"HAZEL?!" Sky screamed. His heart ran like a pinball inside his ribcage, and it threatened to escape through his mouth.

His sudden blushing made his cheeks turn a deep crimson. He rushed to get a clean shirt from his bag, but she snatched it from him and carelessly threw it across the locker room.

"Hey, what are you doing?!" he exclaimed, appalled.

Her eyes roamed over his body as she stood before him, first with a sudden blush colouring her cheeks, but later with an air of defiance, her body taut and unyielding.

His bare chest revealed a network of lean muscles, sculpted by hours spent soaring through the sky. The sinewy definition in his arms suggested a newfound maturity, honed by the partnership with his winged companion. There was a grace in his movements, a fluidity that spoke of a deeper connection with the air. Every inch of his frame exuded a quiet resilience, a testament to the transformative power of early adulthood.

"I'm not big on people wasting my time," she repeated, glaring at him with her arms crossed on her chest. Her shoulders squared, her chin held high, and her eyes were ablaze with determination. Every line of her posture spoke of a resolute spirit, as if she were a warrior preparing for battle. "What game are you playing, Sky?! How did you manage to outshine us all with your sudden progress?"

Sky's brows furrowed in concern. He had never intended to become the object of her ire. But his journey towards self-improvement had inadvertently fuelled the flames of her jealousy.

"Hazel, please," he implored, his voice laced with sincerity. His palms were open towards her in a gesture of good faith. "I never meant to overshadow anyone. I simply sought to... improve, to challenge myself. To make my mother proud, but that's it."

"Naomi's helped you, right? A lot." She came closer to him, unfazed by Sky's exposed chest and his visible awkwardness at having a girl in the guys' locker room. Alone, the two of them. "Either that or she's faked your grades."

"What? No!" he exclaimed, his voice breaking. "No, of course not!"

"You're lying. Don't patronise me!" she snapped, her voice laced with venom as she came closer. She stood only a few inches from him, forcing his back to hit the cold tiles of the wall behind him. "You think you can just waltz in here and steal the spotlight? The scholarship, the recognition—it's meant to be mine!"

Sky's heart sank, for he saw the pain buried deep within Hazel's eyes. He understood the weight of her ambitions and the dreams she had nurtured.

"I never meant to hurt you," he whispered with genuine concern. "Hazel, we are not enemies." His words weaved a delicate tapestry of empathy, matching the softness in his stare. "Only one of us will get the scholarship, but we can still support one another. Let the best of us win it, fair and square. I'll be happy if you win. Promise. Will you be happy for me if I win?"

"You wish, wonder boy," she replied with a voice laced with disdain while she leaned on his face and displayed her canines.

There was a hint of fire in her gaze, a flicker of intensity that matched the strength of her stance. At that moment, she embodied the unwavering resolve of a tempest, unyielding and untamed.

Hazel, a vision of untameable beauty, commanded Sky's attention as if she were a force of nature herself. Her fiery ginger hair danced like flickering flames as she talked, igniting a passion within his heart. The curves of her body, a symphony of feminine allure, enraptured his gaze, drawing him closer like a moth to a flame. The harshness in her eyes, sparkling with anger, unsettled him, though.

"Why?" he dared to ask.

"Because you're a cheat!" she exclaimed with pride.

"No. I meant why have you changed so much since the end of high school," he muttered with concern in his voice. "You used to be—"

Surprise made her eyes widen and her mouth open. But she shook her head just mildly as she pulled back, annoyed.

"Enough!" Her eyes darted to the tiles on the floor for a moment. A couple of seconds later, they regained their trademark harshness to glare at him once more. "I don't know how, but you've been up to something this last month. No one becomes so good this fast — especially in the training arena."

Haywire, Sky thought. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't know half the stuff I know about phoenixes. But I can't tell her. I wish she was the girl I used to know. I wonder why she's changed this much.

"Hazel... Have these pills you are taking got something to do with this mood change?" he asked, frowning.

"What?"

"Some pills have got secondary effects, you know."

"Don't change the subject!" she snarled.

"You've been acting weird," he explained in a soft voice. "You've hardened and got colder, distant. At least towards me. We used to be good friends. Why this change?"

"No, you're the weird one!" she yelled in a defensive attitude. "These sudden improvements and that unnerving coded message from that Thunderbreaker..."

When her sentence trailed off, silence reigned in the locker room.

"I know you told my mother about it," he whispered.

"And your mother told me you disappear every late afternoon and evening." Her lips curved into a teasing smile. "I bet that your unusual behaviour has got something to do with your... changes."

Every movement of hers, from the flick of her hair to the sway of her hips as she stood there, exuded a sense of self-assuredness that both unsettled and intrigued him.

Oops. This is not good, Sky thought as he swallowed hard.

"What changes are you talking about?" he asked meekly, scratching the back of his head while accidentally displaying his nice biceps and triceps.

