Keefe didn't even realize that he'd fallen asleep until he woke up to Dex hugging him. He moved to find a more comfortable position, then saw Kesler and Juline looking at the both with a fond smile. Keefe sat up.

"Is this going to be a normal occurrence?" Kesler teased.

"I- uh-" he stammered. "It's-"

"It's okay, we're just teasing you," Juline cut in. "Dex seems a little more at peace when he's with you. We're not going to stop you two from sharing a bed and cuddling with each other."

"Anything more than that though," Kesler continued. "Not yet."

Keefe scrunched his face. "I have no plans on doing that. Eww."

The both of them shrugged. "You should wake Dex up and get ready for Foxfire."

He turned to Dex, who had slept through the entire conversation. His face was relaxed, and if anything, there was a slight smile on his face. His entire body looked more relaxed, his shoulders less stiff. Keefe hadn't even noticed the tension at all.

Was he normally tense? Or is it because of the upcoming midterms?

"Hey Dex," he whispered, poking his cheek.

Said boy groaned, then blindly reached out towards him. Once an arm was wrapped around Keefe, he pulled Keefe to lay down next to him.

"Don't wanna wake up." His voice was still soft with drowsiness, and it made him even sound more adorable.

"You can't just say things like that! You're gonna make me want to ditch class and cuddle with you! I can't believe that I'm being the responsible one right now, then again, your parents just told me to wake you."

"Wait..." Dex let go of Keefe's hand and sat up. "They saw us like this?"

He nodded. "Yeah, but it's not like they have any problems with it or anything. They know that we're just cuddling. Seriously though, you probably should be up."

"Yeah, they'll expect me up any moment now."

They both got up and prepared everything that they would need for school. They got ready, ate breakfast, then leapt to the school.

The sight of the glass pyramid briefly brought forth memories from the previous day. "New day, new mentor for detention," he whispered. He really hoped that he wouldn't have to see Lady Belva ever again.

Dex turned to him. "You'll be okay, right?"

"We've got PE today," Keefe replied. "I'll prolly stick by Fitz. I've got a friend to distract me. Worst case scenario, he's a telepath, he can contact you."

He nodded. "Don't be afraid to tell me if you aren't feeling well."

"Okay."

•~•~•~•~•~•

Doing PE with Fitz was a distraction, just as he'd thought. With having to run and focus on his skills, it meant that his brain wouldn't think about certain topics. When he was sitting down, being forced to listen to mentor drone endlessly, his mind was prone to wandering off. His thoughts were loud, and easily overpowered the mentor's.

You seem restless, Fitz transmitted. Are you okay?

There was... an incident at detention yesterday. It's better now. And that was the truth.

If you need me to do anything for you, I'll do it. Okay?

He smiled. Sure.

"Keefe! Fitz!" Their PE mentor called out, breaking both of their concentration.

Having Fitz around felt nice. He kind of missed it, actually. The both of them making snarky remarks behind the mentor's back.

After the class, Keefe and Dex went to detention again. He worried if going into the room would be too traumatic, but with a different mentor there, the atmosphere of the room had changed, and it didn't feel too bad. The screeching sounds were quite tame compared to the other punishments.

Then it was time for his next class. He knew that he should probably attend it for once- midterms were next week. However, as he tried to move in the direction of the class, his feet felt heavy, and he could feel something bubbling up inside of him (was it dread?). He couldn't. He couldn't let himself deal with another class.

He already knew some of the material already. In his previous years, he used to be a lot more enthusiastic about the classes, after all, he was brilliant enough to skip an entire Level.

He wondered why he was feeling so conflicted. In the past, he would have definitely gone, because he didn't want to risk disappointing his father. Cassius expected absurdly high marks from him, and even if Keefe did his very best, there was bound to be some kind of mistake. Cassius didn't care about getting a high mark, he cared about perfection. If he didn't care, why should Keefe?

And well, this was Level 6, his final year of the ordinary levels. One of the most important years of Foxfire. But... it didn't feel that way. He felt almost indifferent to that fact, it just felt like another year.

Even if I do good, it doesn't matter. Plus, I still have the two Elite years. Everything's more strict there, and it's just gonna feel so difficult. There won't be any escape.

