Ethan ~ POV

The next day started like most. I parked my bike on the bike rack near one of the side gates of the school. From the way the sun was beating down I could tell it was going to be a scorcher of a day. Mr. Davis pulled into the semi empty parking lot, the hum of the car's engine gave him away. I smiled and waved to them; though I couldn't help but notice Mr. Davis and Nathaniel looked panicked. After Mr. Davis parked his car he and Nathaniel started talking to each other. From the way it looked; with them pointing fingers at each other it was… intense. After a few minutes, they begin to calm down before embracing each other in a hug. After their hug ended they climbed out of the car and walked into school. Mr. Davis smiled when we stepped into the school together. I could tell his smile was real, but for some reason, it looked like there was a heavyweight behind his eyes. 

“Morning, Mr. Davis. Are you gonna teach me how to build a robot arm today?” He chuckled at my joke. 

 Mr. Davis is the computer teacher; one of the few teachers we liked. Mostly because he’d let us hang out in his room and watch youtube on the computers. But I’m guessing with the computer lab taped off; he’s going to be busy at lunch. Which sucks, I normally get him to tutor me in computer studies during lunch. Mr. Davis chuckled as we came to a stop at one of the stairways that lead to the second floor of the classroom buildings. 

“Sorry, Ethan… principal’s making me share the classroom; just until the computer lab’s cleared by the Sheriff’s.” I shrugged; it wasn't the end of the world. It sucked sense I was actually starting to learn something. 

But there’s nothing much I can do about it from where I was. The rest of the day went by normally; me struggling to keep up with the classes. When Lunch rolled around I walked towards the cafeteria. I couldn't help but notice the large crowd around the computer lab windows. In a small town, stuff like this is going to draw attention. As I walked up to the lunch line I saw Noah looking through today’s options. 

"How's the sushi today?" I surprised Noah a little. 

"Give me today's special," Noah was given a combo burrito. 

I ended up ordering my usual cold-cut sandwich. I followed Noah as we carried our lunch to a small quiet corner. 

"Oh, by the way, I checked that anime you suggested. It's a little weird, not going to lie. But it's interesting." Noah smiled as I told him he was right about his anime recommendations.

"But what's the whole equivalent exchange thing about?" That flew over my head and it was frustrating to me. 

Noah just took a big bite of his food; I guess my question interrupted as he began trying to talk with a full mouth. I waited as he chewed and swallowed his food before he started talking. 

"So the magic system in that world works so everything has to be traded if you want to make something. You want to make a sword; you need enough metal. Though the question no one could answer in the series is what's the value of a human soul…." Noah started going on. 

I listened as I ate my lunch. The anime was exciting, and honestly, it got me hooked even with its dark theme. Then, Noah recommended a few other anime for me to watch. He said I would really like some of the martial art themed ones. I couldn't help but chuckle at that. 

"You know… you remind me a lot of the brother in armor," Noah said, catching me off guard.

"So, does that make you a short stack with a bad temper?" I joked back, which got me punched in my arm again. 

I didn't feel his punch; my sense of pain has dulled a little. After lunch, I went to P.E. class and saw Nathaniel; I smiled as I patted him on the shoulder. 

"Heard Coach's sending us to the weight lifting room." Nathaniel gave me a weak smile; I could tell something was up but figured he would speak when he was ready. 

I watched as he pulled an old bracelet off and tossed it into the locker; Coach doesn't allow anything that can get snagged on a machine. During class, I mostly did my standard MMA weighted exercises. Farmers carry across the room then into some easy pull ups. Looking over, I noticed Nathaniel was just sitting in a corner, only doing curls with a very lightweight. I decided to leave the rest of my work out and head over. 

"Mind if I…?" I pointed to an empty bench across from him. 

He gave me that weak smile again. 

"It's all yours." He said as he switched arms. 

I reached over, grabbed a dumbbell, and started doing wrist curls. I sat there quietly for a moment before I finally said something. 

"Is someone bullying you again?" I asked, not looking at Nathaniel. 

He stopped for a moment as he stared at me in surprise. 

"Ethan…" He was quiet for a few minutes. 

I switched to my other wrist as he started talking to me. 

"What… would you do if I wasn't… me?" He asked as he looked down at the weight. 

"What do ya mean?" I finished my wrist curls and went to haloes. 

"Like I wasn't who you thought I was?" He asked me, and I couldn't help but smile. 

I set my weight down on the floor before fully turning my attention to him. I looked Nathaniel square in the eyes with a smile. 

"Do you hate building robots?" I asked, which seemed to confuse him a little. 

 "What does that…." He began to ask before I interrupted him. 

"Do you… like to build robots?" I repeated as I kept looking at him. 

He seemed to process the question a bit before he relented. 

"Ya…" He gave the answer I knew he would. 

