Location: Manchester, United Kingdom.
Date: 2nd April 2035
Time: 3:21 p.m.

"Do you think there's more phantoms like me?" Nyx starts to say something after me and they are out of the school, "Do you think they could shapeshift like I am?"

I paused and started to have a thought, Nyx never talked about their death, not to mention, how old are they? Nyx is...

"Hey, Nyx-"

...*pop*...

I quickly looked around, where... Where does that sound coming from?

Nyx also looks around and turns to me, "Phoenix?"

I look at one of the alleys and look around it... Why is it dark around on a bright sunny day?

I started to get in the alley as I heard Nyx's voice, warning me, stopping me, but none of that got in my ears.

I keep on walking and walking, why there's no exit? Unless I am stuck in a dead end...

I keep walking until I feel there's no more concrete floor but a liquid...

I looked down and tried to move my foot. The sound is a liquid and from it is no ordinary water, it's an ink.

I looked up and suddenly I landed on the floor. I touched my forehead after that land because that's the part on how I got on the floor.

I looked at my finger, no blood but, an ink. I looked around and saw more ink appeared. From the wall, from the floor, everywhere... The ink is...

I, still on the floor, looks at what is in front of me in panic. I quickly try to get up and run but suddenly the ink forms as a hand and grabs my leg. I still have full strength, quickly stomp the hand ink and quickly run away and follow the path that gets me here.

I finally left the alley and before that again, I got knocked over.

"Oof!"

"Agh!?"

I fell over and landed on the ground, I looked over and saw 'Colby' look at me in surprise.

"The fuck...?"

"I, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Oh, of course as hell you didn't! What are you doing around this alley? I thought goodie-two-shoes like you would be volunteer in Orphanage doing some good shit in there-"

Colby stops and takes a good look at me, the look he has is... worrying?

"Um.." Colby clicked his tongue, "I'm sorry for, saying all of that? I mean, you did get framed for one of my pranks..."

I still stayed quiet but Colby's voice started to become softer.

"Listen, whatever happens right now, tell me what it is and I will help," Colby crouches down to look at me and hold on my shoulder, "But please, forget about everything I do after this..."

I look at Colby, and swallows every fear in me and just looks at Colby with a sign of worries. I glanced at the alley I had just left, Colby noticed his glance and looked over at the dark alley.

Colby sighs, "What are you 5?" Colby walks over to the alley, "It's just a dark alley, sometimes the dark is comforting..."

I quickly looked up and looked over to where Colby was but he was not there. I quickly stood up and looked to see if Colby was anywhere but it's too dark.

"Ooh! Where did that emo boy go?!" Nyx quickly yelled, startled me.

Before I could say anything, Colby suddenly appeared in front of me, making me quickly step back.

"Nothing there," Colby said, he sighed.

"How, how did you..."

"U-uh... Well," Colby scratches his head from behind and shows his discomfort gesture, "It's uh... hard to say it..."

I noticed his discomfort, slowly taking a step closer to Colby, "Um, if you're uncomfortable to say it, you can tell me later. When you're ready!"

Colby looks at me in surprise and lets out a chuckle, he looks at me fondly, "Guess you're not that bad..."

"What?"

"Say, are you in DownGolden High School?"

"Yes! Yes, I am..."

"Ah, this makes it even more easier!"

"Why do I suddenly feel like I should be careful..."

"Nah! You'll be fine! Unless you get caught..."

"What?!"

"Nothing, nothing! Anyway, I'm Colby. What's yours?"

"Well, I'm..."

"Phoenix..." that's the last word I ever heard from Nyx.

◃─────────────────────────▹

"So wait, you're saying that there's an ink? Not like, a bucket full of paint fell down kind of way but, surrounded the area kind of way?"

I nodded, I told Colby what I just saw at the alley to Colby.

Colby hummed, "Have anyone told you how crazy you are?"

'Not the first time...'

Guess I shouldn't trust people easily, they always will end up call me weird, freak, monster-

"Well, I love crazy!"

