“Alright students! Today we are going to start actual combat exercises. These will be smaller,  group-tournament level battles going by tournament rules!  That means, stick to the code of conduct and absolutely no excessive harm or death! Find your teams and a seat.” Loudron shouted above the students in the arena, his voice being the only one of the teacher's that could be heard.

 

The students had all arrived at the arena a few minutes before the announcement. The school had boarded them all on buses and trucked them over to the arena on the other side of the woods. Jackson had ridden over with his Analytic Class.  Meaning, BamBam was his bus buddy.

 

“This is so exciting, Jacks,” the boy squealed as they pushed through the crowds to find Youngjae’s class, “Are you and Mark officially partners yet?”

 

“Yes we are, and keep your eyes out for Youngjae or Mark. Better yet, look for Yugyeom.  Mark said he'd be with him.” Jackson commanded, "By the way, you two official yet.”

 

“Officially partners yes, anything else...no.” BamBam grumbled.

 

Jackson raised an eyebrow at the pouting boy, “Not gonna ask.”

 

“What? Like you and Mark aren't an item,” BamBam scoffed.

 

“ We aren't--Oh. I see Youngjae,” Jackson tried to avoid the impending conversation.

 

He failed.

 

“Really? You two flirt too much to not be together, or at least considering it,” BamBam continued.

 

“You know, I think you're just sticking your nose where it doesn't belong. Keep the seducing to computers Bam,” Jackson growled as they pushed through a group of Sidekicks to their friend’s side.

 

“is BamBam bothering you about your love life again?” Youngjae asked when they finally reached him.

 

“ What? No, I don't have a love life!” Jackson argued.

 

“ Not with an attitude like that, you don't.” Youngjae deadpanned.

 

“Whatever, what about you?  Got a partner or something? “ Jackson cut back.

 

“ Nah, I'm not participating,” Youngjae shrugged, "I'm actually thinking about transferring to the work - based studies.”

 

“What? Why?” BamBam inquired.

 

“Hero work is too draining-”

 

“-more like you don't like exercising.” Jackson interrupted.

 

“ Plus they could he someone like me in the work force.”  Youngjae continued.

 

“What work force?” BamBam scoffed as he stood up on top of a stadium chair to look above the crowds.

 

“Military...private security…” Youngjae drawled as if his thoughts were obvious.

 

“OK Batman -- OH! Found them!” BamBam hopped down from the seat and grabbed the other boys by their arms and dragged them through the crowds. “Yugyeom! Hey! Yug!”

 

The three boys found Mark and Yugyeom waiting in the back of the stands, away from all the crowds.

 

“Oh, thank you for choosing a place away from all of the noise,” Youngjae sighed and plopped down in an open seat.

 

Jackson quickly shuffled through the row to sit next to Mark, immediately resting his arm on the back of Mark’s seat. BamBam gave Jackson his ‘And you said there was nothing going on’ look before sitting next to his own partner. The group waited and chatted amongst themselves (really it was just Jackson and BamBam) while the other students found their groups. When all of the students settled, teachers began sifting through the stands, passing out the pre-decided mock-tournament roster. Jackson’s group all huddled around the paper when they received it. They were set to be the fifth group competing.

 

“How’s the competition looking?” Youngjae asked when he looked over the group they were set to battle.

 

“First glance,” Jackson drawled, “Two hero/sidekick groups and one analytic. Strategy...well, we’ve got me --OW!”

 

Mark smacked the blonde on the top of his head and raised an eyebrow at the boy’s pout, “Stop bragging.”

 

“Ok,ok. So we have two analysts. I’ll do my work on the field, buuut we can give this,” Jackson waved the sheet in front of his face, “ to BamBam who can use his special technology powers to hack into the school system and find out more about them.”