She scoffed, both amused and offended.

"This slightly chiselled chest. The muscles in your arms," she whispered with naughtiness. "You're getting fit. You've been working out, huh?" She chuckled. "Who are you trying to impress?"

With a playful tilt of her head and a raised eyebrow, she revelled in the discomfort she stirred within him, relishing the power she held over his emotions. Her body language spoke volumes, a silent declaration of her ability to both challenge and captivate him.

"Me?" she eventually asked.

He blushed hard.

"Pathetic."

Footsteps and joyful chatter were then heard, approaching on the other side of the door. The laughter of their male classmates filled the air as a hand moved the doorknob.

Hazel rushed to the door. "This isn't over, Sky. I will find out what you're hiding."

As she opened the door, she faced the group of merry male teenagers and stormed through as if she owned the place.

"Hey! Hazel!" Luca yelled at her, appalled. "This is the guys' locker room! WTF, girl!"

She growled as a reply and walked on.

I can't go on like this, Sky thought as he walked out of the academy later that early afternoon. Hazel might follow me around, or have me followed. Maybe my mother and Mrs Evergreen, too. They're baffled about my improvements and the mysterious message from that Thunderbreaker. I need to be extra careful. Otherwise, they could find out about Haywire and capture him. Or worse, kill him. But what can I do?

Many students left the premises in a hurry, chatting and laughing among themselves as they passed by him.

"Hey, Sky!" Naomi called his attention. She was leaving too. "You look worried. What's the matter?"

"Both Mom and Hazel have ambushed me with questions about how much I have improved lately," he replied with uneasiness. "That and... a cryptic message a Thunderbreaker gave us."

"Ah, that."

"You know? Mom said you didn't—" A look of surprise overtook his features.

"I've got connections," she answered in a careful whisper as she lead Sky to a less noisy area of the exit where they would not be overheard, "people who trust me with their lives, although I'm no longer an Elite soldier."

"That's good."

"You've become the talk of the town in the academy due to that message," she admitted with a proud smile on her face.

"Really?"

Naomi grabbed her flask with pills, which hung from her necklace, and swallowed a couple of them.

"These look different. Weren't they white?" he asked with a frown.

"The old ones, yes. These pink ones are new."

"How come you need new ones?"

"I might..." She chuckled nervously but smiled at him, leaving her sentence unfinished. "It's nothing, Sky. Doctor's orders. I'm trying out this new medication because it's meant to be a better fit than the last ones."

Does that mean she's become more ill than before or not? Sky thought with worry. His once vibrant eyes, usually filled with youthful zeal, now harboured a flicker of unease. The corners of his lips sagged with the burden of apprehension.

"Anyway, as I was saying, you're quite famous," she went on. "Many investors have given Anti-Ageing Inc. a shitload of money when they learnt about that message and your progress."

"You're kidding." The lines of worry that etched his face moments ago vanished, replaced by an expression of astonishment that danced upon his features. His parted lips formed a silent exclamation.

"Nope. Mrs Evergreen boasted about you and your talents," she added with a smile. "They will rewire most of that money to the academy — not to the drugs and cosmetics research programs as usual. At the end of the day, the academy is the security department of this company and the entire city, since Mrs Evergreen owns everything around here. When your mother knows, she'll be elated."

"I don't think so. I haven't seen her happy in a long time."

"You said she ambushed you. And Hazel too?" she asked with a furrowed brow. "That's weird. What happened?"

"They're convinced that I know something they don't about that message — which is not true. I haven't got the faintest idea who Endurance is. At first, I thought Kane Kovak might have a nickname or something, but Mom said it's highly unlikely."

"She's right. He was a humourless, formal man."

"You knew him?" he asked with wide eyes.

"Kane Kovak and I were part of the first team of employees in Anti-Ageing Inc." Her eyes filled with nostalgia.

"What?" His mouth hung open in amazement.

"We were the first inhabitants of the Hovering Hive," she explained as she leaned her back on the red bricks of the wall. "I was chosen as Head of the Elite. He had been selected as Chief of the Research and Development department. Your parents became Elite soldiers under my command, like many others. They met him too. Many worthy scientists coveted the jobs being created here back then. When they heard he was head of the department, they went crazy about getting a spot. The ratio was of a hundred to one."

"Ratio? What do you mean?" He raised an eyebrow.

"For every job vacancy, a hundred people showed up to fill that post. Working in his department became a coveted job post."

"I see."

"He used to have a quirky personality. He wasn't a sociopath, but... let's say he liked to play with limits and societal norms. But he was a genius. One of those incredibly talented people who can change the world."

A radiant glimmer of amazement flickered in Naomi's eyes, like stars awakened from slumber in the depths of a moonlit sky. Her features softened, touched by a nostalgic hue that painted her face with tender strokes of remembrance.

"Wow."