"Do you hate it when it snows?" I asked. 

"Ethan… you know this." He said as he leaned on his knees towards me. 

"Do you want to help people?" I asked. 

These were all questions I knew the answers to. Though he seemed like the awkward nerdy type, he was one of the most brilliant people you'd ever come across. I mean, he helped found the robotics team for this school. He led them to win three awards. I know everyone has secrets; I have some secrets only grandpa knows about.

"Yes… but what does that…." He began to ask; I interrupted him.

"Then your, you…." I said simply, which caught him off guard and confused him a little. 

I cupped my hands together as I looked Nathaniel straight in the eyes.

"It doesn't matter what you call yourself or who you see yourself as. To me, you'll always be my friend." I placed a hand on his shoulder. 

He seemed calmed and relieved by what I said. He gave me a smile this time, and unlike the others, I could tell this one was real. With my friend at ease, I stood up and pointed toward the bench press. 

"Mind giving me a hand?" The coach made it a rule to always have a partner for bench presses.

School went by like any other day, though I heard all participants of the self-defense club would be meeting after school. I shot grandpa and grandma a quick text; it was a rule of the family, mainly so the others wouldn't freak out and think it was an emergency. After the school bell rang, signaling the end of the day, I went to the gym while everyone else rushed to the side gates and main entrance to try and be the first to leave. 

In the gym, I noticed Coach Tanaka standing alongside the principal. Everyone in the club gathered around the two; I saw a grave and disappointed look on Coach Tanaka's face. Then, finally, principal Lucia turned to face all of us. 

"I'm sorry to inform everyone that after the incident a few nights ago, we will be suspending all club activities…." Everyone in the crowd groaned in annoyance. 

Principal Lucia motioned her hands to try and settle everyone. Coach Tanaka looked a little pissed off at the news too. He crossed his arms and clenched his jaw; I guess he had no choice. 

"I know this is upsetting for everyone. But under the Sheriff's advice, until the individual causing trouble around town is caught, we'll be suspending all after-school activities…." The principal began talking with fluff to try and make others feel better. 

I ignored the rest of Principal Lucia’s speech as I walked out of the gym. The MMA club was the only one I was in, so there wasn't much for me to listen to. Though when I stepped out through one of the side entrances of the gym and walked toward my bike, I noticed something. Mr. Davis walked towards the computer lab; I stopped as he kept marching. I guess he didn't see me; staying quiet, I walked up to the computer lab entrance. I watched as Mr. Davis ducked under the police tape; I could feel my eyes widen in shock; I stayed at the end of the hallway, waiting for when Mr. Davis was going to leave. A few minutes passed before I saw Mr. Davis stepped back into the hallway. I quickly hid around the corner so he wouldn't see me. I expected him to walk out the same way he came in.

But he didn't pass me; did he go out through the library's front door like the hooded figure I saw? I peeked around the corner, and Mr. Davis was gone. I looked at the door with a giant X of police tape across it. Could Mr. Davis be the creeper; was a thought that crossed my mind. But what would the reason be; that was the part I didn't understand. 

I went home that night; when I told them about the club's suspension, grandpa was a little pissed. Mainly because now that creeper is messing with the town even more. We mostly talked about random topics during dinner. In my room, I lay in my bed, trying to think of what was happening to my town. I ended up going to bed but didn't get much good sleep. 

The next day grandpa dropped me off at school. He mostly did this because grandma felt better about him and me being together. I was a little annoyed but figured if it made grandma feel better, there wasn't much I could do about it. As I walked up to school, one of the robot club members, Emily, ran up to me. She was a little worried as she crashed into me. Her curly hair was tied back into a weird puff ponytail. 

"Emily, you ok?" I asked as I had my arms ready to catch her if she tried crashing into me again.

"Ethan… Nathan… Cant… reach…" She said through a panting breath as she scrambled for something in her purse.

She was out of breath as she reached for her phone and pulled it out. She quickly unlocked it as I led her to a nearby bench. She showed me her phone as she sat down. I took her phone and noticed a series of text messages with the title 'Robot Club' . I guess this was a shared text among the club members. I looked at the text Emily had scrolled to and noticed something that caught me off guard. The text Emily wanted me to see was from Nathaniel. ‘I'm sorry, guys… I won't be able to meet up anymore'. Now that sets off alarms in my head. If Nathaniel was dedicated to anything, it was the robotics club. Heck, I remember one day he called me up sneezing and coughing, asking for a ride. He was sick that day and missed school but wanted to meet with the club. But his dad kept him at home; though he did end up doing a video call. 

I handed the phone back to Emily and looked her in the eyes. 

"It's ok… deep breaths," I said, trying to calm her down. 

I could tell she was worried about Nathaniel; I was concerned about him too. First his dad and now himself; this creeper scared them enough to run… or something else was going on.