 

“I shall not let you down, master,” BamBam dramatically bowed and took the paper. He whipped out his phone and started typing, “This should only take a sec-oh, here we are. Park Chanyeol: phoenix morph, class 3B. Partner is Byun Baekhyun: sidekick class 4C. Power over light...so he’ll blind us at most, but if you want the lights to turn on and off,he’d be able to help…”

 

That last comment had the team laughing.

 

“Do Kyungsoo, ooh class 4A with Mark. Earthshaker?”

 

“He makes earthquakes,” Mark supplied, “No one lets him use his quirk in the school.”

 

“So he’ll probably be hyped up about using it out here,” Jackson added, “Do you know his range?”

 

“No,” Mark shook his head.

 

“We’ll have to give him  wide berth until we figure that out, none of us can fly, but I’m pretty sure their Phoenix morph can.” Jackson nodded for BamBam to continue.

 

“His partner is Kim Jongin, sidekick 2A, teleportation.” BamBam groaned at the revelation of the boy’s power.

 

“He’ll be tough to keep up with, even if he’s only a Class 2, he’s still an A.” Jackson Sighed.

 

“Last one is Huang Zitao: Analytic, time control class-”

 

“He’s up at the top with me,” Jackson interrupted, “Dang, how’d they get that kid?”

 

“What can he do?” Yugyeom leaned over BamBam’s shoulder to see the student’s file.

 

“He has the ability to stop time. It gives him an edge on decision making. However, he can't move or necessarily predict what’s going to happen. He has to deduce it all himself, which he’s pretty good at.” Jackson informed.

 

“Ok, so how do we get around him?” Youngjae asked.

 

“I haven’t tried to analyze him before, so we’ll have to stand back and watch for a little while.” Jackson nodded.

 

“So, start on the defensive?” Yugyeom spoke up.

 

“Exactly,” Jackson confirmed, looking to each of his teammates to see if they agreed.

 

“I can do that,” Mark noded and put a hand in the middle of their huddle, “We got this.”

 

-----------

 

“WE DON’T GOT THIS!” BamBam screeched as he dodged another fireball from Chanyeol, who had morphed into a phoenix and was now flying over the field.

 

“CHANYEOL! DON’T BURN THE PLACE DOWN!” Jackson heard Tao yell at his teammate.

 

‘Boy, this sure isn’t going to plan,’ Jackson thought, shaking his head.

 

They had all started the battle alright. Afterall, the rules were relatively simple. The two opposing teams which consisted of four or five players (only 4v4 or 5v5 until the finals) were to fight on the set battleground, and had to knock all of the opposing team’s players off the field. The battle field would be picked at random. There were five different stages: forest, mountain, city, swamp, and desert. Each one had it's advantages and disadvantages for Jackson’s team and their opponents.  They just so happened to get their most strategic stage: the forest. On land visibility would be limited,  so Chanyeol’s flying ability would be an advantage for the other team, but the abundance of wood might end up dangerous for everyone should the phoenix burn something. However, Tao might not be able to deduce accurately due to the limited sight distance. Yet, Youngjae’s enhance hearing would be able to pick out where snapping twig or crumbling leaf. Yugyeom's wolf morph felt right at home in the woods and his lupus instincts would make up for the fact that his partner was utterly useless. Jackson still wasn't sure whether or not the terrain would aid them or hurt them on account of the Earthshaker. Falling trees would be bad...very bad. As for Mark and Jackson,  well, they weren't really handicapped by the stage. Sure the visibility might make things difficult, but It was the same for the other team. The only player Jackson was really worried about was Jongin, the teleporter.  He would easily be able to skip past Youngjae’s hearing.

 

“Bob and weave, Bam!” Jackson shouted jokingly as Yugyeom's wolf form had enough of his partner's screaming and grabbed the boy’s shirt In his not,  pulling him onto his back. The large, russet-brown wolf expertly jumped back into the trees and away from sight.

 

They were evenly matched in the power department (well, maybe not necessarily level wise, they still had Mark as a trump card). They had immediately went on the defensive. Youngjae served as as locator, while Yugyeom's wolf form would search the forest. Jackson and Mark paired together to try and get some In tell on the other team, but they never ventured far from Youngjae.  But it seemed nothing would go to plan.

