I think, you're bleeding weirdo

Meanwhile back home, cherry blossoms scattered across tall twisted high-tech buildings with vegetation coating the glass windows. Diverse groups of people passed by colorful billboards, adorning the scene like a basket of blooming flowers.

RING! The school bells shook almost every locker. “Welcome to Blossom High School for today's announcements.” Kel and some friends walked to the school's entrance. "Hey, Kel, you wanna go grab something after school today?"

"I'll pass on that, I got kickboxing  later on.”

"Whooo, my knight in shining armor, protect me.”

"Oh, shut up, weirdo," Kel laughed.

As they approached Blossom High, tire smoke slowly filled their lungs. Facing the girls, they didn't notice the car coming towards them, but at the last second, Kel saw it. Strong winds broke out, pushing the car away from its route.

"Crashing into a telephone pole, some people rushed over to help whoever was inside. "Hey, man, what the hell happened? Are you alright, dude?" one concerned bystander asked.

"I don't know, my car lost control. I promise…I couldn't do anything," the driver replied.

"Are you alright?"

"I think so," he mumbled in pain.

After a moment the crowd started to lose interest. "Let's hurry inside,” another passerby commented as they all continued on their way. Meanwhile, Kel noticed someone standing alone, covering his mouth near the scene of the accident. She squinted at the dark-skinned boy and saw blood on his lips.

"Hey, Kel, don’t fall behind,” her friend called out, taking her out of her thoughts.

"I know, I’m coming," Kel replied, tearing her eyes away from the boy and hurrying to catch up.

Back in the classroom, the classroom announcements began. The teacher addressed the class, "Good morning, class. Today we have a new student joining us. Please introduce yourself to your classmates."

The male student walked in facing the class. "Hey, I'm Apollo Luca. Nice to meet you all," he said. Apollo stood at five-ten, seventeen years old, with dreads that looked like the winter's sugary snow, hanging before his blue eyes and against his skin.

The class fell into a brief silence, but soon enough, many of the girls became head over heels for Apollo. They all eagerly vied for his attention, inviting him to sit with them.

"No, Apollo came over to me," another girl commands.

"You don't wanna sit by those loud girls. Come hang with us, we’ll show you around the school,” suggested some male classmates.

"Find wherever you wanna sit, Apollo,” told the teacher.

“I'll just find wherever I wanna sit,” said Apollo, turning to Kel.

Kel taps on her head, looking at her desk.That's the guy I saw this morning. What a coincidence. I wonder if he saw everything as well," Kel's thoughts are racing again.

Walking towards a desk, he chose one by Kel. As he settled in, she noticed blood on his pants. Concerned, she leaned over and whispered, "Hey, are you okay? You’ve got blood on your pants."

"Oh, that's nothing, only a little cut," Apollo denied. A small drop of blood hit the ground. Time reversed the droplet, fading back to Apollo's leg. What the hell? Maybe, I’m seeing things, right?

"Class, if you would open up your textbooks," the teacher said, and the class settled into their studies. Kel diligently wrote on her paper, trying to focus on the task at hand. Meanwhile, Apollo glanced over, tilting his head curiously at Kel. "Why is this weirdo sitting by me? Can’t the time go any faster?" he thought to himself.

The bell finally rang, signaling the end of the class. "Alright, class, don't forget tonight's assessments. Have it finished by tomorrow," the teacher reminded them as they packed up.

During lunch break, Kel headed up to the rooftop to practice her kicks. "God damn, this is getting hard. Still got like forty more to go," she muttered to herself, determined to improve her skills.

The door to the roof opened. It was Apollo, closing the distance. "Hey, buddy, are you following me around?"

“What? I can't eat while looking at a nice view?"

"Thank you, but I kinda have my eyes on…Nevermind," Kel replied, blushing slightly.

"No, not you. I'm talking about this crazy looking cherry tree.” Apollo clarified seeing her blush. He unwrapped a turkey sandwich, adding some mustard. "Oh um, yeah, you're right, it's amazing." She recovered quickly.

Her and Apollo's eyes don’t steer off the giant blossoms. "No one knows why it's so giant. Nothing can even cut our great tree down. Some say aliens planted that tree here. It's so abnormal, but I doubt that happened."

Apollo covered his mouth, and Kel noticed something unusual. Sharp teeth? No, those were fangs. "When did his teeth get so sharp? Something is odd with this kid," she thought to herself.

"I've been following you ever since the accident this morning," Apollo started.

"Don't think of doing anything funny, you weirdo," Kel retorted, a bit unnerved.

Apollo laughed. "Wow, you remind me of my brother."

"Then how about you go find your brother and leave me alone?" Kel snapped back, feeling uneasy.

Apollo's expression remained the same. "Well, that'll be impossible because he's dead."

The atmosphere grew heavy with silence, both of them lost in their thoughts. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come off like that," Apollo finally said, showing a hint of vulnerability.

As if to prove a point, Apollo raised his hand to his mouth and deliberately ripped the flesh off between his thumb and index finger, drawing blood. "What the hell are you doing, Apollo? Come on, I'll take you to the nurse's office," Kel said, concerned.

"I know you saw my blood drop earlier. That's because I let you see it, now observe," Apollo said, his voice taking on a serious tone. As the blood hit the ground, it began to expand, forming a blood portal at his feet. Tiny sparks of red and blue flew through the air, forming a blue bow with red outlines that floated into Apollo's hand. Arrows materialized as he pulled back the bowstring.

"Are you scared, Kel? Are you scared of me?" Apollo asked, looking her in the eyes.

Kel observed the display, then looked back at Apollo, surprisingly unfazed. "Well, actually, I'm not scared."

"No?" He smirked.

"No, I was thinking about your brother. I don’t have any siblings, but I know two people who would kill for each other."

"You know what's funny, the asshole who killed my brother is still alive, but no one cares about that?" Apollo pointed the bow towards the colossal cherry tree. "You know I can easily chop this fucking tree in two with less than five shots!”

Kel walked over and stood before Apollo’s bow. "And why would you wanna do that?" she asked, trying to understand his frustration. Pointing the bow directly at Kel's body, Apollo sparked a cool sensation in her. The tension between them was palpable.

Apollo raised one finger, hesitating before slowly lowering it. If he removed his last finger, he could have killed Kel. As he released the arrow, an eruption of essence erupted, pushing away the clouds and creating sparks around the rooftop.

"You know I could’ve easily killed you right there," Apollo stated.

"Yeah, I know you could, but you didn't," Kel replied calmly.

"You're bat-shit crazy, girl," Apollo said, shaking his head in disbelief as he headed for the exit.

Kel called after him, "Hey, what about your hand? It's still bleeding."

"Don't worry about that; it'll heal up quickly," Apollo responded, showing his hand, which had already fully healed.

"All damage self-inflicted will always heal. I can't even kill myself, isn't that pretty cruel? I tried twice before, but couldn't ever finish the job; I don't know if this is a curse or a blessing," Apollo explained.

"I say it's a blessing,” implied Kel.

Apollo smirked. "At the end of school, I'll be at the front school gate; meet me there. I'll teach you something you don't even know yourself. You could be one of the strongest if you’re about it.”

“Why would you do that?”

"Well, because I like you. I'm interested to see different strengths to make myself better.” As Apollo left the rooftop, Kel felt her cheeks flush with a blush. The encounter with Apollo had left her with a mix of emotions, but she was curious to see what he had to teach her later.