Lee Seng scooped some more food in his mouth as he watched the team. Manny and Ritsuka had stopped glaring daggers at each other and seemed to be reflecting on what was said. Evan was still squirming. He looked like he still felt guilty even now. Olivia and Liz started into their cups of tea and slowly sipped on them as the silence continued.
"What happened to you then if you remember?" Manny asked in a hush voice. They all looked at him as he raised his head to look at Lee Seng. "Do you remember anything?"
Bits and pieces of what happened flashed in his head. He did remember all of it but he couldn't let his secret out. They wouldn't believe him. He didn't even know if Ritsuka would understand any of it cause Lee Seng was unsure if he was the only one who had their memories toyed with.
"The Shifters fought me. They fused into one and forced me down an endless fall for what seemed like ever. I ended up in the dark and unexplored tunnels of one of the floors. I wandered for a while, came across goblins and an ogre. Managed to defeat them and I don't remember much after that. I just know Chan-Yeol found me." Lee Seng told them. He took another large bite of his food.
"So what? We just put the behind us like nothing happened? You expect me to do that?" Ritsuka asked.
"We're not asking you to drop everything and move on." Olivia spoke up. "We've been wanting to understand what happened and now we do. Lee said it himself, he doesn't blame any of you."
"But I still blame him." Ritsuka looked at Manny. Manny's eyes rose and the two of them stared at each other.
"So we're just supposed to suppress everything? My guilty conscience? What about me? How I feel?" Evan asked, voice quivering. Evan has been the only one who kept his head down. Lee Seng sighed and ate the last few bites of his food before setting the bowl down. He grabbed the water bottle and chugged the drink, cleansing his mouth and throat of food.
"What you all feel is valid. The anger, sadness, guilt. All of it is valid." Lee Seng cleared his throat. "It's what you do with how you're feeling that determines if this team stays together or not. Continue to put the blame whenever you want it, but that's on you.
"You have to put effort into moving on. If you can't move on and use the feelings in yourself or others, you'll tire yourself out. Aren't you tired of it?" Lee Seng asked. "I'm tired of being the weak link. Of the inexperienced one. Of the troublemaker they paint me out to be. If you're tired of yourself, who do you think will save you from that hole you put yourself in?
"You have to be willing to climb out of the hole yourself even with help. Just think about it." Lee Seng sighed. A knock on the door caught their attention. He excused himself and answered the door. He cracked the door open, feeling the cold winter air come in. Sara stood at the front door.
"Lee!" Sara called his name. He began to close the door when he felt Sara push against it. "I need to talk to you! It's a misunderstanding."
"Mmm, there's nothing to talk about, Sara. Go be with your boyfriend." Lee Sent closed the door. He locked it and listened as Sara pounded on the door.
"Lee, let me in. Let's talk about it. Please!"
"Go away. I'm in the middle of a team meeting. Y'know the ones you said you were doing." Lee Seng turned. The pounding continued as Lee Seng came back to his original spot. Everyone watched him as he casually came back.
"Let me in. Please, someone! Manny! Olivia! Liz! Let me in! It's a misunderstanding." Sara shouted.
"So what are you gonna do about that?" Liz asked.
"Ignore it." Lee Seng answered. "I said what I wanted to say to you guys and frankly don't have anything to say to her." The pounding grew louder as the door began to shake.
Lee Seng let out an annoyed sigh and pointed at the door. The shaking and pounding stopped and they could only hear the pleas of Sara.
"I think you should…" Ritsuka began to say when the frustrating screams of Sara interrupted him.
"She will probably damage the house if you don't talk to her." Manny told Lee Seng. He stood up. They both knew Sara had a temper. She wasn't as patient as her parents. Both of the boys wondered where she could've gotten such a temper from.
"Fine. But really try to do what I talked about, alright? I need a workout partner cause I almost died this morning trying to run as a warmup." Lee Seng moved to the front door and opened the door. Metallic balls flee straight at him, pelting him in the chest.
Lee Seng stumbled backwards as an angry Sara climbed the stairs with balls flying around her.
"I. Want. To. Talk!" She screeched. More metallic balls flee at him as if he was in the wrong about their "problem." Half of the balls either impacted him or flew past him, making dents in the floor or opposite wall before he lifted his hand to block the rest.
"Yo! We just got this house! There can't be any damages!" Manny shouted.
"Shut the fuck up or else I'll put on between your eyes, Valentin!" Sara shouted. Her angry form made Lee Seng almost forget the door was swid wooden and the heat of the house was escaping.
Lee Seng stood up and closed the door without even motioning at it. He pulled Sara towards him and looked at her with voided eyes of emotion.
"Don't act like a savage. It doesn't suit you." Lee Seng coldly told her. She yanked her hand out of his grasp.
"You and I need to talk. In private!" She demanded. Lee Seng sighed and pointed at the floating balls.
"Gimme all your balls then." Lee Seng demanded.
"Why should i–" Sara slammed against the front door and for a moment, she thought she saw his eyes flicker red and blue.
"I'm only talking to you because Manny brought up something I tend to forget when it comes to you." Lee Seng forcefully pulled all the metallic balls into a clump near him. "You get violent when you're mad. So I would be careful with what you say or do from this point or you can be taken down to the police station."
The old cold eyes she got when she first saw Lee Seng was now threatening him.
'Those eyes. They're so cruel.' She thought. Something strange had happened to him.. He wasn't the one she knew in the last couple of months. 'He couldn't have remembered, could he? Number 1 and the Creator both said this spell couldn't be broken. So is this a reaction based on altered memories or…?'
Before Sara could even finish her thoughts Lee Seng let her go and pulled the last of the metallic balls. His teammates were all nosily peeking as he turned.
"Let's talk in the dining room in the back." Lee Seng told her. Without another word, he walked past his teammates in the living room and motioned at his empty bowl. It floated into his hand as he walked into the kitchen to set it in the sink.
Sara muttered something under her breath as she pulled her shoes off and followed after. She glared at everyone else as she passed. She got more pissed when she saw Olivia, who smiled at her and waved. Lee Seng was staring out the backyard doors by the time Sara came. He turned away from the snow covered backyard and looked at Sara.
"What do you want? I'm pretty sure he made everything clear yesterday." Lee Seng asked, coldly.
"I don't know what he said, but I can explain." Sara looked down. She quickly looked back up, her face reigning in whatever determination she had left in herself. Lee Seng rolled his eyes as he turned away, slightly. He was waiting for whatever excuses she had come up with in her head. "We're only friends. He just likes to claim I'm his, but I'm not. I swear!"
"I don't care for your excuses. A random freshmen dude you probably met this year wouldn't call you his 'babe', would he?" Lee Seng questioned. "Olivia already explained everything that happened last night anyways after we got home, so you can just save the hot air in your lungs."
"Lee!" Sara ran over to him and grabbed his hands. She looked into his eyes. Her eyes shook as his cold burned through her head. "Please! Give me another chance."
"Give you another chance?" Lee Seng scoffed. He pulled his hand back and stepped backwards. "I clearly wasn't in my right mind to give you a second chance." Lee Seng told her. His cold words pierced her heart even more. Sara's eyes watered as she tried to keep her composure.
"I'll end things with him if I have to. I'll do anything!" Sara pleaded. She moved forward to try to grab Lee Seng, but he moved out of the way before she could. He watched Sara stumble into the wall and set her head on it, looking down. "Please… I'm sorry…"
"Even if you did end things with him, I would never give you a third chance. Not even sure why I gave you a second chance. Get out or I'll have them call someone to collect you." Lee Seng threatened.
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