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Heartslabyul: a dorm that was built upon the strictness of the Queen of Hearts… though lately, the dorm had not been as strict as it once was. Nowadays, the students that resided in the dorm could rest a bit easier now without the threat of having their heads “decapitated” by their housewarden. In one particular room, three certain first-years and a cat monster were all sitting together, eating snacks and just chatting the night away.
It was none other than Yuuki and Grim, as well as their two friends, Ace and Deuce. Thanks to Riddle’s… convincing ways, Crowley had rightfully rewarded Yuuki with some much-needed renovations to the Ramshackle Dorm, which was actually good timing. With winter coming up in the next few months and the air getting colder, the magicless girl and her monster companion were at risk of freezing to death. Of course, that meant that the pair had to stay somewhere else for the time being. At first, Yuuki was willing to set up a tent outside and sleep outside the dorm, but then she realized she’d be close to all the hammering and sawing noises, which wouldn’t allow her to get much sleep.
Luckily for her, Ace and Deuce came to her rescue and offered her and Grim to let them stay with them in their bedroom, provided that she doesn’t mind being in a room with 4 boys since the Troublemaking Duo shared their room with two other first-year students. Riddle didn’t need much convincing in that regard. He was more than happy to let Yuuki stay since she had become such a close friend to him. Trey and Cater were also glad to let the girl stay over for the next few days, the former even giving her a welcome basket of chocolate chip muffins as a token of goodwill. Of course, she had to share some with Grim, too.
“Since you’re my minion, it’s your job to share, y’know!” he told her.
Though she still argued that she wasn’t his minion, Yuuki did allow him to have some.
Right now, Yuuki was dressed in her pajamas, sitting on the floor with Grim, Ace, and Deuce, both of them wearing more casual attire, as they sat around talking about something that had happened in Alchemy Class earlier that day.
“I can’t believe you seriously did that!” said Yuuki. “Deuce, you really thought Malleus Draconia was looking for a fight when all he wanted from you was to fix his toy?”
“I know, embarrassing,” said Deuce, wearing a teal shirt with a black spade on the front and a pair of dark blue sweatpants.
“You had to be there, Yuuki, seriously!” said Ace, wearing a red hoodie jacket with an Ace of Hearts motif and a pair of black pants and white socks. “It’s too bad you went to the bathroom!”
“Well, I’m amazed that he gave you such a rare stone in return!” Yuuki pointed out.
“What’d you do with it, by the way?” Grim inquired.
“Oh, I had it sent to my Mom,” said Deuce. “I’m sure she’d appreciate it.”
“Aww, that’s so sweet of you, Deuce!” Yuuki said while Ace rolled his eyes and got some chips out of a bowl.
“Mama’s boy…” he muttered, causing Deuce to glare at him before he threw his pillow at him, but he snickered nonetheless.
“Don’t tease him, Ace,” Yuuki scolded as she sat up. “I think it’s very sweet how Deuce cares so much for his mom. It’s admirable.”
“ Thank you , Yuuki,” Deuce replied. “See? She says it’s admirable, Ace. There’s nothing wrong with a guy caring a lot about his mom.”
“Whatevs, dude,” Ace said, and that’s when the door opened, revealing Trey and Cater standing in the doorway.
“How’s our little guest of honor?” asked Cater.
“I’m just fine, thanks!” Grim exclaimed, causing Yuuki, Ace, and Deuce to sneer at him, which caused the cat monster to shrink a bit. “Oh… you meant Yuuki, didn’t ya?”
“I’m just fine, Cater-senpai and Trey-senpai,” said Yuuki.
“Yeah, we’re with her!” Ace added. “Don’t worry about a thing.”
“Yeah, well, just so you know,” Trey began, “lights out in 10 minutes. We got class in the morning.”
“Thanks, Trey,” Deuce said. “We’ll be in bed soon.”
“Yeah, and we made sure to do our homework before we started talking,” Yuuki added.
