"Yup, remember him? You could say we’ve gotten closer..."

Anthony tilted his head, raising an eyebrow.

"Did you? But how?"

"Mm, I ran into him again at an amusement park, and we ended up talking."

Blake wasn’t entirely convinced it sounded believable. Besides, it felt strange praising someone who acted like a complete nutcase.

"But are you sure he’s... um, normal?"

Looking noticeably uneasy, he scratched the back of his head, hesitating before speaking again.

"No, well, he’s kinda normal. Don’t worry."

Blake patted Anthony’s shoulder.

"Besides, he’s nothing compared to you and Asher."

Anthony chuckled, a faint blush creeping onto his face.

"Well, if that’s your judgment, I’ll believe it. Just... be careful, okay?"

"Of course. Don’t worry."

Ding.

Anthony immediately pulled out his phone, a smile appearing on his face as he looked at the screen.

"What got you so smiley all of a sudden?"

Blake leaned closer, trying to sneak a look, but Anthony quickly slipped the phone back into his pocket.

"Oh, it’s Asher. He sent me something funny."

Blake laughed.

"Seriously, what are you two even going to do when you’re not living in the same house anymore?"

His smile softened and, for a moment, he didn’t answer.

Instead, he lifted his head, looking up at the sky above them.

The clouds drifted lazily overhead, then he sighed.

"I don’t know."

Blake blinked, for sure, that wasn’t the answer he’d expected.

"But..."

Anthony smiled.

"I think we’ll always end up together somehow."

"Hm?"

"No matter where we are."

His gaze remained fixed on the sky.

"We’ll probably keep finding our way back to the same place."

There was a strange certainty in his voice, like he already knew it was supposed to happens.

"We’ll still hang out, study together and have fun."

A small laugh escaped him.

"Even now, we..."

His voice trailed off, the sentence died before it could be finished.

Anthony’s eyes widened slightly, then, he quickly shook his head.

"Sorry."

"Huh?"

"I got a little carried away."

Blake stared at him for a moment, then he shook his head.

"No, it’s fine."

Walking over to a nearby bench, he sat down and stretched his legs.

Anthony remained standing for a second before joining him.

As Blake glanced sideways, something caught his attention, there was something strange in Anthony’s eyes.

It wasn’t sadnes, but something awfully close to it.

’Maybe he doesn’t know much, but feels that something is wrong? They have been together for so long, so he must’ve felt something wrong.’

Blake rested his chin on his hand.

"Have you and Asher ever fought?"

Anthony looked at him, then, he let out a surprised laugh.

"Of course we have, Blake... what do you think, people always fight, at least once."

"Eh. Simply, I couldn’t imagine you two. Are you for really?"

"Why do you sound so shocked?"

"Because you two act like you’re attached at the hip."

Anthony laughed again.

"Well, when we were kids, our teachers used to compare us all the time."

Blake raised an eyebrow.

"Compare you?"

Anthony nodded.

"They’d put us against each other in everything, because we both had potential in the same subjects."

Grades.

Tests.

Competitions.

Even little classroom activities.

"It wasn’t because we disliked each other."

He shrugged.

"We actually got along pretty well, but when adults keep telling you to compete... you start competing."

Anthony smiled awkwardly.

"Sometimes we’d get frustrated, so we’d fight. Pretty often, actually."

Blake couldn’t help laughing.

"I can’t imagine that."

"It happened, I’m telling you."

Anthony fidgeted.

"We were kids, anyway, which child doesn’t bicker with another, especially if they’re like siblings."

"I mean, fair point."

"But eventually we got out of that."

The smile on his face became more genuine.

"Now we rarely fight, we mostly just study together and have fun."

For a moment, his expression brightened but then, it dimmed again.

"But lately..."

Blake glanced at him.

Anthony stopped speaking, his gaze lowering toward the ground.

"...Asher seems like he’s having a hard time."

Blake waited.

After a brief silence, Anthony continued.

"I think it’s because of the move. And..."

He hesitated.

"The fact that he wants to spend more time with his uncle. That’s the only family he has left on his mom’s side."

Blake hummed quietly, then, he reached over and patted Anthony’s head.

Anthony immediately froze.

"H-Huh?"

His face turned red.

Looking up, he stared at Blake in complete surprise.

"W-Why did you do that?"

"You looked sad."

"But, you can’t just pat my head!"

"It worked, didn’t it?"

"It did not!"

Blake laughed.

Still, he wasn’t convinced, since the explanation Anthony gave felt incomplete.

