Thinking back, the last year of Darren's life had truely been a whirlwind. A year ago, he was starting high school, thr young Catalyst having bested the Normal's newest assassin Evan Harris. Things weren't perfect, the Normal as well as Morgan Carlson were still a threat, but things were moving in the right direction. He was growing in power, his vision of the Soul Drives solidifying. Then things changed drastically.
The Normal had gone back in time, completely altering the future. Darren and his friends found themselves thrust into a war for the very survival of magic and the supernatural. What should have been the last few months of Freshman year and his first summer as a high schooler turned into a fight for survival. In the end, it was a pyrhic victory. The Normal were defeated but the damage done was irreversible. Now Darren and his friends found themselves in the past, surrounded by people he barely knew.
"Hey Darren."
Darren paused in his musings, turning as Gail now approached. It struck the teen as odd to find himself in high school with his former teachers as classmates. "Hey Gail," he smiled. "How was class?"
"Surprisingly easy," she smiled. "And a bit odd. Technically some of the math lessons I've taught are being taught to me. It's weird being on the other side." Darren blushed, thinking it unfair that Gail and some of the other teen prodigies were now forced to attend high school instead of teaching. Apologizing for their predicament, he was surprised by Gail's response. "You don't have to apologize," she said. "In fact, I'm pretty sure we're having fun."
"Fun?"
"Yeah," Gail exclaimed happily. "I mean we never had a chance to be real high schoolers before. Now, well, we get to have to full high school experience. Pam is joining band, Stella is getting to do peer mentoring and theater, and Ewart is planning on joining the basketball team."
"And what about you and Neela?"
"Neela was tired of school that's why she's happy being a doctor," Gail replied. "As for me, I haven't decided yet. I want to just have fun." Darren nodded, noting the broad smile on the auburn teens face. It was odd that he and his former algebra teacher had grown so close over the last few months. During their time in the resistance, Darren had grown to rely on Gail just as much as he relied on Steph and Hannah. The pair complimented eachother well and as crazy as it sounded Darren was beginning to find the bespectacled, awkward teen rather cute. As the pair now turned the corner, they gasped as they nearly ran headlong into Travis Reaver. "Sorry," Gail blushed, her eyes fearfully gazing into the tall teens grey eyes.
Travis was quiet for a moment, Darren feeling nervous under his gaze. After battling the teen, Darren learned that Travis was in essence a demigod. Travis was the son of Life and Death and the youngest sibling of several gods associated with those natural forces. During their confrontation, Darren felt himself pushed to his limits. If he hadn't tried to summon the spirits within the Dragons Tongue, Darren wondered if he could have stopped Travis. "No it's okay I'm sorry," Travis said softly. "I um was looking for you two."
Gail and Darren paused, staring at the teen in befuddlement. Travis fidgeted slightly, Darren curious as to why. "So I wanted to say sorry about before," he stated. "Everything kind of happened so fast. I thought you were trying to hurt Stephanie."
"Its um okay," Darren said softly. "I get it. I um feel that same way about my friends. I probably would have done the same thing." Travis nodded, the teen sheepishly rubbing his neck as his eyes darted to the ceiling. "So I was wondering," he said. "I was going on a date with Stephanie on Friday. It kind of turned into a group date with my friends Miles and Chenoa. Would you two want to come too?"
Darren and Gail balked. They were being asked out on a group date with a bunch of Juniors. "We were all going to go bowling," Travis continued. "But we could do some other stuff if you guys like? I know Ms. McKinnon is setting up the haunted house again this year or we could all grab some food or see a movie?'
Darren was unsure how to answer. The last thing he expected after everything that had happened was being invited on a group date. "Sounds like fun," Gail said happily. "We'd love to go!" Travis smiled, thanking the pair before saying he or Stephanie would be in touch. As he now left, all Darren could do was gape at Gail. In only a matter of moments he had gone from worrying about the Normal to worrying about a date with Gail. When he got a chance, he really needed to sit down with Hannah and Steph to ask their opinion.