(Present Day — Two thousand and sixteen)
Morning sunlight poured through the tall windows of Crestfield Academy, stretching across the hallways in long strips of gold. The entire building already felt overheated from the sheer number of students packed inside.
Lockers slammed nonstop. Phones rang. Someone shouted from the second floor after losing a bet. A group of athletes wearing training jackets blocked half the hallway, arguing loudly over yesterday's combat rankings. One of them casually lifted another student off the ground using telekinesis while the others laughed.
"You literally cried after losing."
"I did not cry, dumbass."
"You begged Coach to reset the score."
"That was strategy."
Nearby, two girls sat cross-legged on top of a row of lockers, taking selfies and editing filters directly on their screens. A boy with electric sparks snapping between his fingers tried impressing a group by lighting the tip of a pencil on fire.
"Yo! Stop using abilities indoors before the alarms go off again!"
Further down the hall, a couple stood halfway up the staircase kissing openly while another girl rolled her eyes as she walked past.
"Get a room already."
A group of first-years hurried by, clutching stacks of books to their chests while trying not to get shoved aside by older students.
Near the gym entrance, three large second-years dragged a smaller boy toward the boys' bathroom while he struggled against their grip.
"Come on, man, I said I'm sorry…"
"Too late now."
"You should've kept your mouth shut yesterday."
Nobody stopped them. Most students barely even looked.
At Crestfield Academy, power decided your value before people even learned your name. And if you were born without abilities? You stayed at the bottom.
Alan Winchester moved through the chaos quietly, weaving between groups without drawing attention to himself. His shoulders stayed slightly lowered and his backpack hung loosely against one side. He walked carefully around the louder crowds like someone used to avoiding collisions before they happened.
Nobody greeted him. Nobody waited for him. A few students glanced his way before immediately looking past him again, as if he barely existed.
Alan honestly preferred it that way. Less attention meant fewer problems.
He kept walking until he noticed somebody sitting against a locker near the corner hallway.
It was Lucas.
The boy's glasses sat crooked across his face. Fresh bruises spread along one side of his jaw while dried blood stained the collar of his uniform. One sleeve had been ripped near the shoulder.
Lucas shakily pushed his glasses back into place with trembling fingers.
Alan walked past him at first, then stopped three steps later. His shoulders dropped heavily.
"…Damn it. Again?"
He dragged one hand roughly through his hair before turning around and crouching beside him.
"It has to be Mark and John again," he muttered under his breath. "These bastards are starting to piss me off."
His eyes briefly drifted toward the bathroom hallway where students kept pretending not to notice what was happening.
"They keep targeting powerless kids like it's some damn game…"
Alan slid one arm under Lucas's shoulder and helped pull him upright carefully.
"I already know helping this guy is gonna put a target on my back too," he thought bitterly. "But fuck it."
Lucas winced the moment he stood fully.
"Easy man," Alan said quietly. "You okay?"
Lucas tried answering, but pain twisted across his face before the words came out.
"I… ugh…"
Before he could continue, somebody slammed directly into Alan's shoulder hard enough to force him half a step sideways.
"Watch where you're standing, Winchester."
Jason Harper kept walking without apologizing. Three guys behind him burst out laughing immediately.
One of them looked back over his shoulder.
"Come on, Jason. Don't waste your time on those nerds."
Another snorted.
"Seriously. It's always the powerless losers sticking together."
More laughter followed.
Lucas immediately lowered his head.
Alan stayed still for a second. His fingers slowly curled tighter around the strap of his backpack before relaxing again. He did not turn around. He did not respond.
He simply walked toward his locker while forcing his breathing to stay steady.
Under his breath, barely audible:
"…You're the one who bumped into me, asshole."
He reached his locker and twisted the dial harder than necessary.
[Clicking soiind.]
The door swung open. Notebooks, blueprints, folded papers, and loose sketches nearly spilled out. Several pages slipped free and fluttered toward the floor before Alan quickly caught one midair. His reflexes looked sharper than most people expected from someone without powers.
Lucas noticed it too.
Alan flipped through the scattered pages while reorganizing the mess inside… exosuit schematics, energy routing systems, military-grade encryption concepts, compact reactor drafts. Science was the only place where Alan ever felt stronger than anyone else.
"Heck yeah…" he muttered quietly while checking one of the blueprints. "I'm this close to finishing this thing."
A small grin tugged briefly at the corner of his mouth.
"Dad's gonna lose his mind when this starts making military money."
Behind him, Lucas adjusted his backpack nervously.
"S-Sorry, Alan… thanks for helping me, but I should go."
Alan glanced back toward him. Lucas avoided eye contact completely. His grip tightened around the straps of his backpack while his attention kept drifting toward the far side of the hallway, like he was afraid somebody was watching.
Before Alan could ask anything else, Lucas turned and hurried away through the crowd.
Alan frowned slightly.
Then another voice interrupted him.
"Morning, Alan."
He looked up quickly and shoved the papers back into his locker.
Anna stood nearby, holding books against her chest. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other while smiling softly at him. A few loose strands of hair bounced against her cheek when she moved.
"O-oh. Hey."
Alan pushed the locker door halfway closed with his shoulder.
"Morning, Anna."
"Thanks again for helping me with the physics assignment yesterday," she said while offering him her notebook. "I actually understood it this time."
Alan took the notebook awkwardly.
"It was nothing," he replied. "Physics is just patterns. Once you see how things connect, it gets easier."
He rubbed the back of his neck lightly.
"You already understood most of it anyway."
Anna laughed quietly.
"Not everyone's a genius like you."
She tucked some hair behind her ear while smiling at him again.
For the first time that morning, Alan smiled back properly. Small. But real.
Then somebody shouted from farther down the hallway.
"Heeey, Anna! Hurry up!"
A girl waved both arms wildly near the stairwell.
"We found those special edition snacks from Osaka at the store outside campus!"
Another girl grabbed Anna's sleeve dramatically.
"If we wait any longer, those vultures from Class B are gonna buy everything."
Anna laughed.
"Oh my God, relax. I'm coming."
The second girl pointed accusingly.
"You said that two minutes ago!"
Anna rolled her eyes playfully before looking back toward Alan.
"See you in class later, Al."
She turned away.
"Wait," Alan suddenly spoke up.
Anna looked back.
Alan tapped one finger awkwardly against the side of his locker.
"Have you seen Rose or Damian today? They're usually here by now."
"Oh, yeah." Anna pointed down another hallway. "One of the teachers stopped them earlier. Something about attendance reports."
"Ah… got it."
Alan nodded slowly.
"I'll probably wait for them in the library then."
"No problem."
Anna smiled one last time before her friends immediately pulled her away into the crowd.
"Come on already!"
"Move your ass before the snacks sell out!"
Their voices faded deeper into the morning noise.
Alan let out a slow breath. The hallway suddenly felt quieter around him for about two seconds.
Then two shadows leaned across the lockers nearby.
Alan closed his eyes briefly.
"…Damn it, Alan," he muttered to himself. "You really suck at timing."
Before he could turn fully, loud shouting suddenly erupted from the other side of the hallway. Students immediately started gathering. Phones came out fast.
Someone yelled, "Yo! Fight!"
Alan turned his head toward the commotion just as a crowd began pushing toward the bathroom corridor.