[Two Days Later, Morning, MidtownHigh]
Sitting in his usual spot at school, in his classroom, Jonathan stared blankly into nothing in particular while the teacher talked and wrote on the blackboard.
The man's words went in one ear and out the other as Jonathan completely lost himself in his own mind.
His Sunday had passed quietly, nothing out of the ordinary — no visits from muscular women or Asian women carrying futuristic weapons. Just another Sunday like any other. And now, on Monday, he'd come to school as usual.
And from the looks of it, his routine would stay the same for the rest of the week — maybe even the next month — although he couldn't shake the feeling that that woman wouldn't take long to show up again.
Regardless, he could only stick to his routine, since there wasn't really anything he could do anyway.
Letting out a sigh — who knows for which time now — he pulled himself out of his thoughts and focused back on the lesson.
"Hey." He then heard that whispering voice from his left, finding Tyrone. "You look even more distracted than usual today. Something happen?" Tyrone asked, leaning forward slightly.
Exhaling faintly through his nose, Jonathan shook his head as he replied quietly. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it."
"You know that saying it like that only makes me more worried, right?" Tyrone replied, leaning a bit further forward.
Casting a quick glance toward the teacher, he kept whispering. "Come on, tell your best friend what happened. Did you get a weird message from some old lady on Instagram or something? Wait... don't tell me..." His tone shifted into one of mock realization, and his expression followed as he lightly covered his mouth. "You're... on those days?"
Giving him a puzzled look, Jonathan frowned slightly. "Those days?"
"You know." Tyrone grinned with a knowing look. "Pre-fertilization period, that time of the month when our hormones are all over the place, our baby factory's working at full power... you know, those days."
In response, Jonathan did nothing but stare blankly at him.
Tyrone chuckled, pushing his shoulder lightly. "Come on, don't give me that face. At least laugh a little, it was funny, wasn't it?"
Shaking his head, slightly amused, Jonathan answered. "Yeah, Tyrone, it was funny. Anyway, you really don't need to worry. It's nothing serious, and it's not like you could help me anyway."
"You sure?" Tyrone asked, raising a brow.
"Yes, sir, I'm sure. Nothing for you to worry about."
Tyrone nodded, holding his gaze for a moment before leaning back in his chair and turning his attention back to the teacher's words.
Just when Jonathan thought he'd stay quiet for the rest of the class, he saw a note being tossed onto his desk. Looking at Liana's back in front of him, with a puzzled expression, he picked it up and unfolded it.
[Did something happen? Sorry, I ended up overhearing your conversation with Tyrone. I didn't mean to intrude, but this morning you looked really distracted and worried about something. Is it about Alexis?]
Reading the words scribbled on the crumpled paper, Jonathan looked at her back, feeling a bit speechless at that small display of concern. Tearing a piece of paper from his notebook, he wrote his reply.
[I can't believe the polite and proper Liana was eavesdropping on other people's conversations.]
He wrote it with a small grin, folded the note, and tapped her side to show it.
She took it from under her arm, and his grin grew when she twitched slightly before glancing vaguely over her shoulder and starting to write something.
He waited. Soon, she passed the folded paper back to him. Taking it, he opened and read it.
[That has nothing to do with it. I was just showing some concern, and you try to make fun of me? Next time I'll just ignore you.]
Chuckling quietly, amused, he could almost picture her annoyed expression as she glared at the back of his head. Tearing another piece of paper, he wrote again.
[No need to be like that. I appreciate your concern, but there's really no need. It's got nothing to do with Alexis. She's just a nutcase, I'm not worried at all. It's just something that happened at home, nothing big.]
He passed her the note the same way, and soon she sent another back.
[I see. But if it's not that serious, then why can't you talk about it?]
'Smart,' Jonathan thought, writing another reply:
[You've got a point. But I'd rather deal with it myself. Like I said, nothing to worry about.]
He passed her the note, and, as expected, she returned one soon after.
[You're really stubborn, huh? Fine, I won't ask again. But you know, if you need help, you can talk to me.]
Shaking his head slightly, Jonathan couldn't help but admire her kindness. 'Damn, girl, you're just making me want you even more like this.'
Then, adopting a mischievous smile, he wrote:
[I appreciate that, but I think we should stop passing notes like this, or people will start spreading rumors about us. And I don't want my name being linked to yours — hope you understand and take it well.]
Grinning slyly, he handed her the note.
He almost burst out laughing, barely holding himself back when she seemed to freeze. Then she leaned forward and started furiously scribbling something before throwing the crumpled paper onto his desk.
Unfolding it, Jonathan found a simple drawing of an angry emoji flipping him off.
Finding it even funnier, Jonathan couldn't resist — and, getting an idea, leaned forward and tickled her side.
