Today, Demund had eaten earlier than usual and had left to run earlier than usual. The reason? He wanted to run with Enariss in his best condition possible. He had made a fool of himself yesterday, so he wanted to conserve his stamina and show her the best he could do. To do that, he jogged slowly, conserving his stamina until he reached Enariss’s giant house.

But the problem was, would she come out to run? Or was he too desperate to think clearly? For Demund, this was his greatest concern for the day. He couldn’t just wait outside her house or call for her when he’d only known her one day. She probably thought of him as a stranger.

Let’s stop the thinking and just go, he told himself. What happens, happens. Contrary to his wishes, his heart was beating harder and harder as he neared his destination. The road closed in on him little by little and his footsteps grew nearer and nearer. His body surged with adrenaline.

He spotted the house in the distance. The lights were on. But would she come out? He had paced himself to arrive at the same time as yesterday. But would she even want to run as a person as slow as him? Worry filled him again and he wiped off a cold pearl of sweat from his cheeks.

Oh man. Oh shoot. Please. Should I just run past?

It was too late for him to turn back now. He was almost in front of the gate. He slowed himself a little. Enariss wasn’t by her window. He passed the reached the walls of the house. The gate was a few steps away. Who would be there? Probably no one. If she was there? Great. Oh please, let her be there.

Demund didn’t understand why he was so nervous. He calmed himself for the last time and put one foot in front of the gate. His momentum pushed him forward so that he would be directly in front of the gate. He turned his head towards the house.

And the man with the clean haircut and beard was staring right at him while watering his front yard. It was definitely Enariss’s father. The man in the pictures. Mr. Zarke. His keen eyes pierced Demund like laser beams. Pressure radiated from his sleek, muscular body, threatening to crush Demund like a mosquito. He raised a hand toward Demund.

Demund stopped in his tracks and ceased to breathe. He froze in a literal way. There was no escaping this. Their eyes had met and both of them knew who the other was.

“So you’re Shaden, aren’t you?” asked the man in a friendly way. “My daughter was bored of exercising by herself, so she was delighted to have someone else who could run with her after dinner.”

His eyes were cold as ice. Demund shivered inside but kept calm outwardly. He had done nothing wrong, but he still felt like he had done something wrong.

Demund quietly swallowed his spit and positioned himself in front of Mr. Zarke. Mr. Zarke’s grey hair glistened under his house’s light like steel threads. His calm smile was filled with coolness.

“My name is actually Demund,” he replied casually. “I accidentally told her my middle name.” Demund smiled as best as he could to the man as his ears thumped with blood. “Is Enariss here?”

“Yes, she is,” the man replied. “I’ll let her know that you’re here.” Mr. Zarke stopped his hose and went into his house. Demund released his breath swiftly as the blood rushed out of his head. He heard something like ‘she makes me do everything’ from the house. He relaxed and patiently waited for Enariss to come out from her house.

He didn’t wait for long. Enariss hastily came out of the door, her luscious hair flowing behind her. Again, she was clad in expensive sportswear from famous brands. She waved towards Demund and approached him while stretching her legs.

“Good evening, Shaden!” greeted Enariss.

“My name is actually Demund,” Demund told her. “Sorry for the misunderstanding. And yeah, good evening.”

“Hmm?”

“Shaden is my middle name," he lied.

“Oh. What should I call you?”

“Just call me Demund.”

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Well, that was awkward. Enariss stared at Demund with a puzzled look but quickly recovered.

“Why do you look so tired?”

“Well, I ran all the way here.” (And saw your dad)

Enariss pursed her lips and crossed her arms, looking dissatisfied.

“From tomorrow onwards, could you get here without running? It’s not fun to run with someone who is exhausted.”

Demund was a little taken aback. This girl was very straightforward. Not that he had a problem with it. The deal sounded excellent for him too. He had essentially gotten a pass to run with her from now on.

“Alright. I’ll bike here starting from tomorrow. I guess you’ll run every day?”

Enariss finished stretching and looked at Demund. Her eyes were glistening and marvelous today as well. She tied back her hair, and her slender, smooth neck displayed itself in its full glory. Demund felt blessed to be running with Enariss.