“Glad to hear it,” said Trey. “We’ll tell Riddle that you’re comfortable. See you in the morning Yuuki, Grim.”
“Sweet dreams!” Cater said with a wink as he and Trey left.
“Trey-senpai is so sweet, coming in to check up on me,” Yuuki said with an endearing smile. “Reminds me of my older brother back home.” Suddenly, her smile fell and her shoulders slumped a bit, causing Ace, Deuce, and Grim to look at her in concern.
“Uh-oh…” Grim muttered.
“Yuuki, are you okay?” Deuce asked as he sat up.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” Yuuki replied. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring down the mood. Let’s just talk about something else.”
“Well, make it quick,” Ace said as he looked at his clock. “We got 8 minutes left until lights out.”
“Okay, okay,” Yuuki said before she put a hand to her chin, humming in thought. “Oh, I know!”
“What?” Deuce asked as he grabbed his can of soda.
“Okay, this is gonna sound totally random,” Yuuki began, “but have either of you boys ever… dated?”
Ace stiffened while Deuce accidentally spat out his soda on Grim, who shrieked in surprised disgust before he shook his head.
“Are you kiddin’ me?!” Grim questioned.
“HACK-HACK!! KOFF!!” Deuce spluttered while Ace scratched the back of his head in slight embarrassment.
“Well… uh… I did have a girlfriend back when I was in middle school,” Ace admitted.
“Oh, yeah?” asked Yuuki, raising her eyebrows in intrigue as she and Deuce scooted in closer to listen. “What was she like? Was she pretty?”
“Well… she was cute, yeah,” Ace replied, “but… things weren’t really going anywhere between us. I mean… she and I just didn’t have all thought in common, really.”
“Why do you say that?” Deuce inquired.
“For one thing, she hated scary stuff,” Ace said. “Whenever she went to an amusement park, she always either wanted to ride the Ferris wheel or the merry-go-round. No roller coasters and she definitely didn’t like going to the arcade. She always wanted to play those little carnival games for kids where you knock down bottles and win a stuffed toy.”
“They have games like that?” Grim asked as he ate another muffin.
“I guess when you do the same thing every time you go on a date, it would get kinda boring, huh?” asked Yuuki.
“And whenever we went to the movies, we always watched some rom-com or drama flick,” Ace added as he ate another chip. “She hated the horror films because she said they give her nightmares.”
“So how’d you break up with her?” Deuce inquired.
“Well… I didn’t really break up with her, per se,” Ace confessed as he lounged on his side. “Truth is… I just stopped talking to her.”
“What?!” Yuuki questioned as she glared at him. “You’ve gotta be kidding me!!”
“Sheesh, I don’t even know what dating is, but even I gotta admit, that’s awful, y’know!” Grim added.
“Dude, for real!” Deuce snapped. “How could you do that?!”
“Oh, please!” Ace argued. “Like you know how to dump a girl, Loosey Deucey?”
That time, it was Deuce’s turn to freeze as his eyes darted back and forth, and then he sighed in defeat.
“Umm… well… the thing is…” he said.
“Yes?” Yuuki inquired.
“I’ve… never…” Deuce said before he muttered something under his breath
“What?” Ace asked. “What did you say?”
“I said I’ve never… talked to…” Deuce muttered as he looked away.
“What?!” Ace questioned.
“I’ve never talked to girls!” Deuce shouted, his face turning redder than Riddle’s face when he lost his temper. “There, I said it! I mean, the only girls I’ve ever talked to are my Mom and Grandma, but that’s it!”
“But… Yuuki’s a girl, y’know,” Grim pointed out.
“She’s different,” Deuce said. “Yuuki’s… well, she’s Yuuki. She makes me feel better about myself. She’s not… what’s the word? She’s not afraid of me like all the girls from my old school were… or the other guys for that matter.”
“Oh, so you’re saying that you were just that intimidating, huh?” asked Ace.
“You do kinda have that look when you’re actin’ like a delinquent, y’know,” Grim pointed out.
“So you’ve never had a girlfriend, huh, Deuce?” asked Yuuki.
