The next morning, Tyler arrived at Central Academy earlier than usual.
The school grounds were already beginning to fill despite the first bell still being some time away. Students moved through the corridors in loose groups, their voices blending into the familiar morning noise. Some were arguing over homework, others were comparing answers for the upcoming exams, while several had already started discussing the party planned for after their final exams.
Tyler moved through the crowd with his bag hanging loosely from one shoulder, only half listening to the conversations around him.
His thoughts kept returning to the previous evening.
The boy at the playground.
Oliver.
Knowing his name somehow made the encounter more disturbing rather than less. Oliver wasn't a stranger Tyler had happened to find sitting alone in the park. He had been in Tyler's class for years. Tyler had seen him in hallways, classrooms, and during breaks. He had passed him often enough that recognizing his face should have been effortless.
Yet he couldn't remember ever seeing Oliver like that.
The bruises had not looked accidental.
Tyler reached Class 1-A and pushed open the door.
He stopped almost immediately.
Oliver was already sitting at his desk.
For a moment, Tyler simply watched him.
Oliver's clothes were clean now, and his hair had been combed, but the injuries from the previous evening were still visible. A small patch covered the bruising on one side of his face, while another mark remained near his cheek. His movements were slow as he quietly arranged the books on his desk.
Tyler felt a strange heaviness settle in his chest.
So it really was him.
Oliver noticed Tyler standing near the door.
Their eyes met.
Oliver looked away almost immediately.
Tyler didn't follow him with his eyes. Instead, he let his attention move across the classroom.
Danny was already there.
So was Miles.
Neither of them seemed interested in Oliver.
That was unusual.
Normally, Danny couldn't resist making some kind of comment whenever Oliver became involved in anything remotely interesting. Even a minor embarrassment was enough to bring a grin to Danny's face.
This morning, however, Danny was already talking with his friends at his desk, flipping through a notebook as though nothing unusual had happened.
Miles sat beside him.
He was quiet too.
Tyler's eyes narrowed slightly.
Could they have done something to Oliver?
The possibility came naturally, but Tyler dismissed it almost as quickly as it appeared. If Danny had been responsible for those injuries, Tyler couldn't imagine him keeping quiet about it. Danny wasn't particularly good at hiding his satisfaction when he managed to embarrass someone.
And Miles was harder to judge.
Tyler could always find out.
One thought.
One glance.
That was all it would take.
But he deliberately resisted the impulse.
Not yet.
He wanted to see what happened without reaching into anyone's mind.
Tyler moved toward his seat on the other side of the classroom.
Near the windows, Clara was talking with Sofia while Eris stood beside them. The three girls were already discussing the upcoming party, and Clara had a small notebook open in her hands.
"We still need to decide what we're actually going to do," Clara said, tapping her pen against the page. "If we're going to have everyone there, we can't just sit around eating the entire time."
Sofia looked over her shoulder at the notebook.
"What's wrong with eating?"
"Nothing," Clara replied with a laugh. "But if that's the only thing we do, those boys will probably finish half the food before anyone else gets a chance."
Eris folded her arms.
"That's not even an exaggeration."
Sofia laughed.
"Then we should plan some activities."
"Exactly." Clara turned the notebook toward them. "Games, maybe. Something everyone can participate in."
"Games are fine," Eris said, "as long as you don't let Noah choose them. He'll turn everything into a competition."
Sofia smiled.
"Isn't that what makes it fun?"
"Not when Noah starts screaming after he loses."
Clara laughed.
"He does do that."
"He absolutely does."
Tyler was almost past them when Clara looked up.
Their eyes met.
The conversation stopped.
It lasted only a second, but Tyler felt the awkwardness immediately.
Clara lowered her eyes and pretended to examine the notebook.
Tyler continued toward his desk without saying anything.
Here we go again.
He set his bag down and pulled out his chair.
Behind him, Eris glanced at Clara and then at Tyler, clearly noticing the exchange but choosing not to comment.
Tyler sat down and stared toward the front of the classroom.
The awkwardness with Clara had been bothering him since yesterday.