There was definitely something bothering Asher, in his whole hero job, and Anthony knew more than he was saying.

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like he would get any more information out of him.

At least not today.

Anthony eventually calmed down.

Then, after a brief silence, he spoke again.

"Do you have any siblings?"

Blake blinked.

"Me?"

"Mhm."

"Yeah."

Anthony looked curious.

"What’s it like?"

Blake leaned back.

"I have one."

"But we’re not nearly as close as you and Asher."

Anthony nodded slowly.

"I see."

Blake smiled.

Yet the moment he said it, something felt strange.

His sibling.

For some reason, it felt difficult to remember.

The image was blurry.

Like a photograph left out in the rain.

He knew they existed.

He knew they’d gotten along.

Actually...

He was pretty sure they had been very close.

Close enough that he still missed them.

Even now.

The feeling lingered somewhere deep inside him.

A faint ache he couldn’t quite explain.

Blake lowered his gaze.

Then he glanced at Anthony.

At Anthony and Asher.

The way they always seemed to understand each other.

The way they were always together.

For a brief moment—

He felt jealous.

The realization made him grimace.

How childish.

A bitter smile appeared on his face.

Stop it.

There was no point going in circles.

Everyone had things they lost.

Everyone had things they missed.

Anthony suddenly smiled.

"At least you’ve got Myles."

Blake blinked.

"Huh?"

"As your person."

For a second, Blake simply stared.

Then he burst out laughing.

"My person?"

"Yeah."

Anthony nodded confidently.

"You always talk about him."

Blake covered his face.

"That’s not—"

Actually, thinking about it, maybe Anthony wasn’t entirely wrong.

Blake laughed again.

"Well."

"I guess I do have him."

"See?"

Anthony looked pleased with himself.

Then, as if remembering something, he snapped his fingers.

"Oh, right."

"What?"

"There was something that happened while you were gone."

Blake immediately grew suspicious.

"What happened?"

Anthony looked away.

"Myles almost got into a fight."

Silence.

"...What?"

Anthony nodded.

Blake stared.

Then stared some more.

"A fight?"

"Yeah."

"Myles?"

"Yeah."

"The Myles who is the most average and calm guy in the world?"

"The very same."

Blake looked genuinely horrified.

"How is that even possible?"

Anthony tilted his head.

"Well..."

"The guys who picked a fight with him were the same ones who hit you on the head."

Immediately, Blake’s expression darkened.

"They cornered him."

"What?"

"Mhm."

Anthony nodded.

"Apparently they were trying to start something."

"But Myles didn’t really do anything."

"That’s because Myles never does anything."

"Exactly."

Anthony pointed at him.

"He wasn’t even talking."

"Then what happened?"

Anthony thought for a moment.

"At some point they tried to hit him."

Blake sat up straighter.

"They did what?"

"But before they could..."

Anthony demonstrated by grabbing his own wrist.

"Myles caught the guy’s hand."

Blake blinked.

"And then?"

"Mh, I think he said something..."

"What?"

"That much I don’t know. But whatever it was, it completely enraged them."

Blake stared, that somehow sounded even less believable.

"Myles said something that made them angry?"

"That’s what I heard..."

Anthony nodded.

"Then he just walked past them, and that made them even angrier."

Blake covered his face.

How did that even work?

The image was absurd.

Myles, of all people, provoking someone.

No.

Actually.

Knowing Myles, he probably wasn’t trying to provoke anyone.

That somehow made it worse.

Blake scratched the back of his head.

Why hadn’t Myles mentioned any of this?

Were those idiots targeting him because he was Blake’s friend?

His jaw tightened slightly.

’How annoying, out of everyone they could bother... why pick on someone who literally minds his own business?’

Anthony noticed his expression.

"Don’t worry too much."

"Hm?"

"Myles knows how to handle himself."

Blake paused.

Then he laughed. A helpless, somewhat embarrassed laugh.

Maybe Anthony was right.

After all... Myles was probably stronger than half the world.

Meanwhile, Blake had spent the last few months collecting injuries like achievements.

Scratching the back of his head, he shook it.

"Man..."

"What?"

"Am I seriously getting overprotective over someone factually stronger than me?"

Anthony stared at him and then, he bursted out laughing.

"You finally noticed?"

"Hey."

"I’m just saying."

Anthony grinned.

"Sounds like you’re the one who needs protecting."

"... didn’t expect this from you, Anthony."

The two of them laughed together beneath the afternoon sky, the conversation drifting to lighter topics as the clouds slowly rolled overhead.