Keep Your Enemies Close

"Zephyr said he was paying-- he said he'd give you the money for the lesson. I mean, you're probably best getting paid. Dealing with me for an hour is gonna stress you out, Sebastian. Least you can do is accept payment for the trouble," the boy laughed, completely self-aware when it came to how energetic and loud he could be and, as a result of that, how annoying he was to some, if not most, people. He had a heart of gold but, unfortunately, also an inability to be quiet and calm.

The same would never be said for his friend, who sat quietly on the couch beside him. He only reacted when briefly touching his friend's hand, hit instantly with Krasimir's thoughts and actions over the last few days - another of Keisuke's powers he really didn't enjoy. Invisibility was all well and good and it came in handy more often than he cared to admit, but being able to see other people's actions and possibly reveal secrets they preferred to keep hidden wasn't something he found enjoyment in. It was why he befriended Krasimir, seeing the abuse he suffered and feeling sympathetic as a result of it, but when it came to other people, he just found seeing into their lives awkward.

Then again, he never usually saw something that shocked him. He had once brushed past a man, who, through a vision, he realised was having an affair, but that was hardly groundbreaking or interesting.

Seeing Sebastian murder Krasimir's parents and then seeing him argue with Zephyr was, the teenager's hands clutching the glass of water with his mouth wide in shock. In fact, he could barely bring himself to even look at Sebastian, only managing to do so a few minutes later, only to shudder and glance away. The school had always instilled in their students a sense of purpose, to use their powers for good if they ventured down the path of heroics. Knowing Sebastian had shunned that advice completely to become the culprit of infamous crimes, most of them incredibly violent in nature, understandably had Keisuke speechless and, more than that, terrified for his own life.

"I-- I need to go, I can't stay, I just remembered my-- my auntie wants me home, so... I-I can do my homework, I'm not struggling as much as Krasimir thinks, aha..."
 
"Oh, are you sure...? I mean, that's okay. Do you want to call someone to pick you up and you can wait here?" The villain offered obliviously, the sudden anxiety in the boy making his brows raise in a mix of curiosity, concern, and confusion. "I could drive you, if you want me to. I know one thing and it's that you aren't walking home, okay?" He urged, the sirens in the background only emphasizing just how dangerous the area could be, and this time the sirens had nothing to do with him.

"You can watch television in the meantime, or you can read some books? They're all kind of boring, at least that's what Zephyr says. Granted, he thinks I'm a nerd for reading at all," he explained casually, his face growing pink as he rummaged through his pockets to pull out a pencil. He then got to his feet suddenly, realizing he had his old textbooks from the academy on his shelves.

"Oh, aha. Don't tell anyone but I always stole my textbooks every semester. No one really found out it was me so I just sort of hoarded them. You can have my old French textbooks if you'd like to do some reading outside of here? Second perspective, I guess. I've been trying to pawn off my books to others anyway, I told myself I had to get rid of two books off every one I bought and I've got two boxes under my bed of new books, so..." He babbled out, desperate to keep Keisuke's attention and having him walk off onto the street. He wasn't good person but he always was sympathetic towards children, as he saw the two as.
 
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The textbooks were the evidence the teenager needed to convince himself that the visions he had obtained were factual - even if there really was no disputing what he had seen. It only made him feel scared and, consequently, nauseous, his hands clenching his knees as he felt the room spin and his body temperature rise. The only moment Krasimir noticed the discomfort was when his friend failed to reply, taking in the other's reddened cheeks and nervous breaths, though Keisuke had rushed to the bathroom (once nervously asking where it is) before he stood a chance to question him.

"He's, uh-- he's awkward, you know? Not good with people, really. And he's sick a lot, so... he'll be right out in a sec," he explained weakly, pulling his homework out though, from his stretched out posture and relaxed grin, he clearly had no real intention of starting it yet, at least not without his friend present. Instead, he downed half the glass of water and turned his attention to Sebastian, his grin growing a tad more serious.

"I, uh-- look, thanks. For... my parents, doing that thing-- We don't need to talk about it. I just know it was you, not my brother, and that's... pretty fucking amazing, actually. That you'd do that, so... thanks? I don't know. I'm just glad my brother has you, I guess. You're pretty great."
 