He had tried ignoring it.
That hadn't worked.
He had tried acting as though everything was completely normal, which somehow made every interaction feel even less normal.
He had even considered simply talking to her and getting the whole thing over with.
That was probably the sensible solution.
Unfortunately, every time he imagined actually doing it, his mind supplied another reason to wait.
Maybe later.
Maybe when there weren't so many people around.
Maybe when Clara wasn't busy.
Maybe when he knew exactly what to say.
Tyler leaned back in his chair.
How am I supposed to fix this?
Then another possibility occurred to him.
It would be ridiculously easy.
He could change it.
One small adjustment to everyone's thoughts, and the entire situation would disappear. He could remove the awkwardness from Clara's mind, make her forget why she felt uncomfortable around him, and even adjust his own reaction so he would stop feeling awkward about it.
Seconds.
That was all it would take.
Tyler stared down at his desk.
Then his expression hardened.
No.
Absolutely not.
That wasn't a solution.
It was a shortcut.
He had promised himself that his abilities wouldn't become a way to avoid every uncomfortable situation simply because using them was easier than dealing with the consequences himself.
Especially not with people he cared about.
If he couldn't handle an awkward conversation without manipulating someone's mind, then what exactly was the point of having friends?
Tyler exhaled slowly.
So what am I supposed to do?
"Earth to Tyler."
Tyler looked to his right.
Eris had already taken her seat beside him and was leaning slightly toward him with an amused expression.
"Are you listening?"
Tyler looked at her.
"Do I look like I'm listening?"
"Not particularly." She studied his face for a moment. "You look like you're trying to solve a problem that you've somehow managed to make much more complicated than it needs to be."
Tyler gave her a tired look.
"You already know."
"I know what?"
He didn't answer.
Instead, his eyes drifted toward Clara.
Eris followed his gaze.
The realization appeared on her face almost immediately.
"Oh."
Tyler lowered his voice.
"Things are awkward."
"I noticed."
Tyler rested his elbow on the desk.
"What should I do?"
Eris considered him for a moment before answering.
"Confront it."
Tyler stared at her.
"That's it?"
"That's it."
"You make it sound easy."
"I didn't say it was easy."
She leaned back in her chair.
"But avoiding it clearly isn't working either."
Tyler opened his mouth, then stopped.
There wasn't much he could argue with.
Eris gave him a knowing look.
"You don't have to turn it into some huge conversation. Just talk to her normally. The more you avoid each other, the stranger it becomes."
Tyler looked toward Clara again.
"That simple?"
"Usually."
"Usually?"
Eris shrugged.
"People are complicated."
Tyler gave a quiet laugh.
"That's reassuring."
Before Eris could respond, another voice drifted over from nearby.
"Just kiss her."
Tyler froze.
Eris froze.
For a moment neither of them moved.
Then they slowly turned toward Luna.
She was sitting nearby with a book open in front of her, apparently far more interested in the pages than the conversation happening around her.
Tyler stared at her.
"What did you say?"
Luna looked up.
"What?"
"You just said something about kissing her."
Luna blinked.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"Oh."
She looked down at the book.
"Did I say that out loud?"
Eris covered her forehead with one hand.
"Unfortunately."
Luna gave them an apologetic smile.
"Sorry. I was reading."
Tyler looked at the cover.
"What does your book have to do with Clara?"
"Nothing."
Luna turned a page.
"The protagonist is dealing with an awkward situation involving the girl he likes."
Eris immediately shook her head.
"Please don't."
Luna looked at her in confusion.
"What?"
"Just don't use whatever you're reading as relationship advice."
"I wasn't."
"You literally just said 'just kiss her'."
Luna paused.
"I suppose I did. I was talking to myself."
Tyler couldn't help laughing.
Luna closed the book slightly.
"I started it last night, but I couldn't finish it."
"Why not?" Eris asked.
"My mom took it away."
Luna's expression became genuinely offended at the memory.
"I couldn't sleep because I kept wondering how they were going to solve the problem."
