DEVIATE / / (An unOrdinary fanfiction)

XIII.

"Delta, are you alright?"

I stretched as Remi and I stepped into our dorm, coming back from our venture to Seraphina's room.

"Hm...?"

"You've been quiet since you talked to Seraphina." Remi said, concerned. "Are you okay?" She asked again.

"Y-yeah, i'm okay. I'm just a little tired, ya know?" I laughed nervously as I edged closer to my room. "If you want food, don't hesitate to bother me."

I hastily closed the door before Remi could press me, and gratefully plopped onto my soft bed.

That memory....why did it suddenly pop into my head now? It was so unexpected, yet I felt the same way I did in that moment.

Riiing!

I jumped at the abrasive noise as I struggled to pull out my phone from my jeans. Strange, I thought as I twisted my lips, I normally don't get calls.

My phone continued to invasively vibrate as I read the screen.

Incoming Call: Irel Windsor

"Irel?" mumbled to myself. I blushed at his profile picture; he had an attempted smoldering expression that was successfully hot.

Irel was my best friend. Miss Rose was kind of worried about my anti-social persona, so she hoped that introducing her son would get me adapted to people close to my age (which was undoubtedly successful).

However, I haven't seen him in three months ever since he decided to study abroad for college. To my knowledge, he wasn't supposed to be back for another month. Was he back early?

I clicked the answer button and held it up to my ear.

"Hello?" I smiled and tucked a lock of blue hair behind my ear.

"Hey Delta..." His voice sounded deplorable, an unusual sound that was out of character from his normally cheerful persona.

I sat up and felt the mood shift.

"Irel? What's wrong?" I asked.

"Del, I had to fly back home. I came back to Wellston two days ago."

"What?" I asked anxiously. "What happened? Is everything alright?"

"I'd....rather talk to you in person about it. You're in your dorm, yeah? I'll see you in a bit."
Irel said before the line went dead.

:;

My leg shook impatiently as I awaited Irel's arrival. A strange melody of anxiety and excitement intermixed in my body. I'm definitely glad that he's back....but, his voice over the phone worried me. Irel is rarely in a depressive mood.

I heard a soft knock.

I lunged at the door with my psionic speed and fumbled with the lock before I yanked it open.

Irel stood in front of me and greeted me with a sad smile. The sight of his familiar silvery tousled hair and amethyst shaded irises made a warm feeling pool in the pit of my stomach.

"Heya, Del." He said as his muscular arms caught me against his broad chest, pulling me into a hug.

"Come in." I said as he glanced around the living room.

"Ah, I kind of missed this place." Irel admitted euphorically as he took a seat on the couch.

Irel graduated from Wellston four years ago as the Ace. He was the one that convinced me to go here in the first place.

I set down two glasses of lemonade on the table and sat next to him.

"How's Wellston treating you?" Irel asked and took a sip of lemonade.

"Well...." I bit my lip. "It's been an eventful week since my arrival."

Eventful was an understatement.

"Oh?"

"I got invited to fight in Turf Wars as a sub for the Ace."

"Ace??" His eyes bugged. "Are you a Royal now?"

"N-no. The King offered me the position as
Queen. But I declined."

"Oh." Irel nodded slowly. "I'm not surprised people started to notice how powerful your abilities are. But i'm sure you had your reasons."

"Yeah." I focused on his face much more closely. He had subtle eye bags resting below his eyes. He looked exhausted. Older. "I thought you weren't supposed to be back for another month. Why did you come back so early?"

Irel carefully set his glass down on the table and folded his hands.

"I came back for a funeral."

What?

My eyes widened.

"Because my best friend, Rei, was murdered."

"Oh, Irel..." I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him tightly.

Personally, I never knew Rei, but I knew him and Irel were close knit in high school. Whenever Irel spoke about him, it was always with pride or admiration. If Irel didn't spend his waking moments with me, it was usually with Rei.

"I...I..." his voice cracked. He was trying to hold in the tears. "I feel like I don't know what to do. Even when he promoted me as Ace, I still looked to him for direction. And then college came...."

Irel closed his eyes. He looked like a model.

"He was so set on making the world a better place even after we graduated. He had aspirations....aspirations I didn't want to join. I should have never left him, Del. It's my fault. If I would've stayed by his side, he wouldn't have died."

"No."

I turned his head in my direction.

"Don't say that, Irel. You couldn't have prevented.....or known that would've happened. I'm sure if Rei were here right now, he would've agreed with me." I squeezed his hand. "Please, stop blaming this on yourself. It's hurts me to see you suffering this way. It's already bad enough you're hurting from the funeral, you don't need the illusion of guilt to hurt you even more."

A single tear escaped from Irel's glassy purple irises. He quickly wiped away the moisture in embarrassment.

"Okay," he nodded and sniffed, lacing his fingers with mine. "Okay." :;