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," he quickly stammered in response, his face turning just as red as Keisuke's in a mix of fear and bashfulness. Giving the direction to the bathroom a glance, he offered a small smile to the other while his fingers tapped against the wooden table once again.

"... how much did Zephyr tell you?" Sebastian questioned after a pause, his lips pursing as his smile turned to a tight line. "Whatever he said, you keep it a secret and don't tell anyone, alright? We were both just sick of seeing you and your sister get hurt after all."
 
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"He didn't say anything, relax. I figured it out easily enough. He was never gonna hurt them, doesn't have it in him, so I put two and two together-- why are you so worried about it? I don't care, Sebastian; I'm fucking thankful, if anything," he reassured, the other's panicked state confusing him more than he thought it would. He had no idea that some of that panic might be because the other had confessed his powers to his brother - clearly, Krasimir was as oblivious about that as he was about his brother's own powers.

"People are saying that villain did it, yeah? Let them think that, it's easy pinning blame on some freak than having people realise it was you, Seb. Just relax, 'kay? I'm grateful and that's all you need to take from it; you did a good thing."
 
"Other people would beg to differ," he replied quietly with a deep sigh of relief, though that didn't mean he didn't hold some sense of anxiety. He could be turned into by the cops, after all, and everything would fall apart if that happened. It was balancing carefully on falling apart as is so having the chance of Krasimir spilling the beans still made him nervous.

"Anyway, let's get working on your French," he whispered, his fingers gripping his pencil right. "Just... worry about school and helping our sister, Zephyr and I are going to work together to make sure you'll be safe," he reassured, his eyes locking on the bathroom. "I'm sure Zephyr'll be mad if you don't get anything done while you're here."
 
"He's not going to know anything unless you tell him-- he's just really tough on me when it comes to school, it'll be helpful if you could lie a bit, say I'm acing it? Otherwise he'll be on my back and he'll stop me going to soccer practise and-- he's just strict, really. It'd really mean a lot if you could... say I did really good, Seb. I can't be bothered dealing with my brother yelling at me, just because I'm not getting straight As. Like, I don't even need French," he grimaced, holding his own pen tightly as he cast his own glance towards the door worriedly; a worry that only really ceased when his friend reappeared, albeit pale and clearly nervous, which Krasimir put down to the other being in a home of someone he didn't know.

"Just go watch TV, Seb's not going to mind you sitting out of this. You're only here because I dragged you along anyway," he began, smiling as comfortingly as he could, a proud (and admittedly relieved) smile breaking when the other seemed to take his advice and stay in the apartment, rather than rush out in a panic. "He's, uh-- he'll be fine, Seb, it's not you; he's like this a lot, so... Hey, you don't need to worry about me; me and Daria already know you don't like Zephyr fussing around us and taking time away from you-- we understand that, it's fine. You focus on your relationship, 'cos I can look after myself. I don't need Zephyr or you spending time looking out for me."
 
"You need good grades if you want a scholarship to a good school," he remained quietly with pursed lips. He hadn't really expected to care six much about the twice children, not on the level he did at least. He always tried to avoid hurting children but he never felt crushed when something did happen. Perhaps it wasn't because he cared so much for Zephyr that the feeling transferred to the two siblings. He shook off the thoughts and offered an encouraging smile st the very least.

"Well, okay. Let's at least do a little homework. As for learning French, wouldn't it be nice to go rock Paris and be able to get around? Even better, you might find a cute French girl and impress her with your skills. I mean, that's what I did with your brother, right?" He reminded with wiggling brows. "The same can go for your friend, if he wants help. Not going to force him of course. At least tell me what you're struggling with, yeah?"
 
"A cute French girl? I guess you're right, yeah? But I don't need to speak the language to charm a girl. I'm pretty good at it, y'know? Unlike my brother - he's fucking useless when it comes to flirting with guys. It's only ever been you, which I guess is romantic or some shit," he mumbled casually, turning his attention to his homework when he realised that he had to at least get some of it done or face his brother getting angry at both him for not focusing enough, and potentially at his boyfriend for not tutoring him as promised.

"I'm not good with spelling and-- look, I'm bad at everything, Seb. I'm gonna need a miracle to pass this-- Maybe I can have someone set the fire alarm off during my exam? They'll just give me an average grade and that's better than failing drastically, right?"
 
