Chapter Text
William Tech woke up choking on static.
The world around him glitched.
That was the only way he could explain it.
The walls of his bedroom distorted like corrupted pixels. His ceiling split apart into black nothingness. Purple cracks spread through the air itself while voices whispered over one another in warped audio.
Run.
Hide.
Wake up.
A figure stood in the distance surrounded by flames.
A blindfold.
A sword.
Flame.
The fire stretched toward William—
—and the entire dream shattered.
William bolted upright in bed, breathing hard.
Silence.
Only the weak morning light leaking through his curtains remained.
“…The fuck.”
He dragged a hand down his face and groaned.
School.
Perfect.
—
The bus ride was miserable.
William sat in the very back with one earbud in while rain tapped softly against the windows. Most people knew better than to bother him this early in the morning.
His phone screen lit up with a news article.
UNSTABLE UNIVERSE ATTACKS LAW TRANSPORT
Attached was a blurry photo of the vigilante group standing atop a destroyed armored vehicle.
Flame stood at the front.
Black clothing. Red accents. Blindfold wrapped tightly around his eyes while flames curled around his body like living things.
William zoomed in slightly.
God.
There was genuinely something wrong with him.
He scrolled through the article slowly.
Witnesses claimed UU had freed several prisoners before disappearing again. Civilians online were already celebrating.
The comments were insane.
THEO BLEW UP A WHOLE STREET
PARROT IS SO PRETTY IT’S ACTUALLY UNFAIR
I’D LET FLAME KILL ME
William paused.
“…Real,” he muttered.
The woman sitting nearby gave him a horrified look.
William ignored her completely.
People were obsessed with UU.
And honestly?
He got it.
They were practically celebrities at this point. Half the city treated them like rockstars.
Especially Flame.
William absolutely did not have a pathetic celebrity crush on a masked criminal.
Absolutely not.
The bus stopped in front of Blackridge Academy.
William shoved his phone away and stepped outside.
The school building looked as lifeless as ever.
Students crowded the entrance, talking loudly after summer break. William immediately pulled his hood up slightly and started walking.
“Tech.”
William stopped walking instantly.
Isaac Ashbel leaned against the front steps with crossed arms.
Beside him stood Finn, who looked half asleep already.
Isaac’s dark curls fell messily around his face. His sleeves were rolled up slightly, exposing toned arms that honestly irritated William on principle.
William narrowed his eyes.
“What do you want?”
Isaac smirked slightly.
“Missed me?”
“In your dreams.”
Finn sighed dramatically. “Please just kiss already so I can go home.”
“Shut up,” both boys snapped immediately.
Finn looked deeply pleased with himself.
William rolled his eyes and tried walking past them, but Isaac moved slightly into his path.
“You still doing track this year?” Isaac asked casually.
William instantly caught the challenge hidden underneath it.
“You still getting punched in the head for fun?”
“At least I’m good at my sport.”
William scoffed.
“Right. Because beating people up is super impressive.”
Isaac laughed quietly under his breath.
That annoyed William more than if he’d argued back.
“You still failing half your classes?” Isaac asked.
William smiled coldly.
“You still wearing shirts two sizes too tight for attention?”
Finn physically turned away to laugh.
Isaac just shook his head slightly.
“You’re insufferable.”
“And yet you keep talking to me.”
For a second, Isaac just stared at him.
William hated how attractive he looked doing that.
Actually no.
Scratch that thought immediately.
“See you around, Tech.”
William flipped him off while walking away.
A group of girls near the hallway immediately perked up when they saw him approaching.
“William!”
One of them smiled nervously.
“Are you going to Maya’s party Friday?”
“No.”
“Oh.”
“I might show up if the alcohol’s free.”
They laughed awkwardly.
William kept walking before the conversation could continue.
Most people at school liked him despite the fact he was objectively kind of an asshole.
He didn’t really understand why.
Maybe people just liked confidence.
Or maybe they liked the fact that William never seemed to care about anything.
Truthfully, he cared too much.
That was the problem.
“Excuse me?”
William blinked.
A boy stood in front of him holding the ugliest poster William had ever seen in his life.
The letters were crooked.
There was glitter glued onto one corner.
And a badly drawn bird sat near the bottom.
UNNATURAL HISTORY & AWARENESS CLUB
William stared at it for several long seconds.
“…This looks terrible.”
The boy smiled calmly.
“Constructive criticism.”
Jay Hawthorne.
Student council president.
Top student.
Basically beloved by every teacher alive.
William mostly knew him because avoiding him was impossible.
“You need a club this year,” Jay continued.
“How do you know that?”
“You ignored the sign-up emails.”