If I purposely mess up the exams, he'll be even more mad at me. But I hate all this noble stuff, I would hate to spend the rest of my life doing it. I can't go around taking orders from the Council all the time. It's my life, we live forever, can't I be the one who gets to choose what to do with it?

He'd been walking absently, and he was vaguely aware of being somewhere he was only mildly familiar with. There were no people around, and there was a spot that would allow him to stay hidden. He curled up in that spot, hoping to just hide away from the world.

But even though he could hide from the world, he couldn't escape the raging thoughts within him.

"Keefe, why aren't you in class?"

Keefe jerked up, and after a few heavy breaths, he managed to figure out that the voice came from Magnate Leto.

Again. Again it was him. Why was it that every time Keefe didn't want to be found, Magnate Leto would find him?

"Out of all the times that I've caught you skipping class," he said, his voice lacking any strictness. "I've never seen you like this before."

It felt too tiring to turn around and make a reply. He hoped that shifting his position a little bit would count as an acknowledgement.

He heard shoes shuffle against the ground. "Keefe, are you able to look at me? You don't have to make eye contact if you don't want to." The voice was a lot closer, almost as if he was kneeling down now.

It took a lot of effort, but he managed to get himself to turn towards the principal. Making eye contact was still too difficult, so he focused on the wall behind him instead.

"Is this regarding the events of yesterday?" Magnate Leto asked.

Keefe shook his head. He actually briefly forgot about that.

"Then what is wrong? You've skipped so many classes. You know that midterms are near, and you have your whole life ahead of you. I know you've done well in school, you've been an exceptional prodigy."

"Well maybe I don't want to be exceptional!"

The words were out before he could even think about them. But... wasn't that it? Wasn't that his entire problem? He was an exceptional student in the past, but now he was expected to continue being one. His shoulders slumped, and he leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes, breathing slowly. The words were a weight that had been lifted.

Then he remembered the fact that he just said those words to Magnate Leto in anger. He opened his eyes and saw the principal staring at him with shock. Which part of it shocked him? The anger? The words themselves? Or was it the fact that he had just admitted something personal?

That look of shock shifted into something indiscernible. "It is the burden, isn't it? I suppose that you're right, I can't tell you what to do with your life. It's... hard to be perfect at everything, but it's an expectation at this point. That's it, isn't it?"

Keefe had no idea why he sounded like that. He couldn't even begin to guess what emotions he was witnessing- there were so many, he suspected not even his empathy would help out much.

"Do you wish to be left alone to think through everything?"

Keefe froze, surprised by the offer then he nodded, because he really needed that.

"It is clear that you are not in the mental state to go to class. Before I leave, I just remember though, you are not alone. You have your bodyguard with you."

With that, he left. It took Keefe a few seconds to process what he had said, then saw Ro, standing off to the side, a rare look of concern on her face.

"I've seen you sulk and have your bad moods, but this was different," she spoke. "I didn't know how to help you. You were so distressed, so lost in thought. I went and got your principal."

There was so much worry in her tone, so unlike the way she usually sounded haughty.

looks like whatever's going on has been years in the making," she continued. "You could tell me, if you need. I might make unhelpful suggestions, but I'm here."

He gave her a weak smile. "Thank you. Maybe later though."

So that was how Magnate Leto had found him this time? It was... kind of nice, actually. At first the conversation felt like it would only have a negative effect, however it turned out to be the opposite. For the first time in his life, he managed to voice out that feeling. The thought that was always there on the back of his mind- something that often influenced his decisions- but he never actually stopped to consider.

He gave that thought a voice. He expressed what he wanted. Even if it didn't solve all of his problems, it was a step forward, wasn't it?

This was supposed to be a fluffy studying chapter. What happened here? Uh... I accidentally projected being a gifted kid. Oops? I mean, a lot of this was important to whats happening now.

Oh my stars 3 updates in about a month? Anyways I'm determined to write a lot more. Esp since I'm working on another writing project soon (joined the kotlc collab of 2021)

The first chapter of that fic will come around March, and I'll have to actively work because the goal is to finish it this year.

Other positive news, writing has been making me feel a lot happier these days. I've been through some times where writing was draining, but I'm currently having a lot more fun!

So ideally, my faster updates should be continuing (yay!). And even if they don't come out this fast, they realistically should not be taking my classic 3-4 months.

Have a good day/night!