Chapter Text
The next morning went by quickly, the group not spending much time talking as a timer counted down to when the viewing would begin again. Once everyone was in their seats, the screen lit up with a new message.
‘Now Playing: Event 2 - A Radiant Reenactment’
A vague name, Riddle thought; it left much up to interpretation. He could only hope that he and his dorm mates could avoid getting involved in this upcoming situation. The chaos involving Eliza was enough for him.
‘The subject for Event 2 is Riddle Rosehearts, but there will be a few guests.’
There was a soft thump as Riddle’s head collided with the back of his chair. Luckily for him, the chairs were soft, so he didn’t need to worry about hurting his head. “I suppose there is no escaping this, I can only hope the situation isn’t as dire as the previous one.”
“Don’t worry too much, I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Trey’s attempt to reassure him was nice, but Riddle still found himself nervous. He got away with being what Idia would call a ‘side character’ in the first event, but now he himself would be the main focus. He wasn’t ready for more of his personal life to be revealed. Hadn’t his privacy been violated enough?
“Let’s just get this over with!” Cater laughed, though Riddle could tell that it was forced. “I’m sure it’ll be fine!”
Riddle wasn’t as optimistic but nodded at Cater nonetheless. “Very well. It isn’t as though we have much of a choice in the matter in any case.”
The words vanished from the screen as a new scene began. Riddle could be seen walking in the library, putting away books in their proper places as he mused aloud to himself that he had completed his required reading for class. His head turned to a different section as he considered checking out some judicial texts.
A smile made its way onto Riddle’s face as he gave his future self an approving nod. He had gotten interested in law after reading up on the Queen of Hearts and Heartslabyul as whole. While he still intended to follow his prepared path of becoming a medical mage, he allowed himself the indulgence. It could only be a boon in regards to his future career.
Making his way to the appropriate shelves, Riddle passed up an entire shelf of books as he had already finished reading all the books on it.
“I’m sorry, you’ve read all those books in less than two years?” Ace whipped his head around to face his housewarden. “I can barely finish a book in a month!”
“I believe that would be due to your own laziness rather than an inability to read quickly.”
Properly called out, Ace just huffed and turned his attention back to the screen. He threw a pillow at Deuce when he noticed the amused smile on the younger boy’s face.
Riddle grabbed two books, the next ones he would need to read, before growing distracted by the appearance of Jack and Deuce passing by the area he was in.
“Juice, in the library? Unheard of!” Ace let out an ‘oof’ as an elbow collided with his ribs. “What gives?!”
“My name is Deuce, not Juice!”
Ace was about to respond but was stopped by the clearing of a throat. He turned his head and was met by a stern glare from Riddle, effectively silencing him.
Jack crossed his arms as he questioned Deuce, wasn’t he looking for a book about the history of magic? Why was he in the fitness section?
“Oh, sorry.” Deuce sighed as he admitted to getting sidetracked.
“Yeah, that…sounds like me.” Deuce had resolved to become an honors student and yet he was able to so easily get sidetracked when doing something simple like grabbing a book. He’d have to do better if he wanted to make his mom proud.
Riddle approached the pair, telling Deuce he’d likely find the book he was looking for in the History and Humanities section. The younger boy startled at the sound before smiling as he greeted his housewarden, loudly, which earned him a sharp but short reprimand. Deuce apologized without lowering his volume at all, causing his companions to sigh.
Ace and Grim both burst out laughing while the other freshmen sighed. “C’mon, Juice, you didn’t listen at all!”
Thankfully, Riddle ignored his dorm member’s near-shout and focused on the matter at hand. Both of the freshmen were looking for books and since they were together, their club’s morning practice had likely ended.
Honestly, Deuce almost forgot that he and Jack were going to be clubmates in the future. “Right, we’re both in the track club.”
“I won’t let myself get overshadowed by you.” Jack declared, earning him a competitive grin from Deuce.
“Good! We’ll have to race sometime to see who’s better.”
“You’re on!”
Jack confirmed Riddle’s assumption, but explained that they hadn’t gone to the library together. “I mentioned I was going to the library before class, and he invited himself along.”
Deuce sighed, “It just worked out that way.” They both just so happened to have business at the library.
