Chapter 36: All's Well That Ends Well
Things began to lighten up after the match was over.
Saramin tried to get Wesley and Ron to make peace with the three kids as well, but it seemed like neither those two nor Kurt and Trevor were too fond of the idea. It seemed like boys had a harder time letting go of a grudge than girls.
That's not to say that Gaby and Sara were best friends now. Gaby was still mad at Saramin for cornering her outside of the library and throwing rocks at her, but she then commented that she did much worse things to them whenever they had combat training together.
"Wait, are you serious...?" Kurt mumbled.
"Dude, you have no idea how many times she sent us to the infirmary..." Wesley responded.
Kurt began to wonder just how far a prank or a duel between dragons could go before it could be considered too far. Now that he thought about it, they were doing some pretty crazy things in the arena just now, and the teacher didn't try to stop them a single time.
He was reminded of an old conversation he had with Dorothy about why the security in his mansion was so bad and how his father wasn't doing anything about it.
<Maybe he just wants you to fight...> was her response back then.
'Do dragons just have no common sense when it comes to violence?' Kurt wondered.
Even the rest of the kids. Kurt just spouted a bunch of insults towards them before the fight, but after watching the chaos of the battle, they just got so sucked in that they seemed to have forgotten all about it.
It wasn't just that dragons liked fighting, it seemed like they were born to fight.
"That's scary..." Kurt whispered after losing himself in his own thoughts.
"What? Me?" Gaby asked while leaning over and glancing at him.
"Ah! No... I was just thinking about something else..."
"What's that? So you don't find me scary?" she commented while forming a devilish smile, "Does this mean you wanna keep being my combat partner?"
"Eh... No way... Our talents are a bad match for each other since you can use electricity to bypass my healing... You're probably the only one who I have no chance against..."
"Is that so... I kinda feel like we are a good match for each other though... Maybe you should keep trying! You might get lucky next time!"
Kurt stared blankly at her, "You just wanna beat me up again, don't you?"
She didn't say anything and instead just giggled with a wide grin.
Saramin, Wesley, Ron, and Trevor kept staring at the two while feeling like a good mood was starting to take place, all shocked at seeing the unusual sight of Gaby looking happy.
"So... Are you two, like... A thing now?" Sara wondered.
"A thing?" Kurt repeated, unsure of what she meant.
"You did confess to her a while ago..." Wesely pointed out.
"I... What?"
"And you do keep following her around everywhere and trying to get on her good side..." Trevor also pointed out.
"Wait, hold on..."
"And even now, you just said she was the only one you have no chance against..." Ron added.
"Okay, that one is being completely taken out of context and you know it..."
The boys kept going on teasing Kurt about how much he looked like a lovesick dork because of his actions while Gaby and Sara just watched it and laughed at his reactions.
Looking from outside, these six did not seem like a group of young dragons that was trying to murder each other in a combat lesson not too long ago.
They just looked like kids being kids.
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A few more duels took place after the major battle between Sara and Kurt's groups.
Many of the kids seemed to have gotten excited over the idea of learning how to fight as teams and mixing up their talents with each other.
Some even asked if they could get one of the six to be in their teams next time, basically creating a new competitive mode for the combat class called team battle.
It seemed that Saramin's idea had been a huge hit as many dragon kids that would usually have powers that were not so great on their own turned out to be incredibly useful when combined with the right partners.
The teacher shivered at the idea when thinking about how much destruction these children could accomplish while working together and how much that would come out from their paychecks, basically explaining why no one ever tried doing something like this before.
Once the day was finally over and they all were allowed to go home, Kurt reunited with his new friends at the school's gates in order to properly bid them farewell until the next day.
"Where's Wesley and Ron?" Kurt wondered seeing as only Saramin had shown up from her group.
"They're not really fond of hanging out with groups. They mostly just show up when there is fighting involved..." Sara explained.
"Ah... Lovely..." Kurt mumbled, "So, anyway... Does this mean we are all cool now?"
"Yeap! All good!" Sara stated while glancing quickly at Gaby, who just nodded in response.
"Of all the kids that picked at me, Sara is the one with probably the best reason to do it considering how many times I totally trashed her in combat class..." Gaby bluntly explained.
"You had to put it this way...?" Sara glared.
"Yes. Yes, I did. It was extremely crucial that I made that very clear!"
"Ugh... You..."
Kurt didn't really seem to get it but it looked like the two girls were on good terms.
Saramin finally decided to part ways with them, "Well, this was fun, guys! Let's play together again some other time! Oh, and Kurt!"
"Yes?"