 

Chanyeol used the element of surprise on BamBam,  who was no match to the phoenix’s power. That cause his over protective lap dog to abandon his pistol in order to save his master. Mark and Jackson had to fall BSc to make sure Youngjae was covered while Yugyeom was off being a knight is furry armor.

 

“Jackson,  duck!”

 

Jackson did as Mark commanded. The redhead vaulted over his back and redirected a fireball with a force field. Chanyeol flew over them, cawing like a demon straight from hell.

 

“We need to get cover,” Jackson informed,  eyes to the sky.

 

“I could Tse him down with Chen’s trick,” Mark implored.

 

“ No, we need to keep your powers on the down-low, especially this early in the game,” Jackson refused, “Come on the,  let's grab Youngjae and think of something else.”

 

The two boy’s ducked into the woods and returned to their home base. They found Youngjae but Yugyeom and BamBam were no where insight.

 

“Youngjae, have you seen Yugyeom and BamBam?” Jackson rushed to ask.

 

“No.Weren’t they supposed to be at the front?” Youngjae answered with confusion.

 

“Yeah, but that was until Chanyeol went beserk,” Mark informed with a scoff.

 

“Ok. New plan, with or without the other two.” Jackson clapped in an official gesture.

 

“We need to find-” Youngjae tried to say, but he was interrupted by canonfire and the voice of Loudron.

 

“OH! AND BAEKHYUN AND KUNPIMOOK TAKE A TUMBLE OFF THE STAGE! SUICIDE MISSION OR PLAIN ACCIDENT? WHAT ARE THOSE ANALYSTS THINKING?”

 

The trio stopped for a moment to comprehend the announcement.

 

“Found BamBam,” Jackson offered.

 

“No dip Sherlock, “Mark scoffed and rolled his eyes before hitting the boy on the back of the ead.

 

“OOH! AND KIM  YUGYEOM PITCHES KIM JONGIN OFF THE STAGE IN A FIT OF RAGE! BOY IS HE HOLDING UP THE TEAM! BUT WAIT! LOOK’S LIKE HE’S ABOUT TO GET CORNERED AT THE NORTH END? IS IT A TRAP OR HAS HIS TEAM ABANDONED HIM!?”

 

“New plan, get to Yugyeom and just go for it, element of surprise,” Jackson growled, nodding at his teammates.

 

The trio sprinted towards the north end of the field, weaving in between trees as silently as possible.  Jackson ordered Mark to go around the edge, so that he’d come out the furthest north. Youngjae got to work figuring out the positions of the other team with his hearing. He quickly relayed the information to the older boys. JMark nodded and sprinted off to get to his position. Jackson told Youngjae to stay towards the south while he would go east. They would back Yugyeom up from behind and sneak up on the group. Mark’s target was Chanyeol, while Jackson fought Tao and Youngjae would take Kyungsoo. Jackson and Youngjae  split up and quickly approached the fight.

 

Jackson slipped through the trees quietly. He may have lied about running ten miles a week to Mar, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t run. He slowed down when he heard the sounds of the fight. Quietly, he passed through the trees and hid, eyes watching for his teammates’ signals. He could see the edge now. There was a clean line of steel cutting off the the simulated forest. On the other side stands filled with students sat watching. BamBam, a disgruntled Baekhyun and slightly injured Jongin sat on benches closer to the stage, waiting or the fight to end.

 

‘Two down, three to go,’ Jackson counted.

 

He looked around and saw only two of the three. Yugyeom was indeed cornered. Tao and Kyungsoo stood to the south, blocking off any escape for Yugyeom.  Jackson looked up through the trees for any sign of the firebird in the sky, but found none. A light flashed in his eye and he looked to the north end of the field, behind the battling trio. Mark crouched in a tree, fifteen feet off the ground, his red hair standing out amongst the leaves. The boy silently pointed away from him, signaling that Youngjae was in position. Jackson nodded and raised his hand like he was punching the air.