I stop his thought and look at Colby in shock, what did he just...

"And those eyes of yours!" Suddenly Colby goes closer to my face, "Not only do you have two different colours but one of it is my favourite! Red on the right side while purple on the left side!"

I froze, I quickly tried to cover his purple eye. I was sure I covered it perfectly! So how-

"Look at mine!"

I want to get out of here but hear Colby say that, which makes me hesitate to look at him. When I finally looked at Colby's eyes as Colby said.

That's what I see, Colby's iris has a colour of indigo on both sides of his eyes but there's also the colour of turquoise on the lower side of the iris.

It looks so...

"Pretty..."

"...What?"

Ah!?

"I, I mean! The colours! Yeah! It really fits well together..." I tried to cover up what I had just said before. Am I gonna keep this up or am I really the cause of friendship ends...

Suddenly I heard a laughter, I looked at Colby as he kept on laughing.

"Hahahaha! Oh man! Phew! Hadn't laughed that loud ever in my life! You really are amazing, Nix!"

"Did someone call?" Suddenly Nyx came in after being quiet for sometime.

"No," I whisper to Nyx, Colby doesn't notice the whisper at all.

"Anyway, want to walk with me tomorrow?"

"What?"

◃─────────────────────────▹

Location: Manchester, United Kingdom.
Date: 3rd April 2035
Time: 8:13 a.m.

And that's what happened. I gave Colby my address, and it turns out our houses are not so far apart but also not so close. Colby walked to school with me, also talking about everything that I needed to know about the school, some parts I never knew and some I did know.

"Anyway, you know how DownGolden High School and SilverUp Academy are like one building but two schools, right?"

"Yes?"

"Well, there's this tradition, every year when it started Summer, there will be a festival for those two schools. It is to celebrate their truce and rivalry. Between these two schools, they would start a competition between each other. Each student will compete with each other, one DownGolden and the other is SilverUp. And if one of them has more score points, the winner of that school will give their rule to the loser of the school." Colby explained and then sighs in exasperation, "Last year, SilverUp Academy had won and we had to follow their school rules for like, a month... I don't want to lose to them again!"

"So, you want to participate in it?"

"No."

"...Pardon?"

"I am not much of a sportsperson, I would rather cheer for my school, rather than participate..." Colby said casually, "Besides, it much more fun pranking those SilverUp goodie-two-shoes,"

Suddenly Colby pulled out a straw from his pocket and blew through it, and then a dirty paper came out from it. I looked at where Colby was aiming.

I saw a group of boys, judging from their clothes, they're from SilverUp Academy. The dirty paper then landed on some of the boy's head.

One of them felt the dirty paper and he seemed to hissed at the landing. He tried to get what was hitting him until Colby blew it again and again at all of them.

The group of boys started to feel like they were being haunted as they quickly left. I then saw another boy after the group of those boys left. He has a blue beanie on his head, and his school uniform, it is from SilverUp Academy.

"Yo, you're alright?" Colby asked, as he looked over at the boy that almost got bullied by that group of boys.

The boy looks at Colby for a moment, hesitating before he finally gives his answer, "I'm fine, um..."

"Colby, Colby Ashton."

"Right, thank you, Colby. I am fine, those groups of boys are my seniors... Not to mention, they just want me to make a jersey for their football team but I have no talent to make a jersey... Only a sweater..." the boy explains, he grips on his bag.

"How did they know you could knit?" I can't help but ask, I am curious about what happened.

"It may seem weird but sometimes I made a plushie or dolls for the orphanage when it was Charity Day, not to mention I took Knitting Club as an extracurricular for myself. They may have noticed me on some of those..." the boy explained.

"Did they do anything to you?" Colby asked.

"No, not much. But this happened weeks ago." The boy answered.

"Huh, after the announcement of the next Football game..." Colby said and started to think of something.

Both I and the boy look at Colby and glance at each other, wondering if we should do something. Suddenly Colby gets an idea.