"I... suppose, but you shouldn't accept mediocrity. You can speak two languages as is, right?" He reminded, biting anxiously on the inside of his cheek between words. He was really trying, never being one to really give pep talks or anything. Hell, he barely accepted any so how could he be any good at giving them? Shooting a nervous glance at the clock, he let out a deep sigh in anxiety before carefully taking the paper.

"Don't... don't expect me to do this again but how about i do your homework and we can go over it afterwards?" He offered obliviously, unaware of how 'wrong' that could be seen as. In reality, he didn't have any friends back at the academy and the ones he thought were his friends were only other kids who could use just how socially inept he was rocking get him to do things... like do their homework. It never occurred to him, even in adulthood, that those kids werent actually his friends and they probably have totally forgotten about Sebastian.
 
While Krasimir was clearly eager to accept the help, nothing appealing to him more than having his homework done for him, the guilt hit him sooner than he thought it would and caused him to shake his head in reply. He knew how his brother would feel when he inevitably found out, and he wanted to avoid irking Zephyr more than he already did. It didn't help that Keisuke glanced over at him with a shake of his head - he might not feel comfortable in the presence of the city's most infamous villain, but he wasn't prepared to sit back and watch him do Krasimir's homework for him.

"...Nah, I need to do it, Sebastian. You're too nice, though. I appreciate the help - just, like, check over my work and tell me what I've done wrong, that's all I need you to do," decided Krasimir, albeit reluctantly as he stared at the words on the pages, none of them really going in. "...I just can't think right now, that's all. It's been hectic, you know? Zephyr's acting all weird and my folks were just killed and-- and now I'm going to live without Zephyr 'cos he's moving in with you-- it's just a lot. Homework doesn't seem as important."
 
"I understand, it's all... a lot, isn't it?" He replied, unable to hold his smile anymore . "You shouldn't have to deal with this, yeah. I told Zephyr that he didn't have to move in and that he should focus on you two, you know? You're going off to college so you'll have a dorm but your sister? I don't know what Zephyr's plan is," he admitted, his hands nervously folding.

"We can tale a break if you'd like? Get your head cleared and everything. Do you know when your brother is picking you up, maybe we could order some pizza...?" He offered, his smile returning.
 
"Pizza sounds great, yeah! Zephyr said he'll be back for me after work so... clearly he doesn't think we'll be doing homework all that time. If he gets mad over me having pizza, that's just dumb and-- look, I'm not having him yell at me for pizza. I'm allowed to eat," he babbled with a wave of his hand, happy to disregard the work he had set out if it meant lounging in front of the TV, eating pizza. He hoped it would also let his friend ease up, glancing over at him cautiously. "What do you want? I'll pay, obviously. Just have something to, like, de-stress yourself--"

"I... just want to go, I can't stay much longer," his friend began again, sensing an opportunity that would allow him to leave the apartment and, thus, escape the suffocating awkwardness of being around Sebastian a second longer. He was downright afraid of him now he had seen what Sebastian did with his time after leaving the Academy - naturally, he didn't want to stay and have Sebastian remember him and what exactly it was Keisuke could do. Drawing attention to himself in that way, he feared, would end up with him being abruptly killed. "I can walk home, really, it's not too far from here."
 
"I don't want something happening to you when you're under my watch, Keisuke. I... I would feel horrible if the first time you scone over, you'd somehow be stabbed or something. Like I said, this neighborhood isn't very safe - that's how I got such a good deal," he reminded, his eyebrows raised for emphasis as he watched the boy cautiously. Resting his head in his hand, he frowned.

"At the very least, call your parents. I don't want you waking alone, something could happen and... and that would be horrible. God - I'm sorry, I'm not very good with children," he weakly explained with pursed lips.
 
Krasimir's natural instinct was to try and ease the awkwardness in the room, knowing both of the others well enough to know that neither of them really excelled in that sort of atmosphere. However, his kind attempts of moving past the growing discomfort only made things worse, at least for Keisuke who reacted to the following events in horror.

