Chapter 11- Highschool Sweethearts

When Iris reached Leon's door she paused, hesitating. It wasn't like her, she shouldn't be affected by a made-up character. Iris set her mind and turned the door knob. She followed the same routine she did every day, sat her bag down, unloaded her textbooks, and tutored Leon. But today Leon was very distracted. There were many times that she would have to redirect his focus back to studying. 

"What's wrong with you?" She asked him.

"You care about me?" He slyly asked.

Iris just stared at him disapprovingly, not dignifying him a response. Eventually, he just sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Finals are coming up and I'm just a bit worried." He revealed.

"Why?" Leon had been very motivated in his studies and had made tremendous progress. He just glanced at her from the side.

"Well. I've just been working towards this for a while and it would suck to fail, y'know?" He said, trying to be lighthearted. 

"You might think it's silly, but I really wanna go on this trip with my friends. It's our last year before we officially 'become adults', I really want to have a fun summer." He said, staring at the ceiling.

Iris didn't think it was silly. From her understanding, it was common for similar plots to happen in high school stories. Everyone was really sentimental about things like summer and school ending. She couldn't really relate, but she wasn't going to make fun of Leon.

"I see." She pondered for a moment.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about. I'm a good tutor." Leon just started laughing, his strange mood instantly gone. He placed a hand on Iris's shoulder as he laughed.

"You're the best." Now in a good mood, he redirected his attention to the school work. Iris stared at the hand that had been on her shoulder. Her eyes revealed a complicated emotion.

-

"I'll walk you home," Leon said as Iris opened the front door. She met his eyes and frowned, but did not refuse. As they walked, Leon would strike up a conversation every now and then but it wouldn't last long, Iris's short responses were stifling. But Leon didn't seem dissatisfied with this, they eventually settled into a comfortable silence. Leon's blond hair rustled in the wind and Iris's brown hair blew onto his shoulder momentarily. It was peaceful. 

A sudden, deeply impactful thought occurred in Leon's mind. He would be okay if it could always be like this. If he could always walk side by side with her. It felt as if it was the perfect place to be. The thought evoked a sudden, intense, warm emotion in his heart.

"Iris I-" Leon was interrupted by a sudden noise from a nearby alley. He stopped talking, unsure. He glanced at Iris and saw her unbothered expression and steady pace. He kept walking beside her, suddenly tense.

When they neared the alley, a rush of footsteps sounded and a group of large men appeared. There appeared to be about 10 of them. They were intimidating and confrontational, obviously here for them.

"What do you want?" Leon stepped forward in front of Iris, his face was serious. He was an athletic person and could handle himself in a fight, but there was no way he could manage 10 people. As he stalled he began running through all the ways he could get himself and Iris out of this.

The group of burly men didn't bother to say anything, each taking out their respective weapons. They began walking forward, not wasting any time. 

Leon prepared himself, spreading out his stance and clenching his fists. Before he could do anything, however, the girl behind him stepped forward.

"Iris, don't-" He began, worried, but the words on his tongue stopped in their tracks. He watched as she set down her backpack and grabbed a nearby brick. 

As the nearest man swung at Iris while she was bent over, Leon threw himself forward, ready to intervene. But when Iris suddenly struck the brick at the man's face, breaking his nose, he quickly realized his movements were superfluous. He watched in shock as Iris fought. 

Iris danced a horrible, jarring dance of blood and flesh. Her sudden movements were unexpected and quick. There was no way to track her as there was no method to her fighting. It was just slam after slam, breaking any bones in her way. 

She was a twisting flurry of violence, every time her brick landed a painful grunt or shriek sounded. She didn't stop. She was a constant unleashment of brutality, her entire being radiated twisted, focused aggression. 

The bloodshed felt endless, but it probably only lasted 5 minutes. When all her assailants were on the ground, Iris looked up. She revealed a wide, eerie smile. The blood on her body reflected the moonlight and Iris looked…Strange.

She didn't belong in this world. The thought suddenly entered Leon's mind, anchoring itself. It felt like the truth, that she would leave eventually. He stared at her in a daze. His world had been upended and twisted in such a short time. Just like he could no longer view Iris the same, he would no longer be the same. He thought this as he viewed the otherworldly beauty that was Iris. 

In this moment, she was no longer the Iris he had thought he knew, but something new and dangerous.

His stupor was broken when Iris started walking towards him. The nearer she got, the tenser he felt his muscles get. He felt absurd, but he had to admit there was fear in him. But when she talked, it dissipated.

"Are your parents coming home?" Iris asked.

"W-What?" Leon asked back, confused.

"Are your parents coming home? I need to clean up." 

"Oh! No, they're on a trip right now." Like most protagonists, Leon's parents weren't around a ton. In his case, Leon's parents were just lovebirds who had an affinity for dating and traveling. 

Iris started walking to his house but was stopped with a hand on her bloody sleeve.

"Are you going to explain any of that?" He asked, a bit angry.

Iris stayed where she was, not turning around to look at him.

"Explain what?"

Leon let out a sharp and exasperated sigh.

"How you beat those men up, Maybe? I think that calls for some explanation. How can you do that?" 

Iris finally turned around, locking eye contact with him. She found herself once again searching for something. Not for anything in particular, there just seemed to be something new in Leon's eyes every time she saw him. Right now, however, it was just pure worry.

"They attacked first, I simply retaliated. Is that wrong?"

"No, I just-" Leon let out a frustrated breath.

"Where did you learn how to do…That?" He thought back to Iris's brutality a few minutes ago.

"I was taught. Like everyone else with skills." She answered, deflecting.

"You know what I mean! How can you-" His voice rose in volume a bit.

"I can't tell you." Iris interrupted him.