Chapter Text
Warmth.
That was the atmosphere surrounding them, like a flower caressed by the summer air.
Romantic music swelled through the golden ballroom. The crowd watched in awe and adoration at the dancing couple. The tall faceless figure swayed with the shorter one, locked in a secure embrace.
Smiling as if making a silent promise only known to the two of them, the couple leaned closer to each other…
But suddenly…
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The aggressive shriek of an alarm clock cut the romantic music to a screeching halt. Fifteen-year-old Apollo Justice finally rose from his desk, littered with homework and notes from his class. From his groggy mind, he surmised that he stayed up too late studying again, and that's why these weird fairy tale dreams have been plaguing him for the past month.
He glanced at the clock…
7:32 AM.
“Agh! I'm DEAD!” Apollo jumped out of his chair, and threw on his uniform. He went to the bathroom to speedrun brushing his teeth while performing three second surgery on his hair spikes.
After the mad dash downstairs, Dhurke greeted him with a broad smile. “Good morning, Apollo. About time you woke up. Nahyuta already left.”
Apollo yelled, grabbing the slightly charred bread from the toaster. “Dhurke, why didn't you wake me?!”
Dhurke simply replied with a laugh, “To teach you not to stay up so late! Even a dragon needs rest! How you could possibly sleep through an alarm that loud is beyond me.”
Apollo shouted back, “I was cramming!” Apollo had no time for ‘dragon’ lectures. He shoved the toast in his mouth, grabbed his bag and ran out the door.
Apollo Justice was cursed with short legs, a 5’2” frame, and definitely wasn't one of Los Angeles's best athletes. Nevertheless, his sneakers pounded the sidewalk as if he were trying for a gold medal.
7:45. Step, step, step… You can do it, Just– “AUGH!”
Apollo’s toe got caught on a pebble, and he fell palms-first on the pavement. Because of course fate determined that he would. Just when he was already late.
A pair of sandaled feet stepped in front of Apollo's face, flat on the pavement. He looked up, noticing the stubble, sweats and beanie. He must've seen better days. The mysterious man asked, “Have you seen my kitten?”
Apollo couldn't even look at the young man as he quickly rose from the ground. “Sorry, I really have to get to school. If I don't make it in time–”
“Please…” The man insisted, a bit of sadness in his tone. “She’s my only friend.”
Apollo looked up at the stranger's dark eyes. They pleaded with sorrow in spite of his thin smile, as if weighing Apollo's soul. “...fine,” Apollo sighed, internally cursing his conscience for being such a pushover. “But it's gotta be quick.”
“Thank you,” the mysterious man said, “But don’t worry, it won't take long. She's probably hiding in her usual spot.”
Apollo started flipping over soggy cardboard boxes and tossing old newspapers. There wasn't any sign of fur or meowing sounds anywhere. He stuck himself further in the dumpster, wondering if he could still justify showing up to school at this point.
“ACK!”
Something warm bounced on Apollo's back, then scampered down, giving him a chill in his spine.
The blur of brown fur hopped into Phoenix's arms. She had a bandage on her head and a red scarf around her neck.
Apollo asked curiously, “Why does she have a bandage? Was she hurt?”
The mysterious man replied, “No. Probably some kids playing a joke on the poor girl.” He removed the bandage, revealing a brilliant green jewel. It shone in the sunlight, seeming to pulse with life, as if it was a part of her body. As the kitten’s blue eyes inspected Apollo thoroughly, a smile slowly crept on her feline lips.
“What the…” Apollo began to back away, his whole body trembling. “Okay, this is creepy! Byyyyye!” then zoomed to school, as if the devil was hot on his heels.
The mysterious man smirked, gazing in Apollo's direction…before disappearing into a puff of blue smoke.
When Apollo finally managed to enter the class (three minutes late), he was so dizzy with exhaustion that he couldn't hear the teacher's bellowing, or the childish snickering. His legs gave out, and he collapsed on his desk.
Several minutes later, Apollo woke up to find a paper being flipped in his face. It was his test results from last week. A solid red 30 glared back at him.
“Th-thirty?!”
“Do you see this?” The teacher continued scolding, “Shape up, or there will be consequences!”
