Without Me

Behind

Jonathan did all he could to keep his eyes away from Viktor as well as Ares. The thoughts of that night came back. Them kissing, him kissing. He internally squirmed at the unease he got if Viktor was to find out that he had seen that happening. Maybe everyone else in the school knew to stay away from Ares but he didn't. How could he? Plus Ares did approach him and Chuck first. He just hoped Viktor would be willing to listen to reason if s**t ever goes down.

That was the impossible request, wasn't it?

Viktor left and he let out a soft relieved sigh. He glanced at Ares who seemed as stiff as a log. Dear God, what did he get himself into?

After class, Jonathan found himself dashing away again. He didn't go to the cafeteria for lunch since he was afraid Viktor might suddenly pull him aside and God knows do what. He apologised to Chuck internally and found his way to a more quiet spot of the school. Which was just beside the gym storage area. The small little pathway that nobody else approached since there wasn't much of a reason to do so either. Their school wasn't super huge and everything was rather concentrated at the middle so there was barely anyone at the sides of the school grounds.

He didn't know what to do except wait for time to pass so he could escape from being possibly beaten up. He didn't know why running was his first thought of action since it would only make him seem more suspicious but things just happen this way he guessed.

He sat down on the grass and sighed, taking out his phone. He let out a grumble when he realised the battery had died out. He remembered bringing his charger along but it was in his luggage so he would have to wait until after classes to charge his phone. He put it back into his pocket and jumped slightly when someone stumbled to the spot he was at. He was about to get up and run for it when he recognized the black tuff of hair.

"Shou?" He called out surprisingly when the Asian boy turned to look at him quizzically. Shou grabbed his arm and pulled him up to a sudden run. Jonathan was startled of course but his legs followed the other's pace without question until they were even further away from the school.

"Jonathan? What were you doing there?" Shou asked, half raising his voice but trying to keep it down as well. It came off as a harsh whisper instead.

"Me? I was just-- what about you? This is the first time I see you in the day and you definitely act more suspicious than you do at night," Jonathan remarked, trying to push Shou's attention away from him which worked marvelously since the other turned extremely nervous.

"I. No. I was just. Being totally. Normal," Shou said awkwardly and clenched his fists. "Totally. You know."

Jonathan raised a brow and put his hands against his hip. "Totally? You just dragged me all the way here to tell me you're totally normal?"

"Look. You don't want to get into trouble, right? So I can't tell you," Shou replied. Jonathan was definitely taken aback by the other's words. While it was true, he didn't want Shou to be in trouble either.

"Look. If you're doing something dangerous, you should stop too," Jonathan said in the end. The look on Shou's face almost made it seem like Jonathan was being an i***t for even suggesting it.

"Stop? You think I can just stop? You don't get it, Jonathan. I... Look. If you turn a blind eye towards whatever happen here, then that's cool. Okay? Don't tell me what to do," Shou replied.

Jonathan was quiet for awhile. What happened to staying out of trouble, Johnny? He sighed and rubbed his neck before putting a hand on Shou's shoulder.

"Okay. Fine. Let me in on it. At least, I'll try to bail you out if you get into serious trouble."

Shou's expression was a mix of baffled and amused. It seemed thoughts were running around his mind as he contemplated whether to share it with Jonathan.

"Promise you won't tell anyone else? I can't afford to risk anyone else on this," Shou spoke up after some thought. Jonathan nodded.

"Promise. And you'll have to promise me to keep me updated too," Jonathan said in a serious tone. Shou nodded and squatted down, pulling Jonathan down with him.

"Okay. Okay, cool." He breathed in and rubbed his wrist slightly. "Remember our talk about the school?"

"Yeah."

"I have been investigating the school for a while now."

"The school? Are you serious, man? That's not something that you should do." Jonathan was getting way too worried now but Shou shrugged it off.

"I have my reasons, okay? So just shut up for a moment and let me explain. Basically, I found out that our school wasn't meant to be a juvenile school. It's just pretending to be one. Most of the students here don't even have a good reason to be here but the school definitely does and that's what I'm trying to find out. Why build this school under the pretense that it'll be a juvenile school?"

Everything was difficult for Jonathan to digest right now. His mouth just hung open slightly but Shou gave it a little upward tap to shut it.

"Wouldn't want a fly to go in. So? What do you think about it?"

Jonathan shook his head, moving back slightly. He rubbed his temple and breathed lightly, trying to understand what he had just heard.

"I... I don't know."

Shou sighed and sat on the grass. He nodded in understanding since Jonathan had only been here for a short while. But he had notice. And that was why Shou trusted him with the information despite not knowing the other for long.

"Wait, so. Okay. The school isn't what we think it is...?"

Shou nodded.

"Yep. That's exactly it. This school is a whole lie and I want to find out exactly what's up with it. So you with me?"