Chapter 319 CH 304: THEN AND NOW



Two young men were standing side by side in front of a vending machine in the University cafeteria. The first among the pair of young men was a rather tall and muscular young man of African American ethnicity. He wore a jersey above his burgundy-colored shirt but his expression was haggard and tired.

Meanwhile, the second young man was curiously looking at the vending machine in front. In the end, taking his credit card, he turned toward the other young man and asked him in a quizzical tone.

"Coffee or Coke?"

"..."

"Let's go with coffee then."

Adam shrugged his shoulders, seeing his lack of answer, and pressed the coffee button. Soon, he received two instantaneous coffee from the machine and presented one to Steven.

"Or would you rather have tea?"

Steven looked up in silence before taking the can from his hands, opening it, and then gulping a few mouthfuls of the bitter drink down his throat. Feeling better, he proceeded to drink away and only after gulping the rest of the contents in one go and accurately throwing it in the trash, that was a few meters away, did Steven seem a lit bit more in control of his hazy emotions.

"You have changed, Adam."

Adam's eyebrow rose in response to his words but then he merely chuckled, "That, I did."

"Is it true then? That you joined a gang or something?"

'Oh?'

Adam immediately became wary of the man. He verified once again and was sure that Steven was indeed nothing more than a normal human. How could a human know he joined a gang all of a sudden?

Frowning, he asked him in a deep tone, "What do you mean by that?"

"Sigh~ Sorry. I know it's dumb."

Steven lowered his head and muttered in a weak voice, "It's just... You, Natasha, Alberto, and even... Sae. All of you guys suddenly vanished from school altogether. The law faculty suddenly lost its four best students just like that. You can imagine the rumors that were going around due to that."

Steven shook his head and scratched his hair, feeling stupid even as he spoke his next string of words, "Some say you guys died in an accident. Others said you got killed by Jack the Ripper and there are rumors that you joined the wrong crowd after being expelled from school for cheating."

"Pfft. Hahaha~! That is a rather interesting theory, not gonna lie."

It was funny how those rumors were so close to reality. But this wasn't why he brought Steven here.

"So... Tell me. You didn't come to me just because you are worried, right?"

"I..."

Steven opened his mouth ever so slightly, as if he wished to argue but in the end, he simply lowered his head and sighed out loud. Adam had hit the bullseye.

If someone from the supernatural told you that it was too dangerous to be near them, then it really was too fucking dangerous to mingle with them and it was best if one stayed clear of their way.

If he said something stupid like Steven should try talking to her, he was pretty sure he might find out about Steven's death very soon, and that too for bizarre reasons. He didn't want his long-time friend to die.

In fact. Why did he even need to be passive about this? He could simply make sure to stomp on the problem right now and avoid any future complications.

He might not be as close to Steven as he used to be but this man had been his friend for three years now.

If the problem was a little too difficult then...

He could still comfort his friend if his ex-girlfriend mysteriously vanished as well.

"As for your performance in school. Well, you know better than me about what to do about it, right?"

Truthfully speaking, Steven's parents were rich enough that Steven wouldn't need to enter into debt for his University studies.

But even then, it was something he had gotten thanks to his skills and no one had the right to take it away from him just because he was well off.

"So, what do you say? Ready to fight back?"

Steven looked blankly at his stretched fist before laughing quietly and bumping Adam's fist with strength returning to his arms.

"You really changed."

"I became more handsome, didn't I?"

"That you did. You also talk a lot more than before. It's good when you talk like this, man."

He stood up and clapped his face from both sides, acting as a sort of wake-up call.

"Thanks, man. Your pep talk sucked ass but I am glad I got someone to talk with."

"Happy to help."

"Also, I am sorry. I was only thinking of myself that I didn't even ask about the truth of your situation. How have you been? Can I ask why you ditched school like this?"

Adam sipped on his drink absentmindedly, "Well. I got my own circumstances, you see... But yeah, I decided that school ain't for me any longer."

Steven frowned. "Is it..."

He wanted to ask if it was a problem of money but feared that phrasing it like that would sound like an insult to his friend.

"Don't worry. It isn't money. I just got a new priority I need to focus on."

Steven looked deeply into Adam's eyes and saw no despondence or negative feelings. Clearly, he was telling the truth to him right now. So, he could only leak out a dejected sigh at losing another one of his friends. Who knows when he would be able to see him again, that thought soured his mood.

"So today you came because..."

"I am dropping out."