'I talked to Zander...'

That was it. That was literally it. That's all she texted me. I stared at the message for, like, ten minutes; waiting for elaboration, uninvited anger and anxiety building up in me. My fingers balled up into a fist, digging into the skin of my palm hard enough to leave half-moon imprints. I gritted my teeth, unable to take the suspense.

I opened up my hacked Receiver, fiddling with the controls until the cube opened up into a screen, revealing the security footage of the day.

What has that fool 'talked' to her about? This thought bounced around my head as flicked I through the various videos, bouncing from the most hidden hallways to the actual Gala hall. But no sign of the two. What about her dorm? I had no idea if the two were that close, but I suppose it was worth a shot.

I opened up the camera of the hallway in front of her dorm, to see a tall, muscular figure storm away. Bingo! I was close.

I further pulled up the surveillance in front of her dorm door, only to see a figure shaking with sobs click the door shut. Crap. This looked bad. I rewinded the footage until I saw Zander ringing the doorbell. His back was to the camera, so I didn't have a great vantage point to be able to make out his facial expressions. But I could see Aisa's, and that's what made watching the whole encounter so much more painful.

My rage built, growing with every hateful word spat out by that prick,and every confused expression from her. she even raised a few points of her own in her passive-aggressive way; but they were immediately crushed by his strong, raised voice. After I point, I couldn't watch anymore. It was too much injustice. I hurriedly shut down the Receiver, unable to listen- but not before I heard one last retort, thrown almost offhandedly at Aisa.

' . . . '

I couldn't believe my ears. My blood boiled. This was the last straw. THE LAST FREAKING STRAW.

I fumbled with the device, trying to find his contact. It wasn't hard. He was very active on the Forum.

"Meet me in the corridor next to the Events Room."

His icon popped up immediately, but he left me at seen. I didn't wait for a reply. I barged out.

My blood was boiling. First he messed with my mission. Then he hurt Aisa. Then he messed with both of us. I couldn't deal with his crap anymore.

Strange enough, I knew how I was acting, and I didn't even try to stop myself. I was too trapped in the moment to forget that everything I was doing could be jeopardizing the mission. Every action I made on impulse, I did it for this one girl, who hadn't done anything for me. I think, at that point, I just didn't want a repeat of Haiden. I didn't want the same thing to happen to every person I cared about- the constant oppression, the constant ache that would finally lead them away from me.

At that point, everything was unravelling. I knew this, somewhere deep within myself. I also think I knew that things weren't going to work, the way they were going- I needed to help us bounce back. But in order for us to do that, we also needed something to trigger massive change. We needed Aisa Farrow. For some unfathomable reason, I trusted her to be who we needed.

***

We arrived at the same time, wearing no fake smiles but only looks of anger and hate. He looked near perfect, except for his bloodshot eyes and uncombed hair.

"Zander Perin"

"Raiker Denlow. Or... Dein, was it?" He smiled humorlessly. "Who were you planning to fool with that, Mister Denlow? Me? Aisa perhaps? I see that you're very close now."

"Why, Mister Perin, I'm impressed! You're capable of being more than a teacher's pet! Son of a Sub-Governor, aren't you? My friend Aisa thinks very highly of you, for some unfathomable reason."

His eyes narrowed, "I suggest you stay away from Aisa Farrow, Raiker! You'll regret it if you don't! I'll make sure of it."

"Why don't you, Zander? Clearly you're just a toxic presence for her at this point. Think nobody knows about your little relationship with Aisa? It's painful to watch it crash and burn; really," I replied, my voice dangerously low. His eyes widened in shock. I don't think he believed I would go there.

Zander took a step towards me. The corridor was so silent, you could hear the quiet thunk of his boot against the floor.

"Raiker Denlow" He spat, his voice quivering with the effort not to scream, "You better shut your lying mouth up this very instant unless you want me to reveal to Aisa the truth about you. Just imagine how she'd react." An almost predatory grin split his face. I balled up my fists to the point that I could feel my nails digging into my palms; and tried to calm the storm of rage swirling inside of me. How dare the fool talk to me like that?

At that very moment, I noticed two silhouettes watching from afar. I could barely discern their faces, but they looked very familiar. Shock had registered on one of their faces and the other was biting her lip nervously. But my fantastic brain decided that that wasn't a priority.

"Zander Perin," I mimicked. "Perhaps you should stop trying to force your opinions onto people. Maybe then your 'friends' would be real, and maybe then people would listen to you!"

At this, a realization flickered across Zander's face.

"What the hell did Aisa tell you?!" He practically growled. "What did you wheedle out of her?"

"Nothing, actually. She confided in me on her own." I let a bit of pride leak into my words. He needed a taste of his own medicine.

"You- you think you're something amazing, don't you? Getting supposedly 'close' to Aisa in a matter of weeks? You don't know her. Not at all. You don't know her wants, her needs." His eyes had lost some of their earlier, malicious glint, instead replaced with uncertainty. Ha. He was actually afraid I was going to steal his little girlfriend.

"Maybe I don't. And you do? Ha. Pathetic. I know I can't fully understand her, not yet, because she's a complex being who deserves the right to change, to evolve in her own way at her own time. You though, you claim you 'know' her don't you? If this was really true, you wouldn't have hurt her that way. Not like you did earlier," I raised an eyebrow, pausing "Or like you did today."

