Orion's Rise: From Zero to Hero in Two Worlds

Chapter 1

“Did you seriously wear that today?” 

Jared's voice was as sharp as a knife.

Piercing through the noise of the hallway. 

I could tell he was talking to me without even looking up.

He always was.

I continued to walk.

Fixing my eyes on the marked floors of the school hallway. 

Maybe if I ignored him, he’d get bored.

Maybe this time, he’d just… stop.

“Hey, Sergio,” he called again. Louder now. I could hear the sound of his footsteps following me. 

"I’m talking to you. You deaf, or just stupid?”

I sighed. “Both, apparently.”

Too late to take THAT back.

I felt bad as soon as the words were spoken.

He grabbed the back of my collar.

And pulled me to a halt.

His hot breath hit the side of my face.

Smelling like whatever he had eaten for breakfast. 

"What was that?”

I swallowed hard. “Nothing,” I said, trying to shrug out of his grip. 

“Just—nothing.”

Jared let out a low chuckle, and his grip loosened. 

“That’s what I thought. Nothing. Just like you.”

I could hear his friends laughing behind him. 

It was the same routine, different day. 

Jared made a snide remark. I tried to ignore it. 

Then he’d throw in something worse, make sure everyone within earshot knew exactly how much of a loser I was. 

And of course, there was Emily, standing off to the side, just watching. 

She always did. 

She never joined in. But she never stopped it either. 

I caught her eyes for a second. And.. she quickly looked away. Heh. Pretending to be engrossed in her phone. 

Typical.

“You’re late to class, idiot,” Jared said, giving me a shove forward. 

“Better hurry up, or you’ll get another lecture from Mrs. Kovač. Oh wait, you like those, don’t you? Bet it’s the highlight of your day.”

I didn’t respond. 

What was the point? 

I adjusted my backpack. And trudged toward the classroom. 

As I moved down the hallway, I could hear laughter. 

Like a persistent shadow.

---

I slipped into my seat.

At the back of the classroom.

Hoping I could disappear, for the next hour. 

Mrs. Kovač was already droning on about World War II.

Her voice, a low hum that barely registered in my mind. 

My fingers itched to reach for my sketchbook, buried deep in my backpack. 

But I didn’t dare pull it out here.

Not with Jared sitting two rows ahead, just waiting for another reason to humiliate me.

I glanced out the window, watching the clouds roll slowly past, wishing I could be anywhere but here. 

Anywhere but stuck in this life, where every day felt like the same loop of misery.

“Hey,” a voice whispered beside me.

I turned my head slightly, surprised to see Emily leaning over her desk, her eyes flicking nervously between me and Jared. 

“You okay?”

Her voice was soft, almost apologetic. 

Like she knew she should have done something earlier. But hadn’t.  

I shrugged. Not trusting myself to say much. 

If I said too little, I would sound weak. 

Too much, and I might say something I’d regret. 

So, I just settled on, “Yeah. Fine.”

She hesitated, biting her lip. 

“Sorry about... you know. Jared’s just—”

“Jared.” I finished for her. “Yeah, I know.”

Her lips pressed together. In that tight, uncomfortable way she did when she didn’t know what else to say. 

I could tell she wanted to be nice.

But there was a wall between us. 

A wall she’d helped build. 

“Anyway,” she whispered, leaning back into her seat and pulling out her notebook. 

"Just—take it easy.”

“Right,” I muttered, turning back to the window. 

Take it easy. 

That’s what everyone always said. Like it was that simple.

---

The bell rang, and I bolted from the classroom before Jared or his goons could catch up. 

I wasn’t in the mood for round two.

I headed for the courtyard.

The one place I could usually get a few minutes of peace. 

There was an old fountain there.

Half-broken, with water that barely trickled anymore. 

It was not much, but it was quiet.

And right now? That was all I needed.

I perched on the rim of the fountain.

Finally pulling out my sketchbook. 

The pencil felt familiar in my hand.

The only thing that seemed to make sense.. these days. 

I started sketching without really thinking about it—just letting the pencil guide me. 

Shapes turned into lines, lines into figures. 

A dragon’s head here.

A knight’s armor there.

Little pieces of a world that didn’t exist. 

But one I wished I could escape to.

“Hey, what’s that?”

I was distracted by Jared's voice.

My heart sank.

Of course, he’d found me.

I quickly tried to close the sketchbook.

But he was too fast. 

Before I could reply, he snatched it from me.

“Give that back.”

My voice came out weaker than I wanted.

Jared flipped through the pages, smirking. 

"What’s this? A bunch of doodles? You still drawing this crap, Sergio?”

“It’s not crap,” I muttered, standing up. “Just give it back.”

“Oh, it’s not crap?” he mocked, holding one of the sketches up for his friends to see. 

"Look at this. It’s—you’re serious? Dragons? What are you, five?”

His friends laughed.

I felt my face burn. 

I wanted to say something.

Anything.

But the words would not come. 

My throat felt tight.

If I tried to speak.. it would just come out as a squeak. 

Jared smiled even more as he turned through.

Page, after, page. 

“You should’ve stuck to stick figures, Sergio."

"At least those wouldn’t be this pathetic.”

I tightened my fists, yet remained still.

I knew better than to try and grab it from him.

It’d only make things worse.

Then, just as I thought he was done, Jared’s eyes gleamed with a sudden idea. 

"You know what?” He stepped toward the fountain.

Looking from the sketchbook to the water with a kind of wicked pleasure that made my stomach twist. 

"I think this belongs here, don’t you?”

“Jared, don’t—” I started. But it was too late.

With a flick of his wrist.. he threw the sketchbook into the fountain. 

The water splashed up, soaking the pages instantly.

I froze.

Watching.. as the paper darkened.

The images I’d spent, hours, drawing.. blurring into unrecognizable smudges. 

Jared laughed, clapping his hands together. 

“Oops. Guess you’ll have to draw some new ones.”

I stared at the ruined sketchbook.

Unable to move. 

My hands itched to dive into the water, to pull it out, but what was the point? It was already destroyed.

“Aw, don’t look so sad, Sergio,” Jared said. His tone filled with insincere empathy.

"It’s just a bunch of stupid drawings." 

"Not like they mattered anyway.”

My chest tightened. 

I could feel the pressure building.

The frustration.

The anger. 

But more than anything, the helplessness. 

It was always like this.

Jared did what he wanted, and I just... let him.

He gave me one last shove before turning to his friends. 

“Come on. I’m bored. Let’s get out of here.”

They walked away.

Their laughter decreased as they disappeared from view.

I stood there.

Staring at the fountain.

At the mess of waterlogged paper.

Floating.

Just beneath the surface. 

My hands shook.

But I wasn’t sure if it was from anger or something else.

Something worse.

A soft voice interrupted my thoughts. “Orion?”

I turned. And there was Emily.

Standing a few feet away. Her expression was unreadable.

She looked at the fountain.

Then back at me. 

“I—” She hesitated, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I’m sorry.”

I looked at her.

Waiting for something more.. but she didn’t say anything else. 

Just that same empty apology. 

The same one I’d heard a hundred times before.

But never really meant anything. 

I gulped down the lump in my throat. And shook my head.

“Yeah,” I said quietly. “Me too.”

She parted her lips as if she was about to speak.

But I did not wait to hear it. 

I walked past her.

Ignoring the way my wet shoes squished against the pavement. 

Ignoring the burning in my chest.

The tightness, in my throat.

“Orion, wait—” she called after me, but I didn’t stop.

I didn’t want to hear any more apologies.

I didn’t want to hear anything.

I just wanted to get out of this place.

Why? Just. WHY?!