 

‘It’s go time,’ Jackson smiled before bursting out of the trees and screaming like a madman.

 

He took the group by surprise, immediately calling their attention to himself. Yugyeom took the chance to slip into a more offensive position, no longer trapped by their opponents. He jumped over the distracted boys, russet wolf flying through the air. He landed safely on the other side, a good distance away from the group. Suddenly Tao fell back, ordering Kyungsoo to cover his back.

 

“He’s used his quirk!” Jackson announced, suddenly changing the direction of his sprint, “Fire at will!”

 

Tao’s eyes were quick to follow Jackson’s form, leaving his friend wide open. Youngjae took advantage of this. Vaulting himself over Yugyeom’s giant wolf form, he jumped out of his hiding spot and sprinted straight for Kyungsoo. However, he wasn’t fast enough. Kyungsoo saw the boy coming and immediately went on the counter. Lucky for Youngjae, his enhanced hearing allowed him to predict the trajectory of the Earthshaker’s attack. Youngjae leaped to his left right before a loud groaning and rumbling sound tore  out of the stage, large, jagged rocks piercing through the eah where Youngjae was once standing. The boy landed on his feet before falling into a roll to wear off the momentum of his jump. Kyungsoo’s body followed him, quickly unleashing another attack. This time Yugyeom used the opportunity to jump at Kyungsoo’s open back. However, Tao shifted back and blocked the boy with  his staff.

 

“You gotta be quicker than that! He’s fast!” Jackson hollered over the fight.

 

“Shut up, Wang!” Tao whipped his head towards Jackson and anarled.

 

“Come at me bro,” Jackson taunted.

 

“I’m not falling for your tricks,” Tao glared at Jackson before turning his head to look over his shoulder.

 

“What tricks?” Jackson laughed when a loud shout suddenly pierced the air.

 

Both boys looked up to what seemed to be Mark clinging to a very distressed Chanyeol in bird form. The bird shook and jerked, trying to dislodge the boy from his feathers when suddenly he froze up, plummeting to the ground. Mark jumped off the bird and into the trees before he hit the ground. Chanyeol gained control of himself and ended up flapping harshly to soft his descent, however no amount of flapping would keep him from hitting the ground. The bird fell through the trees and out of sight for a moment before a lanky boy fell out of the trees, where the bird had fallen. The human Chanyeol hit the ground with a dull thud and a loud groan. Mark came sprinting out of the trees, quickly lifting the boy by his shirt and dragging him to the edge of the stage where he was unceremoniously pushed off.

 

“ANOTHER FOR TEAM WANG! MARK TUAN HAS JUST ELIMINATED PARK CHANYEOL!”

 

“Dammit! Chanyeol!” Tao shouted angrily, watching helplessly as his teammate was pushed out of sight.

 

With the remaining duo distracted Youngjae and Yugyeom leaped into action. The wolf boy lead an attack against Kyungsoo, his muzzle getting close enough to snap at the boy’s shoulder.

 

“Yugyeom! Back!” Youngjae warned right before rocks rippled from the ground.

 

Youngjae, now the closest to Kyungsoo, quickly rushed towards the Earthshaker aiming a well timed punch to the boy’s cheek. Kyungsoo was thrown off balance, his quirk controlled earthquake spiraling out of control, wrecking the arena and knocking down trees. Tao jumped away to dodge a falling trunk. Leaving both boys open. Yugyeom leaped towards Kyungsoo, who had fallen to the ground, and grabbed him by the leg. With a large flick of his furry head, he whipped Kyungsoo off the side of the stage, leaving the boy to spiral down into the padding under the stage. Jackson, and now Mark, advanced on Tao, cutting off his escape. The Time User fought back with impressive staff fighting, however he found himself blasted with a force field, knocking him to the ground. Another flew at him, pushing him off the ground and into the air, over the side of the stage.

