The next morning, Aubrey sat in class. His eyebags had gotten noticeably better due to the eating, with regeneration improving his overall appearance by quite a bit.
They did not totally disappear, but in turn with the rest of his appearance, allowed them to be permissible, and to some people, perhaps even a bit of a good feature.
"Hey Aubrey, mind getting me a drink?" One of his friends asked, and Aubrey got up from his seat.
"Coke's fine?" Aubrey asked, and his friend nodded his head. Aubrey left the lecture hall, his hands in his pockets as he opted to pay from his own money.
Whilst walking down the hallway, he saw many people pass by him. He turned his head every now and then, looking at them all with curious glances.
Now that I think about it, aren't I stronger than all these people? Not a single one of these guys have ever fought a skinwalker, they've never killed anything physically stronger than them. Doesn't that make me better than them?
Even if I was fairly weak before, what if any of the big guys tries to try me? Couldn't I just pull out some scissors—no, I don't even need that. I could overpower them all, manhandle them to the ground and crush them beneath my feet.
I'm not human anymore. I've gone beyond humanity and become something greater. They're worrying about exams and relationships, meanwhile I'm worried about… well, relationships and exams too, but also about killing monsters. It feels so… unique. Like I'm a protagonist in a show or movie or something.
If anyone tries me, I can easily kill them with just my bare hands.
Finishing his train of thought, he saw a girl standing with a fairly large box in her arms. She was waiting near a closed door, as she did not have the strength to open it herself. Yet, with there being other people in the hallway, Aubrey simply went to the vending machine instead.
He got his friend a coke and went back to give it to him.
…
Aubrey looked out the window, stuck at a stoplight with his friends. The school day had ended, and so, at night, they decided to watch a movie. Approaching them came loud revving, as the driver, Davis, turned to see a group of bikers next to them.
"...Hey guys, wouldn't it be cool if we all got motorcycles?" Davis threw out as an idea, to which everyone else looked at them. They all looked so cool, that it was the base male instinct to try and perform like them.
"Yeah, that'd be cool." Such was the general consensus by the young men.
Aubrey's phone buzzed, and he checked his messages.
"For your work last night. Next time, finish the job, and you'll earn more."
Aubrey checked his bank account, finding 1,000 dollars had been added. His jaw dropped, and those that saw his face asked him, "What's up? Why're you looking like that?"
Aubrey cleared his throat and put his phone away. "Nothing, it's just that this dude sent me a dick pic on Twitter."
It got a small laugh from the boys, who left it alone after that.
I really am hilarious, aren't I?
If Aubrey ever needed to divert attention away from him, he'd just make a stupid joke, as long as it was this group. This group itself tended to thrive off of stupid jokes, even if they were abysmal.
Aubrey's face was that of a smile as he performed his dumb saying. Once they left it alone, his smile vanished almost instantly as he turned away, looking out the window.
When it came to these people, it wasn't that he hated them. He didn't dislike them, rather he quite liked them. They were simple, and it could easily be described as a group of idiots, gathering together because they found each other's and their own stupidity hilarious.
They made it extremely easy to blend in, and were not high-maintenance. He did not need to prop himself up with exaggerated smiles and well-timed attempts at being perceived as normal; he could be his truly dumb self around them, and that was why he chose to be around them.
To Aubrey, it was difficult to be all alone. Being alone was frightening, and therefore he had to find people to hang around, lest he be isolated and miserable.
The group arrived at the movie theater and all entered inside. Upon their entrance, Aubrey's eyes widened as his sight was graced with beauty.
"...Gh."
A noise similar to that which he'd made upon being dismembered popped from his throat, as the mental equivalent of that was thrust upon him.
It was legitimately frightening, a real-life jumpscare akin to seeing a tall monster silently walk through a door frame. Fear entered his heart, as he looked down and let out a soft exhale, his face burning with shyness.
The most beautiful woman in the world—Sienna, had burst onto the scene. Or rather, Aubrey had entered whilst she was in the middle of being beautiful.
Oh my gosh, oh mygoshohmygosh.
The face of a man madly in love, yet afraid of that love was etched upon him, as he heard a voice as sweet as a cupcake, as cutesy as a sunshiny day with rainbows and flowers blossoming, descend upon him.
"Oh! Aubrey, you're here too!"
Aubrey's eyes shot up, as the woman waved at him. Aubrey waved back like a child would, a terrified smile plastered on his lips.
His friends looked at him and snickered for a moment before calming down. Davis got behind Aubrey and started pushing him over to Sienna, as Aubrey played along, getting fairly close to her.
"Um, hi, crazy seeing you here, Sienna," Aubrey said, as his friends broke off from him. They stood together, a decent distance away.
"Y'know," one of the boys said, "we could easily embarrass him. But, uh…"
"Yeah. Sink or swim; if he embarrasses himself then it's funny, if he manages to actually get her then it's respectable. Wanna make bets?"
"Yeah."
So, the group of boys began making bets on the outcome.
Aubrey looked down at Sienna, mesmerized once more by her beauty. She smiled at him, and he immediately was overcome with the idea that it was still the most beautiful smile in the world, no matter who else could ever potentially be better looking.
"So, what movie are you watching?" She asked him, and he mumbled "Um, we're doing the mystery-movie night thingy… or whatever."
Doing his best to stay nonchalant, Aubrey failed miserably. Even his pale skin was turning red ever-so-slightly.