That seemed to be the last straw for Zander. Unable to control himself any longer, he charged towards me, grabbing me roughly by the shirt and throwing me back.

I nearly laughed at his pathetic technique, flipping him around and pinning his arm behind his shoulder. I was a few inches shorter than him, sure, but that didn't change my capability. My mind flitted back to the conversation I had with Keva before leaving, and the ghost of a smile played on my lips. Keva wouldn't worry after this.

"Dearest Zander, was that too much for you? Lost control already, did you?"

He grunted, struggling to escape my grip. "Let. Me. Go. Do you know-"

"Yes, I know who your father is, and I don't care. That won't help you here. Do you know who my father is, Zander? Jermaine Denlow. And do you see me bowing down to him?" I chuckled darkly.

Suddenly, I felt hands tugging me away, and snapped back to my senses. No. I wasn't a monster like them. I must not stoop their level.

But I whispered one last warning. "Know your limits, Zander Perin. I have taped evidence of you assaulting another student. Don't think I wouldn't come for you, my friend" I spat, releasing him.

And as I was dragged away by Fatima, leaving Zander's heaving figure behind, I should have noticed the streak of red hair disappearing around the corner. But I didn't. And I regret that the most.

***

The gala was like any other. There was too much food, hardly touched by the masses of the so-called elite. It all went to waste.

They held glasses of sweet champagne, the bubbles fizzing up, glinting in the harsh glow of the hundreds of lights that were everywhere, in every nook and cranny they could place them in.

And 'they'? All they did was talk, behave all formal and polite and snooty, 'socializing' with each other in a manner that only advertised their family and glorified their own worthless image. I would have said they jostled for space, but of space there was plenty. They simply jostled to get to those who they thought mattered. Like Aisa. And me.

The high ceiling with all of its arches and details was daunting, but for some reason I couldn't stop looking at it, getting lost in all of its magnificence. I couldn't bear people right now. I needed space. But I couldn't escape them.

So I talked, and smiled and chuckled all at the right times, just as I had been trained to do since I was born. I toasted to false promises, clinked glasses with near-strangers. All for what? I was sweating in a frigid room.

"Raiker! You must NOT behave that way ever again, alright? What the big people speak to you, you humour them. You listen to what they have to say, and you never, EVER pull down Papa's image! Got it?"

A pale hand broke through the bodies, pulling me away from the crowd.

"Excuse me. I would like to speak to Mister Denlow for a moment, in private"

I thankfully let it lead me into a quiet corner, enjoying the brief respite I gained from the relentless chatter.

"Raiker," She said quietly, her gorgeous aquamarine eyes staring into my own. "Would you like to tell me what happened?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but was left breathless by the incredible, wonderful beauty in front of me. A simple lavender gown fell to her knees, swirls twisting around each other magnificently to form sleeves that reached her wrists. Light makeup graced her already perfect face, hiding all the tiny flaws and imperfections that were visible without it. She looked beautiful. Truly, truly beautiful.

"Raiker?"

"You look really pretty today"

A gentle smile softened her features a little. "Thank you. But that isn't what I want to talk about right now. What happened, Raiker?" She didn't look angry or accusing. She held only a plea to help her understand. But could she really?

I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I'm so, very sorry, Aisa. He hurt you... That was one thing I couldn't tolerate." I tried to push away my other worry, the one I couldn't bear to think about. What if I had hurt her with the scene I caused today?

"I know that. But about the Denlow-Dein thing? That wasn't okay. If you want me to trust you, you need to tell me the truth, Raiker. It's simply not fair for you to lie to me while I bare my soul to you, now is it? Why would you even lie to me like that?" Her voice was still gentle, understanding, but there was also force behind it now; probably as the reality of who I was settled in.

"Aisa." I looked up again, trying to find the best way to put it. "Do you know who your father's competition for the post of Governor is?"

"Of course I do." She answered simply, watching me through her clear eyes, as if analyzing my reaction to what she was about to say. "And I knew your father's position in the competition the whole time as well."

I was already opening my mouth, about to continue explaining to her, when her last sentence hit me. I froze momentarily. She had known?!

"The whole time? As in, since the first day we met?"

She nodded. "Your Father is one of the main subjects of our household. I know enough about him to recognize his son." At that, I shivered slightly. How much did I really look like my father? Was the resemblance that clear? I felt disgusted. "I still don't see the need to lie, though."

"Competition, general disagreements, and discomfort between parties, grudges, anger, dislike, etcetera etcetera. Make sense now?"

"Raiker, you can't just assume everyone is that close-minded."

"Most people are, Aisa." It seemed like she didn't want to face the sad reality of our world. I almost wanted to shake her, or splash her with something cold to snap her out of it; pretty much everyone in Eligera only cared about status.

"I would have still talked to you the same way and acted the same way. You could have at least given it a chance."

"Don't lie to yourself. You wouldn't even have talked to me, Aisa, if you truly believed in what this world tells you. It is simply how we have been raised."

She averted her eyes, sighing slightly. I knew she realized then.

"It's alright." I gave her an almost inaudible sigh, then paused. "But at least neither of us have to hide this anymore. It was just too much work pretending to be someone else, especially after being the incredible entity that I am."

At that she cracked a smile, and just for a little bit, everything seemed to be alright again.