"Hey, what's your name?" Suddenly Colby asked the boy.

"... Alexis Zeppelin," the boy, Alexis Zeppelin, said.

"Well, no need to worry anymore, Alex! From this day onward, you'll be under me and Phoenix's protection-"

"Aren't you the guy who hates every SilverUp Academy students-"

"..." Colby paused, then back to his cocky self again, "That was all in the past my beloved-"

'Beloved???'

"Like I said, let's focus more on how we're gonna protect you!" Colby exclaimed.

Alexis just looked at Colby before suddenly he let out a chuckle and then a laugh.

His laughter sounds like he holds so much pride and yet, in front of other people, he is nothing but a wolf, holding grudges and ready for their next list of prey...

I kept that thought to myself, after Alexis finished with his laughter, he looked at me, "And you must be Phoenix, correct?"

I looked at him in surprise before nodding, "Yes, my name is Phoenix. Question, how did you know my name?"

"You were a big talk from the SilverUp, they thought you were the one who set the prank on the student from there," then Alexis gives Colby a stare, "But judging by your reaction and body language, you're not around here. And I assume the prank before was set by none other than DownGolden High School's very own pranks master... I must say, you impressed me with that prank of yours. Though, it was getting old..."

"I take that as a compliment. I am not the type of person going so far with the prank, but if I must, then it would be a blast," Colby said and chuckled at the thought of making the best prank and trick to set.

"Yeah, I can clearly see it," Alexis said, looking at Colby and me and started to smile, "I think, this year might not be so bad for me..."

"Heh, of course it won't be! With me here, I would make every year everyone's nightmare!" Colby chuckled...

'You don't really mean that, right? Right?'

◃─────────────────────────▹

Location: Student Council's Room in DownGolden High School / SilverUp Academy.
Date: 3rd April 2035
Time: 9:20 a.m.

"Tell me a reason why I shouldn't put you three in detention..."

That's not a question, that's a statement. And it's from none other than the Student Council president, Ray Ashton. Colby's brother.

What's the cause of this happening? So, Colby brings out another prank idea. He has a bottle of dirty water and a bucket he borrowed from the janitor. One of the Student Council's members caught him and brought him to the Student Council's office. But the bottle he brought is too small, well turns out, Alexis and I also have a dirty water bottle.

So that means, all three of us, sitting in front of Ray, are the culprit and accomplices of the prank that's going to be set.

Ray sighs in exasperated, "Phoenix, I know you're new here, so I'm not pressing anything on you," he then looks at Alexis, "Alexis, I thought you were a good student, why do you go along with my brother- I mean, Colby?"

"Well, Ray, there's a thing called boredom in humans. And sometimes, you just can't help but to go along with everything to make yourself feel less bored," Alexis replied.

"It's true,"

"Afuru, continue your game,"

"Okay," Afuru said, as she continued playing her game in her Gameboy.

Afuru is also in the office, helping Ray with the paperwork but she has done her work and sees us three enter the office. Instead of going back to her class, she stays to watch while playing her game.

Ray took a deep breath, "Okay, how about this, Phoenix, Alexis, I let both of you go. Colby, you will be in detention starting tomorrow."

"Wait, isn't it supposed to be next week?" I can't help but question it.

"Trust me, this is not the first time. Even after how many times we're given him detention before, he never learns..."

"But-"

"Fine! How many days will it end?" Colby said.

"Colby-"

"Until 2 weeks," Ray replied.

"Hey, isn't that too harsh-"

"Deal." Colby said immediately.

"Colby!?"

"Just deal with it, this is a conversation between two brothers," Afuru said to me, not looking up at me as she continued her game. Alexis nodded his head, agreeing with Afuru.

I was still stunned but then Colby grabbed me by my arm and dragged me out of the room.

Before leaving, Afuru gives a small glance at us and back at her game only to see it saying she lost and game over... she sighs, and looks back at the door where the group left.