Flashes Of Light

Present Day

"I'm touched that you seem to understand how hard it was for me," Logar said.

"We always did, but we had it hard too," Sveta can't help but argue. But then, she bites her lip. 

Can she really say, all things considered, that she'd ever stopped to think about how her friend was feeling? She could recognize, now that some time had passed, that she was a little jealous of the way Logar always came up with new ideas and acted as leader, while she had been very naive back then. She'd just left the Dormitory, and she had so many weak spots people kept spotting, no matter how hard she tried not to let them see.

"I'm not saying I thought Cincinnati was dumb," Percie explains. "But I was still kind of impressed by his book. He seems well-read, a thoughtful young man..."

"People see what they want to see," Sveta says quietly. She's never looked so quiet. It's like talking of Jonath embarrasses her.

"It's  curious, however," Percie raises one eyebrow. "To think Logar Iris gave him his surname. I mean, it was a pretty decent move for him..."

"What do you mean?" Logar asks.

Sveta can't help but smile, "It was more than decent! I know Jonath thinks he is the best."

"So, would Jonath be the only one to say Logar is his best friend?" the presenter asks.

"Well, we've seen he always speaks highly of Logar," Percie jokes. "And truth be told, Iris has never been my best friend."

"The only one who isn't my best friend is Ane, the traitor," Logar growls.

"Don't call her that!" Percie replies. "How many times do I have to tell you?"

"Aww, you look cute when you're flustered. Besides, I know I have another bestie. It's Sveta."

Sveta blinks. She can't tell whether Logar is serious or not, and which would be worse. "Wasn't your bestie Jonath Cincinnati?"

"Oh, what Jonath and I have is unparalleled with any friendship I've ever had with you lot," Logar waves a hand. "But in the group, Sveta and I were best friend-ish, weren't we? Emphasis on the 'ish'."

"I've always thought that," Sveta says, and flushes purple.

Not because of Logar. But because speaking of Jonath the way The Anti told them to seems irrelevant and embarrassing, now that Michaim is dead.

She can't bring herself to think about his death, shutting down the thought every time it pops up. So far, it has worked.

The others, sadly, read it on her face. Or at least, Logar does. One can't hide anything from him.

"Oh, I know, I know!" he exclaims, delightful. "You're thinking about the old Greek dirtbag, aren't you?"

"Shut the hell up," Sveta replies, in panic. "You jerk, pathetic, yellow-haired asshole!"

"Okay, stop, stop!" the presenter yells. And he's unnerved. Because he can tell that getting on each other's nerves is all a game for them.

A game they play, and they've always played, for people like him. He doesn't want to be fly caught into the spider web.

At the same time, the Power of Sight is giving him what he's always wanted. Popularity for his show, with the same level of swearing, insulting and fussing that the other popular shows used to have six years before.