“That’s believable.” Riddle had often found himself in a similar situation with Silver and his other clubmates. Sometimes they just so happened to have the same destination after they finished with their club activities.
A laugh rang out from beside him. “Looks like Jack is trying to keep up his lone wolf act even after teaming up with us to deal with Leona.”
“Wrap up your bickering and pick out your books, you two. Class is about to start.” Riddle’s expression was unamused as Deuce realized the time, making his way to the history section.
“Classic Juice.” Ace groaned in pain. “Stop that!” He rubbed his aching ribs.
Jack grinned, already having grabbed the book he wanted to check out. He and Riddle began making their way to the check out desk when the latter observed that there was nobody at the counter.
“Pardon?” Riddle looked at the screen, his eyes wide. “Why is there no one at the counter? There is meant to be an employee stationed there at all hours of operation! This is an egregious violation of the rules!”
Jack also found it odd that no one was working the counter, but he kept his suspicions to himself.
The pair both stared in shock. Jack thought that someone was supposed to be stationed there during all the library’s operating hours. You couldn’t just leave a ‘be back soon’ sign and call it good!
Riddle agreed with Jack’s complaints, adding that one couldn’t break the rules just because the library didn’t get many visitors in the mornings. He grew frustrated, as he couldn’t take the books he wanted if he didn’t go through the proper checkout procedures. He held back a sigh as he made up his mind to return during lunch break.
Jack and Riddle’s present selves both appeared to be just as frustrated as their future versions. “This is ridiculous! What if someone needed a specific book urgently? What if somebody had questions? What if there were an emergency and no staff members were around to assist?” While he had agreed to be more lax, there was a limit to what Riddle could take.
A hand on his shoulder brought him out of his anger, his head turning to Trey, who bore a small smile of support. “Don’t worry so much, I’m sure you’ll be able to handle whatever happens.”
“Exactly! You’re #supesresponsible! Everything will be fine!”
Riddle couldn’t help but smile back at the pair, their positivity infectious. “Right, everything shall turn out all right.”
Before Riddle had the chance to walk even a step, there was a light shining from one of the library windows. They both looked over as Jack wondered aloud what it was. A familiar voice sounded through the building, announcing that an object fell from the sky.
“I know that voice…” Jamil held a hand to his head, holding back an exasperated sigh. “Why did it have to be him?” He mumbled.
Riddle was going to scold the person shouting but was instead distracted by Jack. “Someone’s leaning dangerously far out a window! They’re gonna fall!”
Jamil gripped his armrests tightly, the stress already building. It hadn’t even been five minutes since the viewing began!
“Woah!” The figure nearly toppled over, losing their grip on the window. Riddle used magic to stop them from falling. The commotion had Deuce running over, wondering what had happened. Riddle ignored the freshman, instead focusing on calming himself down. The housewarden had been scared, as ‘he’ nearly fell out of a window.
If Jamil had been attached to a heart monitor, it would be beeping like crazy. “Thank you…” He mumbled to himself.
Oblivious to Jamil’s stress, Kalim let out a noise of confusion as he looked at the other, tilting his head at Jamil. His friend assured him that he was fine and Kalim smiled kindly, patting him on the shoulder.
Kalim, the one who nearly fell out the window, groaned in pain from how he landed. A flustered Jack told his upperclassman to be grateful for only falling such a short distance. Were it not for Riddle saving him with magic, Kalim would have hit the ground headfirst.
Was there even a blood pressure monitor that’d be able to read Jamil’s at the current moment? Probably not. Seriously, it was a good thing Riddle was there to help or Jamil’s life would be effectively over. Literally. Why did he have to serve the most spoiled and careless person to exist?! Did Kalim not care about how Jamil would be affected by his actions?! No, he wouldn’t, Jamil knew that much. If he did care, he had a funny way of showing it.
With a hearty laugh, Kalim apologized. His casual response angered Riddle, who proceeded to loudly reprimand him for his breach of etiquette.
How Jamil wished he could reprimand Kalim in a similar way, but it would only go in one ear and out the other, and then Jamil would get a scolding from both his own parents and Kalim’s.