“Aaauungh!” Apollo's wail of defeat echoed in the hallway, as did the laughter of his classmates.
******
At lunch, Apollo hunched over the table with the paper clutched in his hand, barely even poking at his food.
“Cheer up, Apollo,” Clay assured from the other side of the table. “I know that one bad day can't break your spirit.
“Well, right now it is,” mumbled Apollo. “Dhurke and Nahyuta are gonna be so pissed…” He was not looking forward to any dragon lectures or sermons about the levels of educational hell.
“Apollo, I know you. You're not lazy. You were probably cramming all night and overslept.”
Apollo rolled his eyes. “Of course I did. And I had to find this homeless guy's kitten.”
“See? Even with all the bad luck, you've got a good heart.”
“And also why I smell like garbage…”
“So that was coming from you, Herr Forehead?”
There was only one voice that could burn Apollo's ears like this and ignite raging fire inside of him. Even more infuriating than the voice was the obnoxious jingling of silver chains. As the blonde intruder approached closer, the more the scent of lavender mixed with cedarwood suffocated Apollo's breathing space.
Apollo turned around to see Klavier Gavin, leering with a taunting smirk on his perfectly tanned complexion. Since the first day of freshman year, Apollo has been ridiculed by that upperclassman and his clique. He couldn't understand why he was a social media superstar when his electric guitar was an assault on the eardrums. And he claimed to have been distantly related to German royalty (or something like that), which gave him an excuse to unnecessarily sprinkle German in his sentences (and in his songs).
Great. Now my Tuesday has instantly gotten WORSE! Doesn't he have anything better to do?! thought Apollo. He turned back to Clay, stuffing his sandwich in his face before he could lose his appetite even more.
Klavier and his friends snickered as he strode over to Apollo, peering over his head.
“What's up, Klavier?” Clay asked innocently. Apollo shot Clay a glare that said, “traitor!”
“Oh, just seeing how my favorite Forehead Boy and his best friend are doing.” Klavier shot a dazzling wink towards Clay. “Thanks for liking my video.” Klavier leaned towards Apollo. “What's stopping you from liking my music, Herr Forehead?”
“Common sense,” Apollo snapped, still refusing to look at that annoying blonde.
“Oh…? What's this?” Klavier swiped the crumpled from Apollo, quicker than a bolt of lightning.
“Hey! Give that back!”
Klavier barked out a laugh upon seeing the giant red “30” on Apollo's test. “Mein Gott, you suck! I thought that people with giant foreheads would have bigger brains!” Klavier's friends laughed in unison, pointing at Apollo.
Apollo could die of humiliation right at that moment. His heart didn't just drop, it sank all the way down to the school basement.
Before he left, Klavier snatched a fry from Apollo's tray. “See ya, Herr Forehead. I'd tutor you, but I doubt you can keep up with my rhythm.”
******
“That Gavin creep is the definition of audacity! I wanna punch his lights out!” Apollo just finished venting to his brother, Nahyuta, on the walk home.
“It’s no wonder your soul felt so foul,” Nahyuta replied. “However, I feel as if you're not finished with your emotional outburst, seeing as your rotten day started with your being late to school.”
Apollo's lip quivered, and his hands fidgeted with the straps of his backpack. He kept his gaze on the ground the entire time.
“...There's something else isn't there?” Nahyuta asked. “A quiet volume is most unbecoming of you.”
“N-no! I'm fine! You hear me? I'm FINE!”
“Really…?” After a pause, Nahyuta asked, “How was your test?”
“...Okay? I guess…?”
“Hmm…I'll be sure to let Father know.”
Apollo blinked. “What?!”
“If there's no problem, you'll let me tell him?”
“Of course there's no problem! I'll be the one to tell him! It wasn't your test!”
“Well, then. The first one to make it home tells him.” Nahyuta ran off, using Apollo's slowness to his advantage.
“Hey, come back here!”
In the bushes, two pairs of feline eyes spied on the brothers, then dashed off in the direction of the school.
Back at the school, a faculty member slumped against the wall. A dark purple aura leaked from his body, his eyes dull and lifeless. A woman happened to turn the corner and witness the scene. Before she could scream, she, too, was consumed.