NOTHING COULD COMPARE to when blue engulfed everything. The clear blue sky reflected off the water, making it seem like blue surrounded him. Calm and cool, just like the breeze that brushed past his face. The only interruption to his peace came from the relentless sun that beat against his back.

His lips twitched. He could easily fix the heat.

Something tucked against his back, and he angled downward. His stomach lurched as he plummeted toward the water. He sliced through the air, excitement growing the further down he went. Laughter bubbled up within his chest. He hadn't felt this alive for so long.

"Thysia."

The world pitched. Josh jolted upright as his rump smacked back down onto a hard seat. The blue had been replaced by grey leather and the whistling wind by the rev of an engine. A backpack rested on his lap.

He was on the school bus.

"Sorry about that," a gruff voice said over a few grumbles.

"Joe says sorry, but we both know he'll hit that bump again tomorrow," an amused voice said beside Josh. "On the plus side, nice to see you awake."

Josh yawned and stretched. "How long have you been on the bus?" He pushed off the last bits of sleep and twisted to face Tom.

Tom huffed. "Well, considering we're almost to the high school... You were really Sleeping Beauty this morning."

"Always knew you thought I was beautiful." Josh grinned as he readjusted himself in his seat. He peeked out the window. Sure enough, the bus approached the last hill before the school.

"Ha-ha. You're hilarious, Josh. And yes, I'm just being sarcastic," Tom added when Josh opened his mouth. "I don't get why you're so tired. You left me alone last night at ten."

"I didn't leave you alone." Josh rolled his eyes. "You still had Billy and Wolfy."

Tom glowered. It was all Josh could do to smother his laughter. Tom looked as if Josh had kicked his puppy or something. "Billy got dragged away by his girlfriend while Wolfy practically played on the other team. I swear he gave them twenty kills."

Josh snorted. "Sorry about that."

"I'm sure you are," Tom grumbled.

He was sorry—sorry he hadn't seen the hilarity in action. He didn't feel at all apologetic for leaving Tom for sleep, though. A week had passed, and Josh had been sleeping early after his eerie experience on the porch last Friday. Since then, the reoccurring dream and daydream craziness had faded. No more burning forests and no more potential voices in his head.

Instead, he'd been having another set of dreams, but these ones he knew and didn't try to creep into reality. Flying through the sky, bounding across lands, sometimes crushing pitiful little monsters—dreams he had once had as a kid but had faded over time. It was the kind of dream he had thought the burning forest dream would be.

Josh frowned. No, it wasn't exactly the same as his old dreams. Thysia. He had never heard a name in these dreams before. It sounded... familiar.

"You're still getting Regalia tonight, right?" Tom asked.

"What? Oh, yeah, I am," Josh said, pushing away his thoughts. He could try to figure the name thing out when he had nothing else to do, like during History. "Dad said we're going to the store after school. I'll get it then."

"Good." Tom paused as the bus came to a jerky stop in front of the high school. Every student stood almost as one. He didn't continue until they made it off the bus. "I was getting a bit tired waiting for you to get it. It came out Tuesday, and it's already Friday. Three whole nights behind the rest, you loser."

"Sorry that I'm not a spoiled brat like some people." Josh shot Tom a pointed look as they joined the crowd walking into the school.

"Not my fault everyone can't live the good life."

Josh wasn't sure being spoiled was 'the good life,' but he felt like he had a good enough life as he went through his day. He had a substitute for Math, so they didn't do anything. His team dominated soccer in gym, and Darren was nowhere to be seen. History dragged on like usual, but he had something to occupy his time—even if he still had no idea where he heard the name Thysia. His English class watched a movie to compare to its book form, one of the easiest English assignments ever.

By the time lunch rolled to its end, he was convinced today was aiming to be the best school day ever.

"But yeah, Regalia has been getting rated pretty high," Tom said to another gamer student as everyone walked from the cafeteria. "I heard it got a 9.2 from—"

"Josh."

Someone grabbed his forearm, pulling his attention away from Tom. Josh turned to find Hannah. A greeting rose to his lips, but it died when he saw her face. She tried her best to control her expression, but intense worry, almost panic, filled her eyes and etched itself into her frowning lips.

Something was wrong.

"Hannah." Josh glanced around, then pulled her outside the mass of moving students. "What's going on? Aren't you supposed to be heading to lunch? Yours is sixth period, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I'll head there soon. But I just got out of office duty."

"Okay." Josh's heart began to pick up its pace. The longer she looked at him like that, the more he feared what she had to say. "What does that have to do with you stopping me?"

Hannah worried at her lip before glancing over her shoulder. Josh followed her gaze, but he only saw more student making their way to their next class. When he looked back down, her brown eyes pleaded up at him.

"I didn't tell, okay? You've got to believe me."

"Hannah, what do you—" A realization cut him off. He stiffened. No, she didn't mean what he thought. He'd been handling the situation for so long. It hadn't fallen apart. Still, he forced out the word. "Darren."

She flinched, the only confirmation he needed.

"No, that can't be right. The teachers couldn't know, not unless you told," Josh said, fighting to keep the accusation from his voice. She wouldn't have approached him otherwise. Hannah didn't like to admit mistakes. "Nobody else knew."