"Do you still not know who I am?"
"Eh...? Should I...?"
Saramin sighed, "Ah... Never mind then... I'll see you soon!"
Kurt just stared as she left them while wondering what she meant.
[Any clue on what that was all about...?] he whispered to Dory.
'I wonder...' the owl replied, and as usual, it was the kind of reply where Kurt couldn't tell if she didn't know or if she did know and just didn't want to say.
"Well... I guess it's time for me to go as well. See you tomorrow, guys!" Trevor said before walking away.
The prince began to wonder if he should try putting some effort into getting closer to Trevor. He wasn't sure yet if he could trust his intentions, but he overall felt he wasn't a bad guy and wish they could become friends for real instead of relying on this small act he was putting on.
Only Kurt, Dorothy, and Gaby were left as all the other students and teachers had already gone home by this point.
"Man... These were some really exhausting couple of days..." Kurt groaned while stretching his arms and shoulders and thinking about how many times he got beaten up, attacked, depressed, or concerned in the last forty-eight hours, "This is gonna be a long school year..."
"Hey..." gaby mumbled at him.
"Yes?"
Now that he stopped to think about it, what kind of terms was he in with Gaby? Were they friends? Classmates? Enemies? Rivals? Did she still hold a grudge against him? She managed to forgive Sara, but did she forgave him as well?
"Why did you keep following me around these last two days?" she asked while staring directly into his eyes. Her hair was still a mess from all the jumping and running she did a while ago, but Kurt felt it kind of suited her for some reason.
"Ah... That..." he averted his eyes out of embarrassment, "I just kinda jumped into conclusions and assumed things without properly thinking first... I'm sorry about that. I made you uncomfortable, right?"
"You did..." she brutally agreed, "You have no idea how much of a pain you have been to me..."
"Yeah..." he glanced at Dorothy on his shoulder, "So I've been told..."
"Like seriously... If a girl asks you to back off, You. Should. Back. Off!"
He wanted to comment that most girls can't shoot lightning from their hands but he still felt her point was valid, "I know... I know... It's just..."
"I mean... What if other guys start following your example? What if they just start thinking 'Oh! Stalking seems kinda fun! Maybe I should do it too!' Can you imagine how creepy you looked like?"
"Sorry... Sorry..." Kurt had no words to defend himself.
Just like Dorothy said, there is nothing more dangerous than someone who doesn't think they're doing nothing wrong, and his actions were indeed very wrong.
"I just thought you needed help..." he finally explained, "And I always wanted to know what is like to help someone... So I just assumed... Well... Sorry... It was just me being selfish at the end of the day... I won't do it again, promise!"
Gaby continued to stare at him in silence for a few more moments, which this time caused him to feel a little uncomfortable instead.
He still looked the same as before in her eyes. A big moron that doesn't know how to think, but also someone who seems very honest and with good intentions.
And also what really mattered for her the most, he was taking the time to properly listen and trying to be better instead of being stuck with resentment like so many others before.
Gaby could tell that this was a boy that was trying to be better.
Someone able to listen, to observe, to learn, someone bright, that could appreciate her for who she was.
"Hey..." Gaby mumbled again.
"What now...?" he replied while still feeling nervous from all her constant staring.
"You wanna be in a relationship with me? As in... Instead of being my combat partner... You could be a romantic one?"
Kurt's brain suddenly froze upon hearing that. His entire body flinched and his face began to burn with an intense red color.
"What...?? A romantic partner... M- Me??"
"Yeah..."
Kurt couldn't help but think this was such a clunky way of asking someone out.
"That... That kinda came out of nowhere..."
Gaby gave a step closer, "You said earlier that you liked me, right?"
"Well... Yeah... But I don't know if I like you in a romantic way..."
"That's the point of becoming partners, moron..." she explained while flicking his head, "Let's get to know each other better and see if it works out!"
"Ah... Ah..."
"Unless you don't want to? If you just don't find me attractive, that's okay. I'm not someone who would get her pride hurt by something like that..."
"No, no... I... I think you're pretty... I do... It's just..."
"It's just?"
"I wasn't expecting to hear something like this when I woke up today... It's so sudden..."
"Well... It's just..." Gaby paused for a moment while thinking about Saramin mentioning about seeing him later, "I feel like you are one of those easy guys that would go out with the first girl that approached you... So I kinda want to prevent that before I regret it..."
Kurt glared at her, "First of all... 'Easy guy?' Ouch!?"
'She's not wrong though...' Dorothy commented.
[Shut up...] he groaned, "Second, wouldn't I still be an easy guy if I said yes to you right now?"