“Of course. You better not quit.”

Demund smiled at her while keeping a calm face. Of course he wouldn’t quit. Who would in this situation?

Demund failed to notice the sadistic smile that formed on Enariss’s lips as she turned around from him.

〄 〄 〄

Enariss took off her shoes and placed them neatly inside the shoe drawer filled with all her other shoes. She fetched a towel from the laundry basket and wiped the little sweat that she had on her face. After drinking some water, she opened a bag of chips, plopped herself on the sofa, then checked her phone.

The run had been uneventful like she had planned. They ran a little slower than yesterday, and she had made the choice of encouraging Demund while he huffed and heaved. He was weak for now, but she would have the pleasure of building him up and then breaking it all down. He had caught her eye during the break, just as she was looking for a new ‘friend.’

She giggled softly to herself. Her father probably didn’t approve of her methods, but as long as she didn’t go overboard this time, he wouldn’t be able to interfere. This time, she would savor what she had for the longest time, and bam! Enjoy the fruits of her creation on her graduation day. Maybe along the way, she would find more convenient ‘friends’ to play with.

Now was the time to build up her friends. It was somewhat fun doing that too. She would enjoy every last bit of this school and go out in an explosion. She had lots of time to plan, after all. And apparently, no one had the power to defeat her both physically and mentally. There was that one guy, but he was special. He wasn’t any fun. He was too perfect.

She glanced at Demund’s profile and nodded to herself. Yep. He was just her type. She had been very fortunate to find him so early and quickly.

Mr. Zarke saw his daughter on the sofa, smiling a little too much to herself while staring at her phone. Ever since his wife had died, he hadn’t had the time to really interact with his daughter. They had moved into the house after some things had happened, and he was glad that his daughter was a capable person. But deep in his heart, he knew she had changed somewhat.

But he had work to do. He was a busy man, after all. The maid would take care of her needs. Teenagers always found themselves in the right place after time passed. Besides, his daughter was perfect on the outside. How worse could she be inside?

He sipped his coffee and returned to his office to finish his preparations.

〄 〄 〄

Demund had been right to conserve his strength. The run had been bearable unlike the day before, but still very intense and tiring. He arrived at his house panting and heaving, even though they had only run for less than half an hour. His legs felt weak and frail. His vision was pink, and his head throbbed. Did he have to do this tomorrow too?

He slowly took off his shoes and wiped the sweat off himself with his shirt. He forced himself to the bathroom and let the water fall on him for a long time. His head throbbing started to lessen and he felt his body calming down. Seriously, Enariss was crazy. She had pushed him on and didn’t allow him to slow down at all.

He closed his eyes and enjoyed the sensation of his sweat being washed away. He felt more sick than fit, but it was probably for the best. He regretted not having a chance to start a conversation with Enariss because he was too tired. He hadn’t been able to speak.

Tomorrow he would. He finished washing himself and weakly went into his pajamas. His legs felt like sausage, so he plopped on his bed without drying his hair. He was tired, but he wasn’t sleepy. The energy and adrenaline still remained inside of him, so although his muscles cried in pain, his brain was very much active and looking for something to do.

He opened his backpack and took out two books. All his textbooks were provided online, so he wouldn’t need to get them. He had checked out one book on physics and one book on chemistry, published from the same company. These were not textbooks, but rather books to help students understand the concepts behind science. They came in series with multiple books each, and their names were Science: Physics 1 or Science: Biology 3 and so on. The librarian had been very kind to find these for him. It was what he needed.

It was unpopular with students as it didn’t really teach them how to solve mathematical problems (the biology one was the most checked out) but for Demund, it was a gold mine. His dream only required that he understand concepts, not be able to solve them. He smiled to himself and darted through the table of contents of Science: Chemistry 2. His finger fell on “Oxygen: Combustion and Fire.” He smiled. Next, he looked through Physics 3 and found the chapter, “Gravity: What Holds Us Together.”

He would read the other books, but right now he had a specific goal in mind.

He would definitely succeed in creating a fireball this time.