She let out an excited gasp. "Ooh, me and my friends are doing the same thing! Wanna tag along?"
Aubrey looked at the rest of her friends, which was only two others. There, he was forced to make a decision.
Sit with his friends, or sit with her. Oh, the choices.
I can't let my friends sit with her. Wait, maybe I can? If I sit next to her, and her friends sit next to her as well, then she won't sit next to any men other than me, and that would be good.
Aubrey looked back to his friends, who weren't so far as to not hear what was going on. They gave him a thumbs up, simply because seeing Aubrey embarrass himself in front of a bunch of girls would be completely hilarious.
"Um, sure, I can tag along, if that's alright with you guys."
Sienna looked back to her friends, who eyed Aubrey dismissively, but ultimately did not protest.
"Alright, let's go get the tickets set up," Sienna said as they all bought tickets using a machine inside the theater.
…
Sitting next to Sienna, Aubrey quite literally shook with fright. They'd been close before, especially since she climbed on his shoulders. However, that was with the purpose of getting a cat, and as such was not frightening.
Ergo, a situation where they were close for the sake of being close was much more terrifying. It was strangely scary, however. It wasn't the primal dread of death, but it was the gambling fear of love, in which one leaves the outcome entirely to a force outside their control: the emotions of another human being.
The mystery movie night, this time around, was a horror movie which had yet to be released.
The movie began, and it continued. With the scares in horror movies, she revealed herself as quite the resistant lady, only jumping at the scares which were executed well. Aubrey himself wasn't actually super tolerant to scary movies, despite facing the paranormal.
Though since he was so close to her, he made sure to not jump. However, on one particularly great scare,
"G—oh, shit…" He whispered as quietly as he could, to which Sienna looked at him and snorted a laugh. It was a scare which got almost everyone in the theater, so the two quietly shared the funny moment with each other.
…
"Wow, that was a really good movie!" Sienna said to Aubrey as they walked out of the theater.
"Mhm, it was kinda scary," Aubrey nonchalantly said, trying his best to not look at her. If his eyes did reach her, then he'd get embarrassed and likely lose any cool points he desperately tried to reach.
"Pffft, I saw you jump a bunch; I feel like it was a bit more than 'kinda' scary for you~"
"Hah, as if. You jumped too."
"Then I guess we're both scaredy cats?" She said with a small laugh, getting Aubrey to laugh as well.
"I can accept that, as long as we're together."
His words were not the flirty kind, born of a sudden boost in courage which allowed him to pursue her immensely. They were honest. Though, that made it seem good; perhaps 'raw' would be more suitable. Yes, those words were as raw as an exposed nerve, less an attempt at seduction and moreso him trying to continue the conversation.
What Aubrey really meant to say was "I can accept that, as long as I'm not alone in being a scaredy cat," to put it more accurately.
Yet, what's done is done, and so his unexpectedly suave words made quite an impact on her.
"Y'know, you're pretty fun, Aubrey. Can I get your number so we can hang out again sometime?"
"Hm? Oh, sure."
Aubrey extended his hand as she—
Wait, what did she just say?
Aubrey looked down at her, star-stuck. His face couldn't even warm up with heat, as he merely was too stunned to even process anything.
"...? Aubrey?"
"W-wha?"
"You gonna put your number in, or…?"
Aubrey looked down at the phone, blinking a few times before snapping back to reality. "Hk," he spat out, "ah, yeah, sorry, my bad."
He put his phone number in, and she texted him a "Hiiii" to make sure, and it went through. She waved him off and left to go off with her friends, Aubrey shakily walking over to his friends as though he was a soldier returning from the trenches of World War 1 with shellshock.
"...Dang, you actually did it," Davis said, as Aubrey looked outwards blankly, giving the impression of brain damage.
"I… I did it."
"Yeah, that's what I just said."
Aubrey shook his head, returning to normal.
"Alright, let's go. Let's go home, guys. Let's. Go. Home."
I really just want to text her ASAP. Or is that bad? Does it sound too needy? Crud. What do I do? No, it's fine. Wait, bikers, girls like bikers, right?
The group got inside the car and began driving back to their university.
"Soooo, guys, like… y'know, Davis really had a point; we should get motorcycles and, y'know… go on group rides."
The person Aubrey sat next to looked dead at him.
"Boy, you just want to get on a motorcycle cause you think she'll find it hot."
"...Yeah, pretty much."
That was the gist of his plan. No, not even the gist; it was the entirety of his plan.
…
Aubrey got home, and paced around his room, waiting for Sienna to text him.
What if she doesn't like me? What if… wait, does she have a boyfriend? I'd assume not.
He looked up more information on how to ride a motorcycle, and signed up for MSF courses. He laid down on his bed, looking up at the ceiling.
Motorcycles aren't as expensive as cars, but they're not cheap either. I got paid 1,000 dollars, even for just fighting a Monster. What if I actually manage to kill one?
He texted their number, asking them, "Is it like an assassin thing where I kill Monsters for money? If so, who's the next target? Can I get one?"
Shortly after, he received a reply of, "I'm sending you the information right now."
The next test was a link to a document, which Aubrey clicked on, being shown a profile of his next "target."
"..."
Reading the profile, he let out a soft "Hm" before putting his phone away. He got dressed, and left the house, driving out to the outskirts of town and entering the forest.
Monsters tend to meet up, as if by fate, huh? If that's so, then if I'm entering a forest like this, then it definitely should show up.