"It's fine as long as it is me..."
"That sounds a little selfish..."
"I don't mind being selfish as long as the other person is okay with it..." she shrugged, "Are you okay with it?"
Kurt had no idea how to respond. All he wanted until now was to become Gaby's friend, but he never imagined that she would ask him to be his boyfriend. He couldn't believe how calm she was while saying all that.
Or so he assumed, but glancing at her fist, he could see a little bit of trembling as if she was holding herself.
She wasn't just saying that for the heck of it, she was honestly putting a lot of effort into her offer and readying herself for whatever answer he decided to give.
"Sounds like a waste... I'm... I'm not a really good guy... I'm pretty dumb and reckless... And I tend to make decisions without thinking too much about it... A lot of the problems I gave you were due to how thoughtless I was..."
"True... But you didn't just run away. You made a mess but you still did what you could to fix it. And when it mattered the most, you tried to be better and not just repeat the same mistakes. Besides..." she turned her gaze away, "I haven't been exactly the perfect girl either... I also could have tried to approach things in a different way... But I chose not to because I always assumed nothing would ever change..."
Gaby then lifted her head and smiled at him.
"But it did, didn't it?" she giggled, "Today was the first day I ever exited the school gates without people glaring at me! It was the first time people talked to me and didn't just went on about my power... They saw me in the arena... The real me! All because you showed me how fun it is to... To be me!"
Kurt was speechless. He honestly didn't think he had done that much, as if she was seeing something about him that wasn't there. Or maybe, she was seeing something about him he didn't know it was there.
'It's easy to think that nobody understands you better than you yourself...' Dorothy commented, 'But very often, you are the last person to know who you really are and what you're truly like!
It seems this girl can show you a side of you you weren't even aware existed, and you can show her a side of her she also wasn't aware she had!'
Kurt was still not sure if they were fit for each other, "You sure you're okay with someone like me?"
Gaby just tilted her head and smirked at him, "Would YOU be okay with someone like me?"
"I think so..."
"Same here!"
"Okay..."
"Okay!"
'Ah... So romantic... Sniff, sniff... Nothing screams 'love' more than two people talking as if they were starting a business contract!' Dorothy joked.
The boy couldn't even deny it. Kurt felt less like he was starting a relationship with a girl and more like they were entering some sort of science project experiment to see where things would go from there.
"So... What does this mean, exactly...?"
"Basically, you can't look at other girls and I won't look at other boys. If you do... Well... Let's just say the day you betray me is the day we learn how powerful your healing talent really is!"
A cold shiver went down his spine as she said that while releasing a small spark of energy from her lenses.
"I'll... I'll keep that in mind..."
"Good!" Gaby laughed before turning around and finally walking her way home as well, "See you tomorrow, Kurt!"
This was the first time Gaby ever called him by his name.
The red-haired boy just stared as her figured continued to shrink in the distance before falling on his butt and wondering how he managed to reach this point.
"I'm so tired..."
Dorothy then leaped out of his head and began to stare at him with a deep intensive look as if she was studying him.
"What...?"
The bird tilted her head and began to giggle as well, 'You did well!'
"I have no idea of what I even did... I'm pretty sure I was just reacting to things happening around me..."
'Maybe... But you still reacted properly!'
Kurt began to look back on his actions. Giving up his seat, following the bullies to a warehouse, snapping at Gaby, picking a fight with her, realizing his mistake, learning about Dorothy's past, turning against the whole class, accepting a challenge from Saramin, placing his trust in Trevor, trying to make peace with Gaby, and now this.
All these things that he never got to experience in his old life due to never trying to be more than what he already was.
For the first time ever, he was taking risks, and learning all the things that would come with it, the good and the bad.
"Interacting with people... Is hard..."
'But did you had fun?'
Kurt dropped on the ground and stared at the sky with a big smile on his face, "More than ever before! I'm so glad I came here after all!"
Dorothy hesitated for a moment before whispering again, 'I'm glad, my boy!'
"Ready to go home?" he asked while standing back up again.
'Sure, but... What about her?' Dorothy asked while glancing over his shoulder.
"Her....?"
Kurt turned around to see what she was looking at when a black hand suddenly appeared out of nowhere and shoved his face against the ground.
"Ouch!! What the- Argh!!" he gasped with horror as a massive blade was shoved right in front of his eyes, reflecting his horrified face back at him.
Kurt glared at the one pushing him down and finally recognized the figure of the culprit.
"You!"
"Long time no see..."
The black knight that kidnapped him when he was a three-years-old was back.
Weekly Power Status
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