Leo came back.
No announcement. Just a single line on the morning roster that hadn't been there before.
LEO VAIRE – ACTIVE
Just like that.
As if nothing had happened. As if he hadn't nearly shattered Rian's ribs, humiliated him in front of the whole class, and vanished without a word the moment the dust settled.
No one said it aloud, but we all felt it.
Something had changed.
Mrs. Selis handed out the day's assignments like usual, but her voice was clipped, eyes distant. When Leo entered the room midway through her briefing, she didn't flinch—just gave a nod and kept going.
The rest of the class went quiet.
Leo walked like he owned the floor. Calm. Relaxed. Like this was just another Tuesday.
He scanned the room once—then sat down two seats away from me.
Not in the usual back of the classroom.
Close.
On purpose.
Rian leaned toward me during drills.
"You seeing this?" he muttered.
"Yeah."
"What the hell is he doing back?"
I didn't have an answer. No one did.
By the end of the block, Turner pulled me aside with the usual tone of "this won't take long," which meant it absolutely would.
He corrected my form, criticized my stance, made me redo a movement pattern seventeen times until my fingers sparked on reflex.
"You're thinking too much," he said. "Stop trying to act like lightning. Be lightning."
Helpful.
When I came back into the hall, Leo was waiting for me, casually leaning against the wall. His hands were in his pockets, and he was smiling.
"You've got good instincts," he said.
I didn't answer.
Leo pushed off the wall, walking beside me like we were old friends.
"That fight last week? With Iris? You held back."
I stopped walking. "What do you want?"
"Nothing," he said easily. "I just figured we haven't had a real conversation yet. Thought we should fix that."
His smile didn't reach his eyes.
"I don't like the people who hide in the middle," he said. "Too scared to stand out, too proud to disappear. But you…" he tapped my chest.
"…You're still figuring out what you are, aren't you?"
I swatted his hand away.
He didn't react. Just grinned wider.
"Relax," Leo said. "I'm not your enemy."
A beat passed.
"Not yet, anyway," he said, walking off.