 

“AND THAT’S IT FOLKS! TEAM WANG HAS WON THE GAME!”

 

-------

 

“WOOHOO! THE INDESTRUCTIBLE, UNDEFEATABLE! TEAM WANG!!!  WOOOOO!!!”

 

“Alright BamBam, I think that’s enough soda for you,” Yugyeom sighed as he took the rootbeer out of the excited boy’s hand.

 

The five of them were hanging out in an empty classroom after their successful battle. BamBam and Yugyeom were seated next to each other, well Yugyeom was sitting and BamBam was dancing like a crazy person, near the window. Youngjae and Jackson sat on the floor, chowing down on the snacks that they brought and Mark sat in a desk behind them, feet resting on the chair to the left.

 

“You gotta admit, though. We were pretty awesome,” Jackson spoke through a mouthful of potato chips.

 

“Ew,” Mark screwed up his face at the image of the messy Analytic, “Chew your food Jackson.”

 

Jackson, in return, chewed and swallowed his food before sticking his tongue out at the red head. Mark rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless.

 

“No, Jackson’s right,” BamBam eagerly replied, “I’m Yug was all like ‘grr’ rowrowrow’ and did you see those jumps like wow!”

 

Yugyeom couldn’t help but blush at BamBam’s incongruous imitation of himself. BamBam kept chattering and sneakily stole his root beer back, taking a sip before talking again.

 

“Really, like if we could do five man teams in the actual tournament we would kill it.” BamBam hastily jerked his arm away from Yugyeom’s purposeful hand, sloshing a little liquid over the top of the bottle.

 

“Five man team?” Youngjae asked in disbelief, “More like Youngjae scoffed.

 

“Well, I didn’t see you get rid of anyone,” BamBam challenged.

 

“Really? Did you not see me help your boyfriend defeat that freaky kid? Did you not see me punch him in the face?” Youngjae stood up and stepped into BamBam’s space.

 

“We’re not dating!” BamBam growled.

 

“Uh Bam?”

 

“Not now, Yug!” Both boys quieted the concerned wolf.

 

Jackson grimaced at the noise coming from the two younger boys. He picked himself off the ground, grabbing two drinks and a package of oreo cookies brofe sliding over to Mark. He tapped the boy’s legs with the drink, gaining his attention. Mark looked away from the squabbling trio and up to Jackson's face. He silently dropped his feet to the ground, allowing Jackson to sit in the chair next to him. Jackson, however, grabbed the desk and the chair and scooted them loudly across the floor until they were next to Mark’s. He set a drink on Mark’s desk and the other on his, dropping the package of cookies in between them. Mark chuckled silently, not knowing what else to do in the situation.

 

“Do they always fight like that?” Mark asked and opened the bottle.

 

“Yes, I’m surprised Youngjae can handle all the noise,” Jackson chuckled and nudged Mark’s shoulder with the back of his hand.

 

“They sure are noisy…” Mark spoke over the top of his drink.

 

Jackson eyed Mark for a second, mind blocking out the arguments behind him. His gaze roamed over the boy's face, his almond eyes, strawberry blond hair,  cupid’s bow lips. The boy was picture perfect.

 

“Hey, you want to go somewhere more quiet?” Jackson’s eyes flicked back to Mark’s.

 

“Is It OK to leave them alone?” Mark’s eyes flicked over to the trio.

 

Yugyeom was holding BamBam back by his shoulders, his back pressed to the shorter boy's chest, while Youngjae restrained himself from jumping the boy.

 

“You know, I think they'll be fine,” Jackson rolled his eyes and grabbed a handful of oreo before standing up.

 

He jerked his head towards the door and Mark caught the message. The redhead grabbed his drink and pushed away from the desk, following Jackson as they silently slipped out of the classroom.

 

“So where did you have in mind?” Mark asked once they had made it safely to the hallway.

 

“Just around,” Jackson answered vaguely.

