Luther:

  “?”

  Acher:

  “??”

  Aaron:

  “???”

  The brown-haired boy stumbled over the leg of a desk and almost fell, causing the rest of the class to burst out laughing.

  “What are you zoning out for, man? Hahahaha!”

  “Welcome backkk!”

  “Oh, hey, feeling better? Congrats!”

  “You doing okay, Aaron?”

  “Man, you should’ve stayed home a few more days if you’re still not fully recovered.”

  Aaron forced out a smile and replied:

  “I’m fine, I’m fine. Just a little out of it, that’s all. Oh right, Daniel, see you at the field later!”

  With that, he strode straight to the back of the room and sat down at the desk next to Luther. Acher grumbled under his breath:

  “Luther, why didn’t you tell me this brat also goes to this school?”

  “Don’t remember him.”

  Aaron:

  “…”

  He sat there without saying anything and kept sneaking glances sideways. The other students started to notice something was off.

  “What’s up with you? Why do you keep glancing at Luther?” a blonde boy whispered.

  “Luther? You know him?” Aaron asked back, puzzled.

  “Of course I know him, what kind of question is that? He’s been with us more than a year and has never not had the highest grades.”

  Strange memories began to surface and flowed into Aaron’s mind. He remembered a quiet, withdrawn boy who always ranked at the top of the classes and was supposedly a favorite among the teachers.

  “No … no … that’s not right,” Aaron muttered, frowning.

  Quiet and withdrawn? Sure. High grades? Also true. But being the teachers’ favorite? That was bullshit. Somehow, he just knew those memories had been altered.

  “This power is terrifying,” he whispered.

  “What power?” the blonde boy asked in confusion.

  “Oh, nothing. I was just mumbling nonsense.” Aaron brushed it off and went right back to his not-so-subtle glancing mission.

  He looks just like a normal human. Maybe he’s undercover? But he’s been at Lincoln for more than a year … What if he is a real student? His thoughts spiraled off in every direction, and he didn’t even realize when the “sneaking glances” turned into a full-on stare.

  The classmates began to whisper among themselves again.

  “Why is Aaron looking at Luther like that?”

  “Did they get into a fight or something? Doesn’t seem like it though.”

  Acher cursed:

  “I knew this brat was going to be a problem. You should’ve just swallowed him whole that night.”

  The chatter in the room grew louder and louder.

  Luther couldn’t pretend not to notice anymore; he turned his head over and stared at Aaron straight in his eyes, hoping he’d stop whatever the hell he was doing.

  That was when Aaron got a proper look at him from the front.

  His radiant eyes pierced through the subtle illusion of the cloak of ambiguity and saw … messy hair that looked like it had been chewed up by a dog, without any sense of style whatsoever. And yet, that striking face still shone through.

  How do you even describe seeing the true Luther for the first time?

  It was like looking up at a star just before dawn, gorgeous, distant, almost unreal.

  And at the same time, it was like standing at the edge of the Abyss and peering into silent darkness, bone-chilling yet dangerously mesmerizing.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  Aaron felt his Bright Heart skip a beat.

  Damn, he’s good-looking, almost on my level. Just needs a new haircut and it’d be perfect.

  Luther frowned as the brown-haired boy just sat still, stunned by his “threatening glare”, but his stare became even more intense. He gave his wings a little shake, and the raven-black feathers rippled into the full cloak of ambiguity, dampening the noise in the room.

  Aaron’s eyes lit up in awe.

  Ohh, so his wings are also his cloak. That’s so cool!

  Even so, throughout the entire physics class, Luther still had to endure those sideways glances from the desk beside him, and it got so unbearable that he had to pull his hoodie up over his head, covering as much of his face as possible.

  Luther let out a breath of relief when Ms. Melissa announced the end of the lecture. He stood up within seconds and walked out, heading toward Mr. Bryce’s chemistry class.

  But his peace didn’t last even five minutes; Aaron plopped into the seat right next to him.

  “Hello!” The brown-haired boy waved and flashed a big grin.

  Luther:

  “???”

  Acher snapped:

  “Are you stalking us or what?”

  “Noooo I’m not! I swear this is just a coincidence! My second period is chemistry too,” Aaron replied.

  Luther sighed. What the hell is happening right now?

  By lunchtime, the brown-haired boy was still following him around, undeterred even though Luther had been pretending he didn’t exist the whole time.

  He and Acher walked into the cafeteria and settled at a small table by the window.

  Today’s menu featured rosemary lemon chicken paninis, lemon-cilantro rice, and Caesar salad. Drink options included Milk, Iced peach tea, and Lemonade. And the desert is a kiwi-strawberry fruit cup.

  Lincoln High was considered one of the top private schools in all of New York, and the lunches served here were always top-tier in both quality and variety.

