Don't touch me

[Levi's Pov]

Thinking thoughts that I knew I wasn't allowed to have, I had returned to the academy after another weekend, trying not to think about the absent teacher and student that hadn't been present for the whole of last week.

Just like always, it didn't take long until Will I had found me, quickly arriving at my side.

"Good morning, Levi!"

"Good morning, Will."

"Had a good weekend?"

"Yeah, it was good."

"It's a shame that you didn't come with us to watch the match, it was so good! You should have seen it, how..."

Walking together over the academy, while making small talk, it didn't take long until we reached the entrance to the main building. But as soon as we came into the hallway, it was impossible not to notice that there was something strange going on as there was a large group of students gathering around something.

"Hmm? I wonder what's happening... Let's go check it out, Levi."

Noticing our presence, the other students made way for us, letting us through so we could see what was going on. And then, the stress that I had felt about last week exponentially increased.

"Say something! Do you think I care about you being friends with Astor, huh?! You're just a freshman so you should respect your seniors!"

In the middle of the cluster of students, someone I knew as a third-year was currently staring down a white-haired student that only looked as if he couldn't understand what his deal was.

'Aarick... what are you doing?'

"...please let me through. I need to get to class."

A cold voice came out from the small...

'Isn't he a lot taller?'

Somehow, though he still wasn't tall by any means, Aarick didn't seem to be as small anymore. In fact, I wasn't sure if he was that much shorter than me now that I saw him again, while before he only reached up to my shoulders.

'What kind of rank-up did he go through...?'

A lot of people changed as their rank increased, but most of the time even if it involved height, one wouldn't grow more than an inch at most, and even then that was in more extreme cases. But from the looks of it, Aarick had to have grown almost an entire foot.

Looking closer, he also appeared to be a bit less skinny, but this was in line with what an increase in rank would do for someone that had a close-combat role.

"Who the fuck cares if you have to get to class right now?! How can you just bump into someone without apologizing?! Just get on your knees and say you're sorry, and I'll pretend this never happened!"

Though the ranks of students ranged quite wildly as they got to the higher years of the academy, there was rarely a third-year that wasn't at least [D]-rank, so Aarick was no doubt quite over his head right now. And that was while not even taking into consideration that Aarick had no semblance of influence through his background.

'What are the teachers doing?!'

I knew that a lot of the time, the teachers knew what was going on in the halls but chose to ignore it to maintain the status quo, but I still couldn't help but be frustrated. That said, I realized that most of my frustration came from me being unable to intervene.

There had already been one time when I tried to help my old friend, to save him from the hot-headed Matthew who never seemed to think his actions through, and I knew how that ended all too well.

I also knew that I couldn't ask Will to help, as that could end up the same as if I would help him myself.

'What do I do? Please, just apologize to him, Aarick!'

Sadly, he did not do so. Instead, he turned his eyes up, meeting the older student head-on.

"And what if I don't?"

Silence enveloped the hallway, everyone seemingly holding their breaths in shock to see what was happening. At this point, there was no one that didn't know about the freshman that had acted up during his first week at the academy, but to act like this toward a third-year? That was just insanity!

"...what did you say?"

Just as shocked as everyone else, the senior couldn't quite believe his ears. However, after Aarick opened his mouth again, there was no way he wouldn't understand what he was saying.

"I said, what if I don't?"

Suddenly, I thought I could see the blood-red eyes framed by the illustrious white hair start lighting up, almost as if he was excited to see what was going to happen next.

"You...!"

'I have to step in!'

Just as I was about to intervene, seeing no other choice if I wanted to stop Aarick from getting seriously hurt, there was someone else that was faster.

"Hey, Aarick, what are you doing buddy, acting all moody! Sorry senior, my friend has a really bad case of morning depression, so... please let this one go."

With his signature hair carrying the same color as a lemon, Astor had arrived at the scene, fully aware that the senior would have no choice but to back down now. And with that, everyone around also knew that it was time to leave, as no one wanted to get involved if Astor was part of it.

'Thank you...'

Leaving with the crowd, not wanting to put myself in a spot where I could be deemed as part of the conversation, I felt a slight wave of relief wash over me. Yet, it was nowhere enough to quench the confusion I felt about whatever had happened with my old infatuation, which had changed even more after just a week of being away.

****

[Aarick's Pov]

"Hey, what are you doing, man? I understand that you..."

"Thank you."

With everyone around us leaving, as well as the third-year that had bothered me, I wasn't too interested in hearing what Astor was about to say. Therefore I decided to just start going to class, as I didn't want to waste any more time here.

"Hey, wait up! Hey! Arrick, please just stop for a moment!"

Grabbing my arm, he triggered something inside me that I practiced so hard to repress. Thus, I yanked my arm away, making sure to avoid any physical contact with the human. It was already tough enough as it was, having all these walking blood banks around me.

"Don't touch me..."

After a second of surprise to see me reacting so boldly, where I could see his face scrunching up even for just a moment, he finally got the message.

"Fine, I won't touch you. But man, did something happen? It feels like you are..."

"That's none of your business. Also, please leave me alone, I'm not in the mood for your games."

With that, I could finally make my way to class, not caring much about seeing my classmates again. All of the students in my class, all the people at Augustus, even Levi and Will... I didn't care anymore.

This one week of torture... After that, there was no way I could care about something so small such as spoiled brats who didn't know anything. Something I did care about, however, was...

==========

"Did you honestly think you wouldn't have to do the test?"

Having ended homeroom already, everyone else had been allowed to leave, going on to do whatever they wanted, or needed, to do. I, on the other hand, was still sitting at my desk, with Dona now putting a stack of papers in front of me.

Even if one of the first courses of action that Dona had taken when I started to be able to control my urges was to make sure I studied, I was still very not prepared for the test.

There was also no point trying to argue with her, as she had made it very clear on multiple occasions that one of her biggest goals was to make sure I had as normal of a life as possible. And this also applied to facing the same challenges as everyone else.

Sitting herself down at the desk in front of the digital whiteboard, standing right next to the small podium, she immersed herself in grading the other's exams while waiting for me to finish mine.

Reading the first question, I could feel my face paling, though I found it next to impossible for my skin to get paler than it already was.

'Using the Phillips correlation, make a case for why the guilds might want to slow down the inflation in times of economic booms. Then, using the same train of thought, use that conclusion to answer how or why the government might or might not want to use public investments in the same economic state...?'

Turning my head up, I could only look at my teacher in desperation, hoping that she would grant me some kind of mercy. Sadly, teacher Dona was just as merciless as drill sergeant Dona.

"Do your best."