"But... he challenged Mrs Evergreen's orders time and again. She didn't like that, of course. His quirks became a problem." Her eyes became glassy. "And one day, he was gone without a word. The only thing I know about what happened is what Mrs Evergreen told me. They had an argument in her office, at the top of the glass tower of Anti-Ageing Inc.'s building."

"Is that why he swore vengeance against Anti-Ageing Inc.?"

"I know that's what the rumours say. That he genetically engineered the phoenixes and all that." She tsked.

"You don't believe them?"

Her lips, curved into a gentle smile, carried the echoes of bygone adventures. In that fleeting moment, Naomi stood at the crossroads of awe and cherished memories, embracing the beauty of the present while basking in the tapestry of her past.

"Let's say that I find them hard to believe, but I've got no proof to claim otherwise." She sighed as her unfocused eyes were lost at a distant point over the horizon. "It's complicated. I don't know why Mrs Evergreen, the board, and your mother think you are involved in this. It's clear you know nothing."

Silence reigned supreme for a moment. The rest of the students and teachers had already gone home.

"Anyway..." Sky said, breaking the ice. "Besides that, I wanted to ask you something. Hazel is pissed off at me because of my sudden progress in the academy. What's the problem with her?"

Naomi giggled. "She's afraid she's gonna lose the scholarship."

"Yeah, she might've mentioned that... with unrivalled anger. She's nuts. She wasn't like that before, when we were in high school."

Naomi's smile faded, and a look of worry set on her facial features.

"What's the matter? Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing... It's just—"

A veil of fleeting unease swept across Naomi's countenance, a delicate dance of shadows that concealed the turmoil lurking beneath. The corners of her lips twitched, suppressing the words that yearned to be spoken, a silent plea to sidestep the treacherous path of vulnerability.

"Don't sugarcoat it for me. Is something wrong with Hazel?!" A shadow of anguish cast its sombre cloak upon Sky's countenance, etching lines of worry upon his youthful face.

"Ever since she left high school, she's got severe headaches from time to time," she whispered back with pity. "She vomits at least twice a week for no apparent reason. Sometimes she's got sensitivity to light and problems focusing her eyes, too. How do I know? Well, all students go through a free check-up every month. I'm given the reports because I'm her teacher here. That's how I know."

"Is this why she needs to take medication? Or is the medication they give her causing this?" His furrowed brow, like a knot of tangled thoughts, spoke of a burden too great to bear. His lips trembled, unable to find solace in words.

"She's got a brain aneurysm, Sky. They diagnosed her this summer. That's what's happening to her."

"What?" he asked, his voice failing him.

He turned pale. Time seemed to stand still in that fleeting moment, as the weight of tragic news bore down upon him. They threatened to leave an indelible mark on his soul. Neuroenhancers, the label said. Drugs for the brain.

"It's bad," she whispered with pity.

"How bad?" he asked in a broken voice.

"It hasn't ruptured — yet. A ruptured aneurysm can lead to loss of consciousness or fainting spells." For a moment, she hesitated but decided to go on and say, "And it can be life-threatening."

"WHAT?!"

"Don't tell her I told you," she warned him. "She's adamant about nobody knowing what's wrong with her."

His chest rose and fell in shallow breaths, the rhythm disrupted by the unrest within. His fists clenched, knuckles pale against the storm of emotions raging within him.

"Will the pills cure her?!" he asked while Naomi was already shaking her head. "Can't the doctors operate or something?!"

"Someday, they might be able to." She sighed. "Someday. That's what Mrs Evergreen is trying to do. Get more money at all costs. If boasting about you does the job, she'll push your success story onto every filthy rich person from the capital to drain their wallets dry — with pleasure."

The news hit Sky as hard as his father's death years prior. The tremor that coursed through his limbs betrayed his emotional vulnerability. In that moment, every fibre of his being seemed to reverberate with the tension of uncertainty, a testament to the profound love and concern he held for Hazel, intertwining his fate with hers in a symphony of silent anguish.

"Don't get mad at her. This MVS thing... she'll come around and see that it's not the end of the world if she doesn't win the scholarship. I talked to her about this already. She said she wants to do something amazing, something that matters in case the aneurysm ruptures and kills her."

He hesitated for a moment, but eventually found the strength to say, "Can anger rupture her aneurysm?"

"It's... complicated. While emotions like anger and stress can temporarily increase blood pressure, there is limited scientific evidence linking anger to the rupture of a brain aneurysm. However, it is important to manage emotions like those, as they can negatively contribute to overall cardiovascular health." She sighed. "If you win the scholarship and she gets mad about it, she won't die — if that's what you're asking."

I'm not willing to risk it, Sky thought as his fists turned even paler. I'm gonna let her win the scholarship by any means necessary. Earning my mother's praise and love can wait.

Hello, my sugar cubes!

Have you ever lost something you wanted on purpose so that someone else you love could be happy?

Stay tuned!

XOXO

Mar