It was the sa for Deandra and Ceres, I thought.
Although both of them were classmates of mine, Xavier was from an entirely different class.
I hadn't even known about a Xavier Locke until the dungeon incident. Even then, during that ti, the few words we exchanged and the brief interactions we had were entirely due to the circumstances of that battle.
Back then, my dealings with Xavier were strictly about how to take down the Sand Dragon. Before that, I had no idea who he even was.
After waking up in the hospital, I hadn't heard much from him either.
Yet here Xavier was now—smiling.
And here I was as well.
Recalling all this sohow made the situation feel both awkward and… curious. I couldn't help but wonder what Xavier wanted.
I'd even forgotten we were both First Years, honestly.
"Haha. Don't look at that way, Victor. I know we haven't had the chance to et and properly introduce ourselves since last ti," Xavier said with a charming laugh, politely extending his hand.
"I'm Xavier Locke. First Year, Class C. Ranked 7. Pleasure to et you again."
I glanced at his outstretched arm and the lazy smile on his face before finally taking his hand.
"I'm Victor," I said plainly as we shook.
Then I let a dry grin slip.
"Although, your idea of a proper introduction in a n's locker room full of naked male teenagers is… questionable. But I won't judge."
Xavier's expression froze for a split second, then his smile stretched wider. He burst into laughter, loud enough to draw a few curious glances from around us.
"Pfft—!! You're funny. I didn't see that coming," he said, studying with a gaze that was hard to read.
Although I say gaze, I wasn't entirely sure—his eyes were closed too narrowly for to even glimpse his pupils.
"But I guess you're right. I just couldn't help myself the mont I recognized you in the crowd," Xavier said, his lazy smile never wavering.
"Oh?" I regarded him.
"First, I guess I should apologize—for only coming to see you now, even though it's been days since you were discharged from the infirmary."
"Oh. It's fine."
I gave him a brief glance and shrugged off his concern.
His gaze flicked briefly to my left arm before returning to my face, that unfaltering, almost-too-perfect smile still in place. The kind of smile that didn't just rest on the lips—it lingered, deliberate, as if waiting for sothing.
There was sothing about his whole visage—his sudden appearance, those narrow, curved eyes, that calculated smile—that made a faint unease coil in my stomach.
"So, how are you holding up? You've only just been released from the infirmary. I heard you were in a coma for a while, and your condition was quite serious. But now, lessons and classes have resud imdiately after."
Xavier's tone carried genuine concern, or at least the kind of polished concern that was hard to read. It hadn't even been a full week since I was discharged, and yet Aegis Academy had wasted no ti kickstarting the First Year curriculum.
He added that I was one of the few who, if I had formally asked for leave or requested a few more days, would almost certainly have been granted it.
But I told Xavier none of that was necessary.
"Even though I've only just been discharged, I've been awake for far longer. I'm tired of sitting still and lying around, so I welco this."
Xavier's smile didn't waver as he listened, eyes still fixed on .
"I understand. I'm just glad you're doing fine."
"...Thanks. You too."
As Xavier and I exchanged words, I was already slipping into my uniform.
I thought our little chat was over—until his grin widened.
"Hey, why don't we walk back to class together? The next lesson's a joint one."
Ah, right. It was.
Just like Gym, the upcoming class would be another combined session.
Lately, it felt like we'd been thrown into far more joint classes than before. The curriculum might have "resud," but the titable was different—more intertwined. And for so reason, those combined sessions had all been pushed to the front of the schedule.
I t Xavier's gaze again. His smile was unexpected, but there was no reason to turn him down. We were headed to the sa hall, after all.
"Sure."
"Great." He turned away, still smiling. "I'll just get ready quickly."
I expected him to walk away and return back to his own locker to retrieve his stuff. But instead Xavier just rely shifted on his feet in the sa spot—
And pulled open the locker he had been standing right in front of all this ti.
The locker right next to mine.
My eyes widened and i paused in place in suprise as i stared. At the sa ti Xavier turned and glanced at with a tilting grin as he noticed.
He chucked lightly— almost knowingly maybe.
"It looks like were locker neighbours. What a coincidence."
"Yeah..."
Right. A coincidence.
It had to be, right?
But no matter how much i thought about it, i had this persistent inkling that sothing wasn't right at the back of my head.
I didn't imdiately conceal my shock or suprise from Xavier. Instead i glanced at his locker and mine, prompting Xavier to grin wider, finding amusent in my expression.
The locker room, just like any other, was where the Cadets switched out of their uniforms into whatever training kits or gym wear the session demanded, and it also worked backwards.
I've been here a handful of tis, and even though I'm not the most social student, i don't think it'll be hard to miss soone as charming as bright as Xavier as my next locker neighbour.
But it seems i was wrong...
Xavier, as if reading the thoughts I hadn't voiced, smiled faintly while slipping on his uniform.
"This is my first ti using the locker room. Who would have thought." He gave a small shake of his head.
Oh.
I looked away, turning slowly.
So that was it. For a mont, I'd thought my paranoia—already wound tight from everything happening lately—was acting up again.
"Alright. Shall we, Victor?" Xavier's voice broke through my thoughts. His easy smile and neatly parted blond hair made him impossible to miss.
By then, the locker room was nearly empty—most of the guys already gone, leaving for their next class.
And so, with Xavier Locke unexpectedly at my side, I stepped out of the sweltering boys' room and into the hall.
We chatted idly on the way. The conversation was light, casual, the kind ant to pass ti as we strolled along at a pace that made it seem like we had nowhere urgent to be. Xavier, the Rank 7 golden boy, had a way with words; he steered the flow effortlessly, and before I knew it, I was caught up in it without even realizing.
It almost didn't feel like we had just t. Xavier was good—too good… if that was even a thing.
His silver tongue and effortless charisma created a magnetic pull, the kind you didn't notice until you were already caught in it. Sowhere along the way, I realised I'd drifted into dangerous waters and began weighing every word before it left my mouth.
I couldn't afford to be careless—not with a target already painted on my back.
My responses grew asured, my reactions deliberate.
Xavier, ever the master of conversation, seed to sense the shift. By the ti we reached the entrance to the hall where the class was held, he gave a parting smile—a warm, 'see you later' smile, like the kind you'd share with an old childhood friend. Then he slipped away.
The mont he left my side, a wave of Cadets surged toward him, voices calling his na in unison, their tone laced with respect… and sothing that felt almost like reverence.
He seems popular.
Lost in thoughts for a while, i stood rooted in place and spared one final lasting glance at Xavier's back as he blended in with thr crowd along with his fans, I pulled out my Communicator, checked the ti, and walked into the hall before finding a seat.
In a few minutes, the Instructors incharge — the main and assistant— arrived, and soon, the class was about to begin.
Barely fifteen minutes in, I was already gone.
From my place at the back, the words spilling from the instructor's mouth dissolved into an indistinct buzz, just another layer of background noise. My thoughts wandered elsewhere— lost in thought — and almost without thinking, I slid my Communicator out again, tapping away silently.
On the screen, one if my private note files opened. A model list of nas scrolled in a neat, organised order, and my finger's moved tapping down a few more.
...
—Alexander Crossfield(?)
—Ceres Walker(?)
—Deandra De'Lacurt(?)
—Trise Sothing(?)
—Don Clyde (pri?)
—Chelsea Harper (Risk?)
—Aurhea Aurel (???????)
.
. For more chapters visıt novel✶fire
.
And finally...
—Xavier Locke (Pri number 2?)
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