"Hey, you went to this place, didn't ya? I remember seeing books like these in your room, dude," the teenager beamed over at his friend, having wandered over to the bookshelf in the corner of the room to try and find something he could talk about instead of his friend's desperation to leave. That only left him picking up a book with the Academy's logo printed neatly on the inside; an Academy he knew his best friend had been taught at until recently. In his eyes, it was something the two could bond over, the fact they had both been at the same school. In reality, it was the worse thing he could have done, leaving his best friend paler than ever and growing considerably more nervous the more Krasimir talked about it. "Yeah, some elitist Academy, right? Apparently nobody even knows about it - and you two both went there? That's pretty cool! You guys don't remember one another-- must be a big place, huh?"

"I... I wasn't there-- not for long, it... it really isn't important, Krasimir, don't k-keep going on about it--"
 
Blinking a bit in shock, Sebastian grew stiff as he sat up in his chair anxiously. He had fully expected that the percentage of the students at the academy would be small enough to never have this happened but apparently it was wishful thinking. Clearing his throat, he locked his eyes on the window awkwardly.

Obviously this meant that Keisuke was a super. His memory still wasn't jogged fully but that only made it worse, not knowing what the other's powers was. Getting tic his feet, Sebastian decided to make himself a cup of coffee to distract him.

"That's... a big coincidence, huh?" He murmured in response. "How long did you attend, Keisuke? The academy is pretty exclusive, you have to have very specific criteria to attend," he explained Krasimir with pursed lips. "... I suggest you call your parents, Keisuke."
 
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"I didn't go for-- for that long, my parents weren't fans; they said it wasn't fair that some students were overlooked-- a lot of the teachers thought I didn't have potential so they ignored me and-- and I don't remember you so there's no problem, I... I promise I don't know anything; nothing, really. I'm pretty useless at remembering people and... information about them," he began in a clear panic, his nerves rising at the coldness Sebastian suddenly portrayed. He knew, unfortunately, just who Sebastian was - he had seen plenty of news stories over the weeks explaining in detail how malevolent the city's villain was; how nothing was really off limits.

Inevitably, the fear he felt for his life was growing larger by the second, having to clench his fists tightly to avoid rushing out of the apartment. That behaviour would only appear suspicious. Right now, Sebastian didn't know that he new about his alter ego - all he knew was that Keisuke knew he had powers; nothing more than that needed to be revealed, which meant he had to keep his nerves... however difficult it was not to run out as fast as his legs could carry him.

"I can't call them; they won't answer when they're at work. I... get that this is... I get you're worried or whatever, but really, I... don't even remember you; I don't even know what... skills you have, a-aha... it's... I won't even see you again after today, S-Sebastian."
 
"You're acting like I'm some monster, Keisuke. You're freaking me out, actually," he admitted quietly, his cheeks growing beetroot in anxiety. Sebastian's mind was racing on what it could be the reason but he assumed that much like Keisuke, he wanted the normal boy to stay oblivious.

"I... find how you're acting to be incredibly rude," he admitted under his breath, his eyes avoiding the other beforecdeciding to focus on the textbook with a growing grimace. "I'll take you hone if you really want me to, but I do need to help Krasimir with his homework. So you can either stay or I'll drive you hone."
 
Being called out in front of his best friend only made Keisuke's cheeks flush red, nervously nibbling at his lip until he suddenly stopped and glared at the other. The injustice of being called out and made out to be some sort of bad guy for being rude was ridiculous - Keisuke would never dream of hurting anyone, and yet he had a literal murderer insult him for his apparent rudeness? As shy as he might be, the injustice and hypocrisy made him sit up straight and gain enough confidence - perhaps a tad too much, given the words that soon left his mouth.

"I know what you are. I know who you are and I have no problem exposing you if I need to, Sebastian. I remember you from school. I...I never thought you'd end up doing what you do-- and it's wrong so... so I'll tell someone if I need to. Don't... call me rude. Not when you do what you do - do you want me to tell Krasimir?"
 
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"I have no idea what you're talking about." Sebastian replied quietly, his cheeks growing pink (as they usually did) at the accusation. With a feigned expression of fear, he poured sugar into his coffee all the while. "Look, you seem very put off by me. I'll call you an Uber, okay?" He offered, his tone that of concern as he glanced over at Krasimir. Setting the cup down, he quickly typed away at his phone.

"Look, there. If you absolutely hate being in my apartment, I want you to be safe at the very least," he explained in his usual, hushed tones. "I'm sorry I couldnt help you with your French homework."
 
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