac. It would be better to possess his body and use it to find Georgie and lay a trap.
He nodded mostly to himself, but also to Max.
"The night was hazy, I don't remember much, but I was carried then I woke up outside the boathouse and saw the fire. I thought it was the police so I ran."
"Fire?" Tyler asked, raising an eyebrow. The boy had buzz-cut hair dyed bright green. His face was rough and scary in its own right. "Who mentioned a fire?"
Noah smirked lightly, amused by the tall fool's idea of catching him in an incriminating position.
"If the two brain cells in your head can rub together a bit more, you'd realize that me mentioning a fire doesn't mean I'm the one that started it. I woke up and walked towards the stairs but felt the heat and saw smoke."
Tyler glared at him, tightening his clenched fist, but Noah didn't care a single bit what the fool thought he could do.
"Is that all?" Noah asked. "Can you fuckers never speak to me again?"
Leeroy couldn't take it anymore, his fist slammed into the wall behind Noah, face red with anger.
"Who the fuck do you think you are? Has all the years of pampering we've given you deceived you? Do you know what we're even talking about?! People are dead?!"
Max looked back, but Leeroy's voice was restrained enough that no one would hear. So he bolstered the point.
"Dalton, Carl, even Rage. I knew Rage, man. His mom is devastated. And even worse, the police got there before the mob did. We're not made men or anything, but we've sold drugs in this school. You've helped us."
Noah shrugged, trying his best to keep a casual demeanor. Max's "You've helped us" almost pushed him over the edge though.
Why are you talking like I wanted to help you, bastard?
"Doesn't seem like a me problem. I hated all those guys and I'm done with their crappy drugs. You know what else I'm done with? Speaking to you three idiots."
He started walking away, but Tyler grabbed his shoulder. The look in Noah's green eyes made him shiver though.
"You know more than you're saying. And something is very different with you," Leeroy sneered. "They'll send an enforcer for a case this big. You know how bad those guys are, you've heard the stories?"
Noah shook his head; shockingly enough, the Noah in this world didn't know much about the enforcers or much of the gang culture. Which was a good thing technically.
"What do they say about them?"
"They say they can't be hurt by bullets or seen at night," Max sighed. "The usual stuff. But I will say, Isaac… he doesn't feel normal. It was like a monster appeared in my kitchen then the next moment he was gone."
Noah's eyes widened, then he nodded.
"Thanks for the info. You'll see me at basketball tryouts later this week, but don't speak to me."
"Basketball tryouts?" Leeroy asked, a mocking undertone in his voice. "Are you really going to waste your time there again?"
"Yeah," Noah smiled, eyes dancing with glee. "I'll be having some fun this year."
But first he had to find Isaac.