Deuce asked the boy why he had been dangling himself out of the window in the first place. Kalim explained that there had been a flash outside and when he looked, something was falling for the sky. He had tried to grab the object without thinking about it in advance.
Classic Kalim, always giving people heart attacks and never thinking things through. Jamil had to keep his anger and frustration in check, however, as he didn’t want Kalim to know just how much he was annoyed by his master’s antics.
“Kalim, please try and consider things more carefully next time. You could have gotten hurt.” He kept his tone even and soft, the appearance of a concerned friend fooling most everyone in the room.
Kalim let out a similar laugh to his future self. “That’s my bad, Jamil! I’ll try to be more careful!”
Jamil wanted to yell at Kalim to do more than just try but he held it back, forcing a small smile on his face. “I’m definitely not letting this happen again, I’ll be more alert next time.” The fact that he now had to make sure Kalim was safe in the library of all places was infuriating. Could his clueless master not survive ten minutes on his own?!
Looking at Kalim, Deuce asked what had fallen from the sky. The housewarden grinned, showing off the cylindrical object. It was mostly hollow on the inside and bore a sun design on the outside.
Deuce wondered if it were some sort of container while Jack noticed the metal fittings on the inside. Kalim grinned, calling the object weird. “Good thing I caught it before it hit the ground.”
“I’d rather you not practically jump out a window to do that, though.” Jamil sighed.
A laugh left Kalim as he smiled apologetically. “My bad!”
Riddle glared, once more scolding Kalim. “Nothing about what you did was “good”! You need to learn from this!”
How Jamil wished he could yell at Kalim in a similar way. Honestly, though, the scolding would likely not be helpful at all. “He’s right.”
“I know!” Kalim nudged his friend lightly. “I promise I’ll try harder to think things through!”
The statement wasn’t reassuring in the least when Kalim said it in such a casual tone! Letting out a sigh, Jamil went back to staring at the screen. “I’ll take your word for it.” Trying to get the message to stick wouldn’t work, so he decided to let it go.
Kalim took the scolding in stride, his smile never wavering. Deuce informed his housewarden that it was nearly time for class and asked if he could let the matter go.
The group all looked at the counter, Jack being the one to say that there was still nobody at the counter. Deuce’s face contorted into a nervous expression as he let it slip that his assignment wouldn’t get finished in time if he wasn’t able to check out the book he needed.
“Excuse me?!” Riddle shot up from his seat. “You have waited this long before even starting your assignment?!”
“I definitely wouldn’t do that!” Deuce knew he was bad at school but he was determined to be better! He wouldn’t wait until the last minute to do his schoolwork! There had to be another explanation.
Ace leaned towards Grim and Yuu, whispering, “I knew Juice would forget!” His laugh was interrupted by a yelp, as Deuce had hit him on the head with a pillow.
“I heard that, Ace!”
“Hey!” Ace pouted once again in annoyance.
Jack stared at Deuce in shock, asking why the shorter boy hadn’t started the work sooner. Deuce admitted that he started his assignment a week prior but it simply wasn’t coming together very well.
“See? I started it before, I probably just got stuck on something!”
Riddle sat back down at that, still frustrated but not as enraged. “I still recommend you be more careful in the future. If you need help, you need only ask.”
"Yes, Housewarden!”
Kalim, seemingly unaware of the blue haired boy’s distress, said that he was also looking for a book he needed for class. He had no idea where to find it but he was sure things would work out! While the words improved Deuce’s mood, they did nothing to comfort the others in the room.
“That’s not how it works, Kalim.” Jamil resisted the urge to facepalm.
“Really? Well, I still think it’ll work out in the end!”
Riddle told Deuce that he would help with the assignment so long as it was finished on time.
“See? It all worked out! Riddle’s gonna help and make sure it’s turned in on time!”
Jamil nodded before turning to look at Kalim, “And do you know where to even start looking for the book you need?”
With Deuce’s agreement and everything settled, they began to leave the library. Well, they tried to leave the library, but the door wasn’t cooperating. Riddle attempted multiple times to open it before informing the others about the predicament.
Riddle’s brow furrowed as he watched his future self struggle with the door. “That’s odd.”
Jack tried to open the door himself, wondering if it was jammed. He took a deep breath before trying again, this time with much more force.
