hfjONE: Back, But At What Cost? (College AU)

Chapter 1: University

⭐Chapter 1: University

He couldn't remember how long it'd been.

In fact, it almost felt like a dream, though he'd assured himself multiple times it was real. Nonetheless, Liam Plecak found himself signed up for college and moving on with his life, like nothing ever happened. Green hoodie on, messy dark brown hair cut short after it grew out during the..."show", he was living his best life at the moment. Getting back on track was surprisingly easier than he'd thought, and he was glad that it was. 

He hadn't heard anything about that blasted "show" for a while now, and he could only hope that no more people were getting randomly abducted from the world. There wasn't really anything he could do about it, as much as he hated to admit it. Heck, he didn't even know if he could do anything at all. But that was all in the past, and although it tended to keep him up at night sometimes, Liam did his best not to dwell on it. Life was going alright, and he intended to keep it that way.

Oh, and he managed to figure out what those "side effects" were.

Apparently, whenever he felt a really strong emotion, be it positive or negative, he would turn into his object form, a green backpack, until it was over. This could last anywhere from a few seconds to several hours if he let it. It seemed to change his anatomy almost entirely, so he hadn't bothered to experiment with anything involving it. He'd just shoved it to the back of his mind and made constant attempts to never reveal it to the public. He figured it'd freak people out, anyway.

It happened a couple of times already, but he'd managed to avoid being "caught" for the most part during it. Sometimes it happened when Liam thought about college, but he assured himself everything was alright and that he was safe. He'd already done a small tour of the place, and knew that everything there was manageable. He'd also gone online and done research about the college through its website, and written down notes for how he'd wanted his semester to go. There were even scheduled events that were on an online calendar, as well as specialized assignment books that could help out with planning.

He didn't know of anyone else that was going to the same college with him, though he'd heard a word or two from friends that they might go. Some of his co-workers from his almost minimum-wage job were also considering going, but again Liam got no confirmations. It was fine either way though, because he hadn't told anyone about his curse and never planned to. After all, who knew what would happen if people found out about it. Maybe some scientists would capture him and try to experiment on his body or something, eugh.

At the moment, Liam was taking a bike ride over the Golden Gate Bridge, just to get it all out of his system. Unfortunately, he couldn't bike in his backpack form due to his height, but these kinds of rides usually calmed him down. With college approaching, he was still a little nervous, even with all his planning. What if the people there were worse than his old college, where would he go then? What if the people were fine, but the college was too hard and he didn't get good enough grades?

Liam sighed as he steered out of the way of some people walking by him. 'One step at a time,' he told himself, 'one step at a time'. The scenery around the bridge eased him up a little from how open it was, though he made sure not to stare for too long. The skies were a faded blue, the slightly grayed clouds starting to mix in as the time shifted to evening. The sun just barely peeked through a set of clouds so that its rays of light made it through, reflecting across the darkened waters the bridge went over. The world was barely lit, and yet it was still alive in its own way.

Soon enough, the scenario changed to that of a city as Liam rode towards it, the bridge now behind him. Colors and advertisements flew past him as he kept pedaling, things he paid no attention to as he rode on by. The sound of cars on the road and people talking filled his ears, alongside the sounds of business being done in shops as well. It was a setting he was all too familiar with, having been raised here for as long as he could remember. Hardly any of it had changed over the years, and frankly...he didn't really want it to.

Liam found himself stopping by a certain store to pick something up and put it in a bag he carried around with him before continuing onwards, though he'd waved to a neighbor that also happened to be there while he was at it. The people here weren't exactly bad, but it was kind of a hit or a miss when it came to San Francisco. That's why he'd hoped the college would at least have some nicer people, as he heard that many students tended to travel from other states to get there. Maybe he'd make a few friends, hopefully not a few enemies.

Liam could see a familiar building in the distance and sighed in relief, glad to be back. Another day with no incidents, and he could rest easy. As he made his way over, he started to slow down more, making sure to watch for other people as he did so. Once he slowed down enough, Liam got off his bike and walked the rest of the distance over, wheeling the bike over as well. He then put his bike up on the bike rack outside and headed back towards his home.

He had it all down, and readily thought through.

In fact, Liam was practically sure that nothing would happen during his Fall semester that would make him regret everything.