  Fortunately for Luther, David had used his connections to arrange all the necessary enrollment paperwork in advance and had even paid for his full tuition until the end of high school since Luther was just a fourth grader. Perhaps back then, the old man had already sensed that his time was running out.

  Acher stood beside the table while Luther tore small pieces of rosemary chicken and placed them into a small plastic container meant for him. The raven devoured each bite in one peck, then impatiently tapped the edge of the box with his beak.

  “Another one, hurry!”

  Luther kept feeding him one piece at a time like that. He had come up with this method to stop Acher from making a mess in public.

  Just as the raven swallowed another small chunk of bread and was about to demand more, a food tray landed on the table with a soft thud, causing both of them to turn their heads in unison.

  “Mind if I sit here?” Aaron asked with a bright smile, though his butt was already planted on the seat before either of them could answer.

  One of his strengths, if it could be called that, was his confidence and ease in approaching new people. To put it more bluntly: he was kind of shameless.

  Luther gave Aaron a quick glance, then turned his attention back to feeding Acher.

  Aaron took in a deep breath. After two whole class periods, he had at last managed to sort out the whirlwind of thoughts in his mind and had decided to initiate a conversation. He dropped his usual playful tone and extended his right hand with a sincere expression.

  “Nice to meet you. I’m Aaron Attenborough.”

  Luther looked at the outstretched hand, and Aaron kept holding the pose.

  Was he … asking for a handshake?

  Figuring he was supposed to, Luther grasped Aaron’s hand for a second before letting go.

  The coldness of that touch made Aaron raise an eyebrow. And, at the same time, he sensed the faint presence of a healing wound on Luther’s palm.

  That was the injury I saw that night ... what happened?

  “I want to thank you for your help,” he said, voice calm.

  Luther kept eating, head lowered. Social interaction had never been his strong suit.

  “You’d better not go telling anyone what happened that night, or don’t blame us for being cruel,” Acher warned with a sharp look.

  “I promised already, didn’t I? You can trust me,” Aaron replied, eyes filled with conviction. “I just wonder how to repay you.”

  “No need. The Flow paid,” Luther finally spoke his first words since they met.

  “Luther, can I call you that? I’m really, truly grateful,” Aaron said, his voice trembling a little bit. “You can't imagine what it felt like waiting for death at the hands of that monster for five whole days.”

  “I had already lost all hope by then. Every single second felt like torture until you came and pulled me out. So, if you ever need anything, seriously, anything, just tell me, alright? I’ll do my best to help. And I’ll try to be a good friend, someone you can count on. I swear it on the Great Flow.”

  His tone was steady and sincere. Luther looked up then quickly averted his gaze back to the food tray.

  He’s kind of a shy reaper, huh? He’s just like one of those hamsters Mom used to raise, Aaron thought.

  He began opening up his packed lunchbox.

  Inside were three slices of chargrilled salmon fillet seasoned with herbs, served alongside roasted sweet potatoes drizzled with smoked aioli. In addition, there is also a steaming portion of French onion soup sat next to a slice of matcha green tea cheesecake, neatly packed on one side.

  Michael and Helen had insisted he bring a homemade meal to school, saying he needed to eat well while he was still recovering. They had fussed over the menu themselves.

  When Acher caught sight of Aaron’s meal and looked back at his own plate of chicken in the plastic sauce container, he lost his appetite all of a sudden.

  “You see how people are supposed to eat?” he grumbled.

  Aaron overheard and chuckled, then said in a cheerful tone:

  “This is charcoal-grilled Chinook salmon with herb crust, wrapped in foil right after cooking to keep the juices in. It’s still warm, see?”

  He took the biggest slice of salmon and placed it on Luther’s tray, along with a few chunks of sweet potato and half of the cheesecake.

  Seeing the anticipation in Aaron’s eyes and the drool dripping from Acher’s beak at the smell of the salmon, Luther let out a soft sigh and began cutting the salmon into small pieces for the raven to eat.

  “This kid’s got a sharp head,” Acher remarked.

  Aaron urged:

  “You should try it too.”

  Luther put a bite into his mouth.

  “Tastes good, doesn’t it? I’ll bring something different tomorrow,” Aaron said with a wide grin.

  “No need,” Luther said.

  Aaron shrugged.

  I’ll bring food for him anyway. As long as this starving raven is around, he won’t be able to say no, heh heh heh.

  “So … you’re a living reaper, right?” he asked, his eyes gleaming with interest as he stared at the black feather pattern on Luther’s hoodie. “And that’s the Cloak of Ambiguity from the old stories, isn’t it? I saw you use it in class, it’s so cool!”

  Luther tensed a little, and Acher squinted at Aaron.

  “How do you know that?” the raven asked.