It didn’t open.
“No way…” Jack stared at the screen, eyes wide.
Pushing, pulling, less force, more force, nothing was working.
“You’re joking!” Deuce leaned forward, putting his head in his hands. “You’ve gotta be kidding me!”
Deuce suggested that maybe it was locked from the outside. Kalim laughed at the suggestion, “Some people can be so careless.”
Jamil bit back a snarky response about how those words were coming from the most careless person he knew.
A bell rang, signalling that classes were about to start. They were going to be late! Kalim banged on the door, shouting through it as he asked if anyone was there. There was the sound of footsteps before Jamil’s voice could be heard through the door. “Kalim! Are you in the library?!”
Kalim obviously recognized his friend, stating that he had come at the perfect time. Jamil was left confused, explaining that he heard Kalim wasn’t in class, which was why he had come looking. “Clearly seeing you off at the classroom door isn’t rough. Do I have to physically walk you into the room?” He wondered to himself.
“Not a bad idea.” If it helped him avoid a future headache, Jamil could take the extra few seconds to make sure Kalim was in his seat before heading off to his own class.
The idea left Jack in shock, the beastman wondering how old Jamil thought Kalim was. Riddle sighed as he agreed with Jamil’s thought process, as their current situation proved that the current approach wasn’t enough to make sure Kalim would be in class on time.
At least someone seemed to understand the hardships Jamil faced when having to deal with Kalim! It was both comforting and frustrating to know that his suffering was noticed. He would have to be more careful with his reactions in the future.
Finally looking guilty, Kalim explained that he planned to get back to class with time to spare, it just so happened that the door was locked. Jamil tilted his head, examining the door as he wondered why it’d be locked during the library’s operating hours.
“Wait, it’s not locked.” He announced, to the group’s surprise. He attempted to open the door himself but it wouldn’t budge yet again. He wondered if it was stuck on something. It wasn’t an ideal situation, but Jamil was facing it with practiced calm as he asked to know who else was trapped with Kalim.
Ace leaned in to whisper to Deuce and Yuu. “Is it just me or does Jamil seem used to this?” His companions simply shrugged in response, glancing over at Jamil who wore an identical expression to his future self.
After Kalim listed who else was there, Riddle informed his fellow sophomore that no amount of pushing or pulling was working. Jamil smiled at the sound of Riddle’s voice as he figured it would be safe for him to leave for a little bit.
“I’m honored to know you have such faith in me.” Riddle’s words weren’t a lie, he knew just how protective Jamil could be over Kalim. It felt nice to know that Jamil trusted him with Kalim’s safety, even if only for a brief time.
“I’d be stupid not to. You’re one of the most responsible people I know.” Even with the anger issues, beheadings, and bouts of anger, Riddle was still more trustworthy than most everyone else in the room.
“Hey, I’m here too!” Jack shouted, offended that he wasn’t considered responsible.
Deuce nodded, “So am I!”
Ace let out a snicker at that, earning him another elbow to his ribs.
“And me!” Kalim added on with a grin.
Jamil didn’t look reassured by any of the three but placated them with a simple ‘yes, I know’ before he went to find a teacher.
“Thank you, Jamil.” Riddle appreciated that there was someone responsible on the other side of the door rather than someone like Floyd or Leona.
“It’s literally my job, Riddle.” Jamil gave the other a smile, hiding his bitterness towards the whole situation. “But you’re welcome.”
Jack heard him go, upset at the idea of waiting. Instead of wasting any time, he left to try and find a way out. Deuce agreed that trying to find another way out wasn’t a bad idea.
Looking for a way out was certainly a better use of their time than just sitting around while they waited for Jamil to return. At least there was some hope for the pair of freshmen, Riddle mused.
After thinking for a bit, Deuce suggested using brooms to fly out of the library. Kalim agreed with his plan, calling Deuce a genius! The compliment flustered Deuce and fueled his determination, causing him to run off in search of brooms before Riddle would get a word in.
“Deuce, please, I don’t believe that to be a good idea.” Riddle bore a tired expression as the future Deuce’s footsteps grew quieter as he ran.
“Huh? Why?”
The screen continued playing the scene, cutting off Riddle’s reply.