“…Creepy.”
“I prefer observant.”
William glanced at the poster again.
“So what even is this?”
Before Jay could answer, another boy suddenly appeared beside him.
“It’s bird propaganda.”
William nearly jumped.
“Jesus Christ.”
The blond boy grinned brightly.
Rowan Maddox.
William recognized him vaguely from around school. Loud. Chaotic. Played electric guitar during assemblies once and nearly got banned from performing ever again.
Jay sighed.
“It is not bird propaganda.”
“We literally have a bird mascot.”
“It’s not a mascot.”
Rowan pointed aggressively at the badly drawn bird.
William snorted despite himself.
“We’re trying to educate people about Unnaturals outside of Law propaganda,” Jay explained.
That got William’s attention slightly.
The Law rarely allowed positive conversations about Unnaturals at all.
“You actually got permission for that?” William asked.
“Technically.”
“That sounds fake.”
“It mostly is,” Rowan admitted.
Jay elbowed him lightly.
William stared at the poster again.
Then shrugged.
“…Whatever. I need a club anyway.”
Jay smiled softly.
“Great. Meeting after school.”
William already regretted it.
—
The classroom was half full by the time William arrived.
He immediately chose a seat in the back corner.
Then Isaac walked in.
William groaned loudly.
“You’re kidding.”
Isaac looked equally unimpressed.
“Oh, you’ve got to be joking.”
Finn entered behind him carrying chips.
“I’m only here because Jay promised snacks.”
“I did not,” Jay replied instantly.
“You implied snacks spiritually.”
William leaned back in his chair while more students slowly entered.
Jay eventually stood at the front of the classroom.
“Thanks for coming,” he began.
Rowan sat dramatically on a desk beside him.
“This club exists because most information about Unnaturals is controlled by The Law.”
The projector behind them flickered on.
Old photos filled the screen.
Protests.
Destroyed neighborhoods.
Missing persons reports.
William’s expression slowly darkened.
“For decades,” Jay continued calmly, “The Law claimed Unnaturals were unstable and dangerous.”
“They can be dangerous,” another student muttered quietly.
Rowan’s smile faded slightly.
“So can normal people.”
Nobody answered that.
Jay clicked to the next slide.
More missing posters appeared.
“The Law denies involvement in illegal detainment programs,” he said carefully, “but many families believe otherwise.”
The room stayed quiet.
William frowned slightly.
Jay sounded strangely personal about it.
Like this wasn’t just research to him.
Across the room, Isaac spoke up casually.
“Most people are still scared of Unnaturals.”
“Can you blame them?” someone asked.
William scoffed softly.
“The Law literally feeds people horror stories constantly.”
Isaac glanced toward him.
“You defending them?”
“I’m saying people fear whatever they don’t understand.”
“That sounded smarter than usual coming from you.”
William rolled his eyes immediately.
“There he is. Was wondering how long it’d take.”
Isaac smirked slightly.
“You miss me when I’m quiet?”
“Not even a little.”
Finn groaned dramatically.
“I’m begging you both to get over whatever weird tension this is.”
“There is no tension,” Isaac answered immediately.
William snorted.
“Sure.”
The room laughed quietly.
Isaac leaned back in his chair.
“You always think you’re the smartest person here?”
“Usually, yeah.”
“You barely pass chemistry.”
“And yet I’m still prettier than you. Crazy how life works.”
Several students laughed harder this time.
Isaac’s eyes narrowed slightly.
William grinned lazily.
He liked getting reactions out of people.
Especially Isaac.
“You ever stop acting superior for five minutes?” Isaac asked.
“You ever stop talking?”
The irritation in William’s chest suddenly twisted sharper than expected.
Too sharp.
Something hot pulsed underneath his skin.
The lights overhead flickered.
William froze.
A sharp crack of static snapped through the classroom.
For half a second, purple light flashed behind William’s eyes.
Then everything went still again.
Silence.
A few students looked upward toward the lights.
“Power issue?” somebody muttered.
William’s stomach dropped.
Across the room—
Jay noticed.
Rowan noticed.
Finn slowly lowered his chips.
And Isaac went completely still.
Not because they recognized William.
Because they recognized the signs.
An emotional surge.
An awakening.
Dangerous.
Rare.
William straightened immediately.
“…What?”
Nobody answered for a second too long.
Then Jay smiled calmly.
“Probably just bad wiring,” he said smoothly.
Too smoothly.
William narrowed his eyes.
Something felt wrong now.
Like the air itself had shifted.
Isaac looked away first.
Good.
Because for one terrifying second, Isaac had almost reacted like Flame instead.
And secret identities were not mistakes they could afford to make.