Eris stared at her.
"You're serious."
"Of course I'm serious."
Tyler, despite himself, became curious.
He tried to sound casual.
"So how did they solve it?"
Eris slowly turned toward him.
Tyler ignored her.
Luna smiled.
"Why do you want to know?"
"No reason."
"You sound interested."
"I'm just curious."
Luna narrowed her eyes playfully.
"Are you secretly interested in romance stories?"
Tyler immediately shook his head.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because most of them are bullshit."
Eris raised an eyebrow.
Tyler continued before either of them could interrupt.
"They make people fall into their own fantasies. Then they start comparing real life to some fictional story and expecting everything to happen the same way. They wait for the perfect moment, the perfect confession, the perfect person..."
He paused, his expression becoming more serious.
"And when reality doesn't work like that, they don't know what to do."
Luna stared at him for a moment.
Then a smile slowly spread across her face.
"Oh my."
Tyler frowned.
"What?"
"You really love fiction."
"That's not what I said."
"You sounded like you read dozens of those fiction stories."
"No, I didn't."
Luna teased him, "You do, you really like romance stories."
Tyler rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
Eris laughed quietly.
Luna turned toward another student.
"Right, Chris?"
There was no response.
Luna waited.
Then she glanced toward Chris's desk.
Chris was sitting with his head lowered, writing something in his notebook. His pen moved steadily across the page, but he hadn't appeared to hear her.
Eris frowned.
"Chris?"
Still nothing.
Tyler leaned forward slightly.
"Hey, Chris. Everything okay?"
Chris's pen stopped.
For a moment, he didn't turn around.
Then he finally looked back.
"Nothing."
The answer was so brief that it immediately stood out.
Before Tyler could ask another question, Chris turned back to his notebook and continued writing.
Luna blinked.
"Well..."
She looked toward Eris.
"That's weird."
Eris nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
Tyler continued watching Chris.
Something was wrong.
And it wasn't only Chris.
The realization had been forming in Tyler's mind since he walked into the classroom.
Chris was acting strangely and as more students entered the classroom, Tyler noticed other small changes that would have been easy to overlook if he weren't paying attention.
Noah arrived a few minutes later, but instead of immediately filling the room with his usual noise, he quietly put his bag down and sat at his desk.
Kai barely spoke.
Amaya seemed distracted, occasionally glancing toward Oliver before quickly looking away.
Tyler noticed the pattern.
Oliver kept his head down, focusing on his desk as though he could make himself invisible simply by refusing to look up.
Tyler's attention returned to him.
The bruises were still visible.
And now Tyler was certain that yesterday hadn't been some random incident.
Something had happened.
Something involving Oliver.
And several people in this classroom seemed to know exactly what it was.
Tyler could find out in seconds.
The temptation returned.
He could look at Danny.
Then Miles.
Then Chris.
No effort.
No confrontation.
No awkward questions.
The answer would simply appear.
But Tyler deliberately looked away.
He wasn't going to do it.
Not unless he had a reason beyond curiosity.
If one of his friends wanted to tell him, they could tell him themselves.
The morning continued around him.
More students entered. A moment later, the classroom door opened and the teacher walked in.
Eris poked Luna from behind and whispered, "Teacher has come, hide the book or she will take it."
Luna immediately put her book in her bag and said, "I'm gonna continue in lunch."
Eris glanced at her and asked, "Are you really gonna complete it in a day?"
Luna nodded slightly. "I want to know what will they do."
Chairs scraped across the floor as everyone settled into their seats. Books opened. Conversations rose and fell around the classroom. Someone near the windows laughed loudly enough to draw a complaint from another student, while outside, the distant sound of footsteps and announcements drifted through the corridor.
Tyler rested his chin against one hand and stared toward the front of the classroom.
There was clearly a secret sitting somewhere in the room.
He simply didn't know what it was yet. For once, his greatest advantage wasn't something he wanted to use.
If his friends were keeping something from him, he would let them keep it. Because secrets had a way of surfacing eventually and Tyler wanted to hear the truth from them directly.