"Kya!" The result was a short, high-pitched squeal of surprise as she jolted — and, as a result, caught the attention of the entire class.
Meanwhile, Jonathan leaned back in his chair innocently, as if he hadn't done anything wrong.
"Is there a problem, Liana?" the teacher asked from the front of the room, adjusting his glasses.
"N-no, teacher, I just got scared by a bug, that's all." With a forced smile, she apologized, looking a bit embarrassed by all the attention.
"I see. Please pay attention to class." Saying that, the teacher turned back to the board.
Liana shot a death glare over her shoulder toward Jonathan, who only smiled innocently at her. Her lips moved faintly. "You're going to pay for that."
And Jonathan just kept smiling like an innocent child, whispering back, "I'll be waiting."
With that, their little interaction came to an end, and Jonathan turned his attention back to the lesson. However, something at the edge of his vision caught his eye.
Looking to the side, what greeted him was Tyrone, smiling knowingly while resting his chin on his hands.
Meeting his gaze, Tyrone then made a heart gesture with his fingers, pointing at the two of them.
Staring at him blankly, Jonathan silently grabbed the paper on his desk, crumpled it, put it between his fingers, and flicked it at Tyrone.
"My eye!" Tyrone yelped as it hit him, drawing everyone's attention.
"You can't deny he's got a point..." Jonathan then heard Chad's whisper from the other side.
Jonathan looked at him, finding him smiling faintly with the same knowing look.
But instead of saying anything, Jonathan just raised a brow — message received.
Understanding, Chad looked away, whistling as he pretended not to have seen anything.
While the teacher scolded Tyrone and the others stared, Jonathan leaned back in his chair, crossed his arms, and looked back up at the ceiling.
'This is going to be a long day.'
...
Inside the noisy cafeteria, things couldn't be livelier — it was lunchtime, after all.
Sitting at a table with Chad and Tyrone, along with the extra company of Megan and a few girls from the soccer team, Jonathan ate quietly.
The others chatted cheerfully around him while he focused only on his food.
"By the way, Jonathan, have you noticed?" sitting to his right, Tyrone asked with a cheerful grin.
"What?" Jonathan asked back, voice muffled by the food in his mouth.
"They're already talking about what happened at the party on Saturday — with some videos going around too. Now they're saying you're not just 'Ice King Jonathan' anymore — you're also Jonathan, The King Fighter." Tyrone said with an amused grin.
Choking slightly on his food, Jonathan swallowed before looking at him, speechless. "Who the hell came up with that nickname?"
Tyrone shrugged. "I don't know, but it's too late to do anything about it. It's already stuck."
Jonathan shook his head. "They probably did it on purpose just to mess with me. These kids really have too much free time."
"You talk like you're not one." Tyrone laughed.
"You didn't know?" Chad, on the left, chimed in, also smiling, amused. "Jonathan has the spirit of a grumpy old man."
"Ha.ha.ha. Very funny." Jonathan replied.
"I'll be the optimist here, Jonathan: at least now the chances of someone starting a fight with you are lower. By the way, where did you learn to fight? Those moves were really good." Megan commented at that moment.
The girls from the soccer team agreed with her, seeming particularly interested.
"Yeah, you were amazing. It was just a blink and boom, one girl went down and then you took another out with a kick and when I looked you were already knocking out the third — that was awesome!" Grace said excitedly, making motions to demonstrate.
However, her excited words and actions only drew mockery from the girls around her.
"What's with all that excitement, Grace? You don't need to act like a simp, we already know you like Jonathan," a girl to her right elbowed her.
"You don't need to be a simp. You've already been rejected anyway, so have some pride," the girl on the other side said, pointing at her with a fork, with a disappointed look.
Megan agreed with a disapproving look. "Don't be like that."
"Fuck you three!" Grace muttered, giving them the middle finger, frowning, then went back to eating. "I'm not being a simp, I'm just commenting on what I saw."
Laughing at that, Jonathan replied: "I learned martial arts at a dojo near my house, a few blocks away. They teach jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai there. I've mostly trained jiu-jitsu since I was little, and that's why I'm good."
Grace looked at him knowingly.
Putting on a more conspiratorial smile, Jonathan continued: "Besides, I don't mind you being my simp. Who knows, if you're a good girl, I might send you a little reward," he said, winking at her at the end.
Grace blinked in surprise when she heard that.
"Look at her face, she's believing it! You really are a simp, huh?" the girl on the left laughed loudly.
"You heard him. Grace, you just need to be a good girl~" said the other, while patting her head.
Grace snapped out of her stupor quickly, huffing, glare furious at the two. "Fuck you both! Obviously I know he's joking, damn it!"
