15 Heh? No Deduction?

After class the next day, he got cornered by his four classmates.

Alec felt like crying foul. How could they direct those determined, hopeful little eyes on him? How was he supposed to say no to that? How could he break their tiny, fragile hearts?

He felt a strong urge to look away from them, then stopped himself because he remembered the [Sub-Mission] the damned Mainframe forced upon him. Curse this character type!

He reluctantly allowed himself to be herded to Tatiana's apartment.

Tatiana beamed at them when they all entered the door. "Welcome!" she said chirpily.

Alec couldn't help the small smile that appeared. A real one.

Tatiana tugged Zacharias' hand, sneakily going for the most reluctant one. Alec approved.

The inside of her apartment was much the same as the one he stayed in with his mother. The rooms were probably all made in the same manner and design, though there were clearly touches and decorations that made the space look different.

"Let's train together, alright? Don't let Evin get you down!" Tatiana said, her eyes determined. It seemed that she wouldn't allow yesterday's episode to go down.

Alec was startled. They were more perceptive than he gave them credit for.

Cyrus nodded, as did Elias. Zacharias only crossed his arms, huffing.

"You were clearly better than us, which makes Evin's pointers to you senseless."

Zacharias scoffed. "If that man isn't going to teach you properly, then who's to say that he's going to teach us properly as well? I'm going to complain to my parents. We might not be able to do anything about this, but they will."

Tatiana immediately echoed her assent. "That's right! How could we just let that happen? E-Evin's not doing his job properly!"

Alec felt a burst of fondness for these teenagers. Even when he made sure not to get too close to them over the years, it evidently hadn't worked too well, if he was feeling this way. Apparently, he was more attached to them than he thought.

However, this had to end here. He couldn't allow Evin to remain like that in their minds, especially since they were already keen enough to pick up on it. Hadn't he had the same thoughts yesterday?

The man was a competent and strict teacher, and he had their best interests in mind. Alec didn't think that he would be able to find another teacher that treated them so fairly like they would with Evin. Try as he might, the man was evidently fond of all of them, though he tried not to act like it.

"It's fine, guys," Alec said, trying to diffuse the situation.

"It's not fine!" Cyrus said in a level manner, his voice serious, trying to convey the heaviness of the situation. "You're not allowed to just take this injustice lying down. We're in this course for a reason, and that's to grow up stronger to protect the Clan! He has no right to do this to you."

Alec maintained his signature smile. "It's fine because-"

"It's not fine!"

"If you'll just-"

"No! Not another word! We'll protect you, and that's that."

"I-"

"Just let us do this, you brat. This affects us as well."

Alec snapped. His smile widened a notch, giving off a rather different aura. "If you would kindly let me finish my sentence instead of mistaking me as an idiot who's unaware of his choices, that would be very much appreciated."

Their mouths dropped, shocked beyond belief.

They felt like they were in a daze. When had they ever seen their ever so gentle and patient younger classmate that was like a brother to them, say something so out of character?

It was the equivalent to a bomb dropping right next to them, stunning them. It was like the world had gone white, where nothing they heard penetrated into their skulls.

Alec inwardly slapped his forehead. Ah, he's done it now. He fucked up! In front of children, no less! There went all the years of maintaining his façade. It'd worked so well, and for so many years, too!

On cue, the voice of the Mainframe was heard in his ears.

[Get your point across without letting them make decisions for you]

[+10 Points]

Heh?

What?

Did he… mishear it, or something? Did the Mainframe just reluctantly give him points?

Alec waited, but never heard the Mainframe's voice again. What? What? Was it not going to deduct any points from him for going out of character?

What was going on?

Whatever. He would deal with it later.

Alec took a little breath and continued before they regained their senses, gently clearing his throat.

"As I was saying," he continued, "Evin took me aside yesterday to explain to me that there was nothing wrong with my technique. It's just that he had to fool anyone who might have been watching."

That caused them to snap out of it.

"Ah?"

Alec was acting as he was normally. Did they… mishear it? Was it part of their imagination or something? Maybe it had been caused by stress?

Everyone was doubtful, but actually, the most doubtful one was in fact, Zacharias. The boy felt horribly confused, like his entire worldview had changed in a split second. He couldn't reconcile reality with what he just heard. It couldn't be, right? The sweet, patient boy whom he used to look down on for being too soft had this side to him?

When they looked closely at his smile, they found that it was still its usual amicable and gentle aura. Out of four, three passed it off as their imagination, not even wanting to try and confirm it was true. It almost felt like something out of a nightmare to them.

On the other hand, Zacharias was not convinced. There was no way he had just hallucinated. That meant that Alec really had said those words, snapping for the first time. Instead of the disbelief he had been feeling, it slowly morphed into glee.

Haha! How could he describe what he was currently feeling? It was like watching his gentle younger brother suddenly develop a snarky side without him noticing. It was like a mix of glee and wondering just when exactly the younger boy had grown up without him noticing.

Now, this was more like it! Now, even if Alec still maintained his gentle disposition most of the time, should he ever need to, he was able to use his words to get people to bugger off!

Tatiana, having distanced herself from reality, continued on like nothing happened. "So, teacher is actually on our side, right?" she asked, hesitantly.

Alec nodded, relieved that they seemed to take his sudden break of character in stride. "That's right."

Then, Tatiana exploded, so uncharacteristic for her that everyone else was taken aback again. Though it was a little less than the effects Alec had brought them, they were still considerably shocked.

"Who's keeping an eye on you! How dare they? We're all from the same Clan, aren't we?! There's no way you would hurt the Clan! How can they just… just…!"

Cyrus stepped forward to calm the girl down. "Tatiana, calm down."

Tatiana simmered, feeling mighty angry. It was the first for her to feel this sort of indignant feeling for someone else.

Elias, though silent, clearly agreed with Tatiana's stance. His glasses glinted under the light. "It doesn't matter. Even if they are keeping an eye on Alec, we're still here to help him."

More than Cyrus' words, Tatiana calmed down at the verbal promise the other made.

She nodded, and the rest of them nodded as well, looking at Alec with firm determination.

Whoever thought that they could put their hands on Alec had another thing coming!

Alec looked helplessly at the four nodding, almost able to feel the powerful weight the promise had on their souls. If possible, he didn't want them to be in any danger as well. They were still so young. Though he had no doubt that they would be able to handle themselves, that didn't mean that he wanted them to put themselves in danger for Alec's sake.

But, try as he might to dissuade them, they stubbornly clung onto Alec, as if saying they'd already attached themselves to him for life, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Reluctantly, the tiny bud of something in Alec's chest unfurled a little more.