"I think the nurse overheard some stuff, but that's not what's important. Darren came in with his dad just before I left the office, and, well..." She looked over her shoulder again. The hallway had thinned out, but there was still nothing out of the ordinary. "The look on his face... Josh, I need you to be careful—"

A door slammed, followed by shouting voices. A louder, angrier cry drowned them out a moment later.

"Davidson!"

Josh's eyes darted for the source of the yell as he pulled Hannah behind him. She yelped and said something in protest, but he didn't pay any attention to her words. Instead, his focus narrowed in on the six-foot seething mass charging toward him.

"Darren, if you think I told—" Josh reached out a hand to keep distance between him and Darren as the boy grew closer.

Darren swatted Josh's arm out of the way and grasped the front of his shirt. Before Josh could act, Darren slammed him up against the lockers. Hannah's scream mixed with the metallic crash as the locker bent beneath him.

"This is all your fault, Davidson!"

"Did you not hear me? I told you that... that..." The words faded off Josh's tongue as he stared down at Darren.

Josh had ticked off Darren plenty of times. He was a specialist at it. Never, though, had he seen such a storm brewing within Darren's eyes. Pure, uncontrolled hatred contorted his usual rage into something more malicious. Something almost deadly.

Darren pulled Josh away from the lockers only to smash him against them again. "You ratted me out, and now I'm off the team."

He let go with one hand to cock it back for a punch. It wouldn't hurt, but Josh still felt like he should act somehow, so he raised a hand to intercept the hit. Something dark flashed behind Josh's hand, almost like a glint of cold steel. A gun? No, he'd have seen if there was a gun. He didn't get the chance to see what it was.

"Darren!" Someone grabbed Darren by the shoulder and yanked him away before he could launch his fist. Josh almost fell when his feet hit the ground again, but he couldn't tear his eyes from Darren. Then again, Darren wouldn't look away from him either.

Josh had never seen the man who pulled Darren away, but he had a good guess who he was from the familiar blond hair and strong features.

Darren's dad cursed as his son tried to wrench away, but Mr. Willis joined, restraining Darren's other side.

"You stupid brat, stop this," his dad growled.

"Gifford, that is enough!" Mr. Willis yelled, then a moment later added, "Please, Darren."

A jolt seemed to run through Darren as he finally tore his eyes away from Josh to look at the football coach. He gave a few more tugs, but they were only against his dad's hold and nowhere near as violent.

"Darren," Mr. Willis said again. His coach voice had faded, replaced by a gentle, though hurt, tone. "We need to go back to the office and talk about this."

"I..." Darren turned back to Josh. As Josh watched, the fight drained from him. His body sagged, and his snarl fell away.

Josh's breath caught as he watched Darren's eyes. He'd never paid much attention to Darren's eye color, but the color wasn't right. They looked lighter than usual, and the pupil... But then Darren blinked, and they were their usual dark grey.

"Okay, Coach."

Mr. Willis hesitated, then released Darren. The moment he did, Darren's dad shoved Darren back toward the office door. "Get in there," he snapped.

Darren clenched his fist, but he didn't put up another fight. He dragged his feet back to the office with his dad close behind.

Mr. Willis sighed as he watched them for a moment. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked as he turned to the rest of the hallway. Only then did Josh realize they'd had an audience. "Get to class or I'll have you all running laps!"

An empty threat, but the students went on their ways. They kept their voices pitched low, but nobody could doubt what subject was on their lips.

A hand fell on Josh's shoulder, making him jump. "Are you okay?" Hannah asked. Her voice trembled, and after a moment, he realized her hand did as well.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He shot her a grin, hoping it didn't reveal the hollow feeling in his chest. "It takes more than that to hurt me."

"You sure you're fine, Davidson?" Mr. Willis asked. He stepped in front of Josh, but when Josh looked up, he found the coach glancing between him and the office. "Do you need me to call a parent or take you to the nurse?"

"I'm sure, Coach. Go help them with Darren." Or go help Darren. Josh couldn't decide which of the two options was the one needed right then.

The coach didn't need to be told twice, but Josh had to give a lot more assurances and promises to talk later before Hannah headed to lunch. He watched her until she turned a corner. Then he leaned back against the lockers and took a shaking breath.

No, he wasn't fine, but it wasn't because of what Darren had done. It was his eyes, which were burned into his memory.

He'd had to have imagined it. He didn't know why he would have, but there was no other explanation. Eyes didn't change color, and more importantly, they didn't have an animalistic slitted pupil.

Imagination. It was just his imagination. 

Fun Fact: This is actually an added chapter, so it wasn't in any previous version. Also, I've been playing a game called Smite a lot recently. And there was a player by the name of wolf[string of numbers] who kept dying by being idiotic. Yes, he did inspire the name of the crappy player Tom loves so much ;)

So, what do you think? Any theories where it will go from here? Darren's actions caught up to him, but something definitely seems off, wouldn't you agree?

Let me know your thoughts on the chapter down below, and if you enjoyed it, don't forget to vote and comment! I also have a discord open to anyone who wants to join, and we have a section there to discuss the book :D It's in my bio if you'd like to join!