 

He grabbed Mark’s sleeve as he turned down the hall and towards the stairs. Mark followed obediently. He did not see any problem with following the slightly shorter boy. Jackson led them down the stairs and out of the exterior doors at the bottom of the stairwell. They exited out at the westernmost side of the school. Jackson turned to walk to the front of the school and Mark followed.

 

The two boys walked shoulder to shoulder. It wasn't purposeful. It just seemed as if an invisible force was drawing the boy's closer and closer. Jackson gazed up at the night sky, silently gazing at the stars as he walked. Surely it was a stupid Idea.  Afterall, there were millions and billions and trillions of stars out there. And with him staring up at the sky, he surely wouldn't be able to see where he was going. But It seemed that force was working upon home again. He looked up at the stars and couldn't help but compare them with the boy next to him. They were so far away, shining brilliantly in the distance, some faded,  some large, some small. Each one was captivating,  breathtaking. And each one was more than the eye could see.  Light years away,  balls of dangerous burning gas and plasma. They weren't so unattainable, after all,  man had telescopes and rocket ships.  But never had any of them gotten so close. The risk was always there. The risk to get burnt, decimated, vaporized within the mass. Jackson stopped for a moment and thought, well, he wouldn't mind taking the risk.

 

Mark was worth it. A conundrum all on on his own. A paradox of power and weakness. A shining star when he wanted and massive ball of fire when he was needed. Mark was the complexities of of the galaxy wrapped into one boy. The unattainable attained. The dangerous discovery.  The beauty full of wonder and adventure. Jackson wouldn't hesitate to jump into a rocket ship to research the milky way in Mark's eyes.

 

The boys walked until they reached the fountain in front of the center of the school. It was a large round accessory with four tiers, each depicting a class in the school: hero, sidekick, work - base,  and Analytic.  Atop the first tier sat the school emblem, water rushing from the arcs of the a crest. Jackson padded over to the edge of the fountain,  seating himself on the bottom tier. He swiftly removed his shoes and socks, then placed the woolen fabric inside his shoes and tossing them to the side. He rolled up his pant legs and swung his legs over the side, plopping his feet into the water with a quiet splash. Mark smiled and did the same, albeit more carefully. Jackson swirled his feet in the cool water for a moment before looking up at Mark.

 

“Are you happy that we're a team?” the blonde whispered.

 

“ Of course I am,” Mark answered without hesitation.

 

Jackson removed his hands from his lap and placed them a little ways on either side side of his hips.

 

“ Because, you know, if we win this competition we're stuck with each other for almost least four more years.” Jackson looked back to the water.

 

Mark was silent for a moment and Jackson felt the boy’s gaze upon his face. Then, Mark spoke in the most serious and soothing tone that Jackson had ever heard.

 

“I wouldn't want it any other way, Jackson.”

 

And them Jackson felt a hand atop his own, and he couldn't help but think:

 

‘The risk was worth it.’

 

<><><><><><><><><><>

 

As the days flew by, Mark and Jackson spent exponentially more time together as the tournament drew near. They only practiced with each other in the group classes and spent even more time after school practicing. Mark kept researching new techniques and quirks in the library (which he reluctantly told Jackson after a lot of persuading and pouting from the blonde) and Jackson spent any free time, when not with Mark, studying strategies and battle formations. The two we’re trying their hardest to get prepared...really.

Jackson liked to think that they weren’t putting all of their focus on the competition so that they could ignore each other.  Quite a paradox, right? They spent so much time together but they ignored the wavering lines of their friendship. It wasn’t a bad omen, per se, except there was something formulating between the two of them and they didn’t seem to want to know what-- but maybe that was just Mark. After that night when they held hands by the fountain, leaning on each other’s bodies until it got too cold to stay out, Jackson knew his feelings were true. He gave up on denying himsellf ages ago, but conviently failed to go much deeper.Now though, he knew  he liked the redheaded, pointy-toothed, unexpected hero, and there was no stopping it. He just hoped Mark felt the same.