But the other two girls kept skeptical looks and smiles, not buying it at all.
Jonathan watched the interaction with an amused smile, feeling nostalgic about it — it was more in line with what he'd experienced.
But just as he was about to defend Grace, a female voice came from behind him: "Well, well, if it isn't the Ice King, Jonathan, turned into a fighter now, huh? Hahaha."
At that familiar voice reaching his ear, Jonathan turned his head, looked over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow at who it was. "Alexis? What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean, what am I doing here? Why can't I talk to you?" she approached calmly, a faint smile on her lips and her hands in the pockets of a red jacket.
With long wavy blonde hair down, wearing a black shirt under the red jacket and tight jeans and sneakers — it was Alexis. One of the "popular girls" alongside Melissa.
But there was an obvious difference compared to the other girls: she didn't seem like a tomboy. Her walk and manner were totally feminine; you could even tell she was wearing lip gloss at that moment.
"You can, but since I know you'll just be a pain, it's better if you don't come near," Jonathan turned forward, not paying attention to his food, waving his hand in a "get lost" gesture.
"Come on, Jonathan, don't be like that," she said, continuing to approach. But when she got closer, Tyrone stood up from the table.
"Didn't you hear him? He doesn't want to talk to you, so get lost, sho sho." — Tyrone waved his hand like shooing away an animal.
Alexis's face trembled seeing that, but she just raised her hands with an awkward smile. "Come on, Tyrone, you don't need to be like that."
"You heard him." Chad said, looking over his shoulder. "You better just leave."
Alex fell silent for a moment, until her innocent expression fell away; she clearly didn't like what she'd heard. "Listen—"
"Didn't you hear them? Get out." This time it was Megan who stood up, joining Tyrone, with the soccer-team girls following suit as they rose, staring her down.
Seeing how everyone seemed ready to go after her, Alexis shook her head, laughing. "My goodness, there's no need to be so aggressive. If my presence is so unwanted I'll leave." she shrugged, acting casual.
Passing them, she turned slightly and waved at Jonathan. "Bye, Jonathan. See you around."
But he just ignored her. She showed no reaction to being ignored and kept walking, hands in her jacket pockets.
"My goodness, I don't know why, but every time I see that girl she gets on my nerves. Makes me want to scratch her face," Tyrone said, sitting back down.
"You're not the only one." Ted agreed, also returning to his seat.
"Did you see that? Even Chad, always calm, agreed. Must be some kind of divine sign." Tyrone continued, exclaiming loudly, then grabbed Megan's arm. "What do you think, baby? How about you and the girls team up and give her a little scare, hmm~?" He looked at the girls like a puppy, asking for support.
Megan smiled awkwardly in response.
"Just ignore him, Megan. I think you already know what he's like." Jonathan said, before putting more food in his mouth.
"I think you're the one who should be more worried, you're her main target. She definitely holds a grudge against you for what you did. Are you sure you don't want to give her a little scare, just lightly?" Tyrone raised his eyebrows suggestively, leaning toward him.
"No need, she's crazy but not that crazy. And, to be honest, I doubt she'll try to take revenge or anything like that. My life isn't some American teen drama movie."
"Well, I think you're underestimating her. As they say, a woman with nothing to lose is a dangerous woman." Tyrone said, raising a finger for emphasis.
Jonathan stopped at that sentence, looking silently at Tyrone. "Where did you hear that? From some Instagram post? You're not that kind of wise philosopher."
In response, Tyrone slapped his arm. "Damn it, Jonathan, don't ruin my moment. I was trying to pass as intelligent. You don't know how hard it is to stay quiet?"
"Yeah," Jonathan replied, with a look of disdain at him. "As far as I know, the only things in your head are fashion, celebrities and girls — or, in this case, Megan. I doubt there's room in there for anything smart."
"You're such a buzzkill. But you're right; now there's only room for my dear girlfriend." Tyrone hugged Megan's arm, winking at her affectionately.
Jonathan rolled his eyes, slightly amused.
The group went back to chatting casually among themselves, forgetting Alexis's interference; the mellow vibe returned as they waited for break to end.
Meanwhile, having already left the cafeteria, Alexis walked quietly down the hallway lined with lockers. The place was practically empty; you could hear her sneakers against the floor. She walked for a moment until she stopped.
Lowering her head, her hair covering her face, she brought a hand to her forehead and rubbed slowly. After a moment, she removed her hand, lifted her head, her face completely furious.
"My dear Jonathan~" she murmured, voice cold. "If I don't get revenge for what you did, I'll never sleep peacefully again." A cold smile appeared on her face. "Just wait. Soon we'll settle this."
With the echo of her words lingering in the corridor, she continued walking away until silence reigned in the empty hallway again, with no one around.