Chapter 19: I Hate Your Fucking Face

Damon was presently only maintaining a conscious state due to the discomfort from his injuries as well as Hazel’s company.

As Brad came in, intending to get close to him and was blocked by Hazel as well as Tessa, who was dragged away screaming—

Damon was slowly drifting more and more into tired slumber as he looked ahead at the unfolding confrontation with near-lethargic indifference.

His thoughts drifted to Leo as he wondered where exactly he had disappeared to amidst the tense atmosphere in the living room.

This wasn’t the first time Damon had been in this state; whenever his body is deprived of its usual copious amounts of sleep, it takes matters into its own hands.

Yet, Damon could tell that things were getting out of hand. It was just Hazel standing up for him against these three who just refused to leave him be.

Though Hazel looked confident and ready to battle, the slight tremors in her legs told Damon that she was equally nervous—

Or it might just be a result of her injured right leg, actually.

In this moment, Damon was learning more about the diverse natures of people. On one hand, there was Tessa, who had stood up for him earlier, as well as Hazel going to such lengths to keep her promise—

And on the other hand, there was his supposed cousin he had no recollection of ever being bad to, suddenly chasing him out of his own room after being stopped by Harvey and Mildred when he obviously wanted to do much worse. The same cousin was now here again, no doubt intending to cause him more harm.

It was confusing.

Damon didn’t see why this person was going out of his way to antagonize him because he had gotten strong and the world had turned to this.

From his recollections, Brad was all smiles toward the former Damon before all this started; now his gaze contained such hate, and they seem to multiply the more he looked in Damon’s direction.

Why was this?. Damon wondered.

Was it all pretend?. Were all those reactions fake, with his actual feelings buried underneath a forced friendly attitude?. Are people really capable of such things?

"What... you think your little jiu-jitsu can stop this?....can stop me?!"

Brad growled at Hazel as he stretched forward his arm, a vortex of flames forming, burning hot enough to raise the temperature of the living room as he threatened—

"This is your last chance, Prez..."

"Get out of my way."

Hazel was not only the class president, but also the person who bickers with Brad the most in class. They were like water and oil, never getting along. One could argue they disliked each other very much, which made the atmosphere even more tense.

All could tell that Brad was going to hurl those flames at her. Seeing such a miraculous display in person it triggers both awe and fear for what might happen to Hazel, reminding them just how much this world had changed.

The young man crouched on the floor trembled in recollection of Brad using those same flames to skewer one of their former classmates turned mutant. The other young man looked anxious as well where he stood against the wall, but made no move to intervene. The young lady in the hoodie had not moved at all.

"I said no, Brad," Hazel responded, standing her ground with determination even though her heart was racing like a drum inside.

She had a fighting background, but there was nothing she could do against flames that would come flying at her face. She had also seen what damage those flames could do, so she was scared.... Yet, she wasn’t going to let Brad have his way.

"Stop."

A calm voice cut through the spiraling tension like a hot knife through butter, everyone’s attention pooling towards Damon as he rose from the sofa with obvious difficulty.

"What are you doing, Damon.... Don’t get up; your wounds." Hazel remarked in panic, looking back at Damon with worry while simultaneously keeping her eyes on Brad.

"I am..." Damon began saying as he walked up from behind Hazel, fighting against the vertigo that nearly consumed him, placing one hand on Hazel’s shoulder as he said to her in the softest tone he could muster, looking her directly in the eyes.

"I am fine now, Hazel. And... thank you."

Hazel stood there, dazed, looking into Damon’s face; her heart thumping faster than it ever did while facing Brad’s threat.

She couldn’t understand how a man could be that handsome. He was handsome in a way that almost hurt to look at. A way that ushers in a sense of calm and a need to protect at the same time.

She had noticed he was incredibly handsome to begin with, but they had never gotten to such close proximity.

Now she understood why her friend, Tessa, as well as others online, were so swooned by this person.

There was also the way he said the things he said with that blank expression of his. Hazel had a charming boyfriend of her own, yet she had to admit, the white prince was in a league of his own.

’He’s beautiful,’ she thought.

Hazel stood speechless and didn’t even realize when Damon had passed her by and was standing in front of Brad. Because of Damon’s lean frame, he looked a head taller than Brad, who had a bulkier build.

"what do you want from me ?"

Damon asked, looking this young man in the face, who was looking back at him with huge veins of anger suddenly bulging to life on his forehead, and a sinister smile slowly blooming to life.

Damon was curious why this person was doing this, but instead of a response, what Damon received was a flaming fist to his face. It happened so fast he couldn’t even process it.

BHAM

"Damon!"

Hazel’s scream came from the back. Seeing Damon punched so hard into the floor, she made to lunge at Brad, but was intercepted by the twins, who subsequently pinned her to the ground as she thrashed helplessly underneath their combined strength.

"You see, there’s the problem, cousin. Even now..."

"You still look down on me with those condescending eyes of yours."

BAHM

A second punch came crashing into Damon’s face as his nose flowed with blood, his eyes barely open and face searing with burns—

Brad crouched next to Damon, holding him up by the neck with his bloodied fist drawn back for a more impactful punch. Damon was slowly going out of consciousness, his vision marred with the cresting shadow of his cousin’s fist.

"I guess dear aunt never informed you...Not that it matters anymore."

"I don’t really care either way..."

"I just hate your fucking face."

Brad uttered with venomous spite, his raised hand blazing hotter with a rising vortex of searing flames— Hazel screamed curses from where she was pinned to the ground, struggling with all her might to move as Brad’s lethal fist descended towards Damon’s already battered face.

BAHM

BOOM!

Everyone was frozen in shock.

Where Brad had crouched, only Damon remained, with Brad having been slammed back first against the tempered glass windows—

He got back up with a struggle, wincing in pain at the large, bloody claw mark now running along his face and eyes— A look of extreme shock and horror took him, as well as everyone else in the living room, as they all simultaneously stared at what had appeared out of nowhere... seated next to Damon like its always been there.

"What..... What the fuck is that?"

"....."

MEOW