“Nah, not really,” Deuce shrugged. “I’m kinda hoping that’ll change once I become an honors student, though. If I do get a girlfriend, I want her to know that I’m not so scary deep down.”
“Aww, that’s so sweet!” Yuuki exclaimed while Ace mockingly gagged.
“Well, Yuuki, since you’re the one who brought it up,” Ace began, “what about you?”
“Huh?” Yuuki muttered. “Me?”
“Have you ever dated anyone?” asked Ace with a smirk. “Don’t be shy, now, give the deets.”
“Oh… well…” Yuuki muttered. “Not really, no.”
“Yeah?” asked Deuce. “How come?”
“Well, for one thing,” Yuuki began, “I went to an all-girls school back where I was from.”
“Seriously?” asked Ace in surprise.
“Yeah,” Yuuki replied, “so I never really thought of dating anyone… and for another thing, even if I did, my Mom wouldn’t allow it.”
“Why not?” asked Deuce, remembering how strict Yuuki’s mother was when she first talked about her to Riddle.
“She says that boys are too distracting,” said Yuuki. “She says I shouldn’t waste my time thinking about something like that.”
“Psh!” Ace scoffed. “Are you serious? Is your mom THAT dumb? Most parents would be glad their kids brought someone home, and I'm willing to bet that even if it wasn't a co-ed school, the same thing would still happen, somehow!”
“If I ever brought home a girl, I know my Mom would be thrilled,” Deuce said.
“If my Mom ever found out I came to an all-boys school, I just know that she would freak the hell out,” said Yuuki. “My older sister, on the other hand, would probably be excited for me because she’d probably think I’d get a boyfriend, finally.” She paused for a moment before she sat up quickly. “Uh… not that I want one, right now!”
“Uh-huh,” Ace nodded, raising his eyebrow skeptically. “So… anybody you’ve got your mind on in particular? I mean, this place has got boys comin’ out the wazoo and you don’t have an eye out for any of them?”
“Ace, don’t you start,” Yuuki warned.
“Is it… Cater? I mean, he’s been flirting with you ever since you guys met! And he took you clothes shopping in town, remember?”
“No, it’s not Cater-senpai! I mean, yes, he took me shopping one time, but we’re just friends!”
“I heard that one before…”
“Ace!”
“Okay, okay, is it… Jack Howl? I know how much girls love puppies!”
“No, Ace, it’s not Jack!”
“…Riddle?”
“ No , Ace!”
“Well, come on, Yuuki, at least tell me if I’m getting warmer! Is it… Trey?”
“Of course not! Didn’t you hear me say that he reminds me of my older brother?! Will you just drop it, already?!”
“So you seriously don’t like ANY guy here?” Ace asked in disbelief. “Not even, say… Deuce?”
Deuce spat out his soda, again, but luckily, he aimed for the floor, this time. Even so, his face was as red as a rose as he covered his eyes while Yuuki felt like she just wanted to shrink down to the size of an atom and just not be visible, anymore.
“It’s NOT Deuce, Ace,” said Yuuki, just as he opened his mouth to speak, once more. “And it’s not YOU, either!”
“Well, then, who?” Ace inquired.
“I… I can’t tell you,” Yuuki replied as she looked away with her brow furrowed and her arms crossed. “You’ll think it’s dumb. Besides, I’m over him, anyway.”
“Well, at least we know it’s a ‘him’,” Ace pointed out, but just before he could grill her any further, the door opened, revealing Trey, once again, as well as Ace and Deuce’s two roommates as they walked in and headed straight to bed.
“Okay, you guys,” he said. “Lights out. Time for bed.”
“Ah, come on, Trey!” Ace complained. “Yuuki was just about to tell me something!”
“Well, it can wait until morning,” Trey countered. “Now, lights out . I won’t say it again.”
“Yeah, he’s right,” Deuce said before he yawned. “I’m beat. Goodnight, guys.”
“Goodnight, Deuce,” Yuuki said as she and Grim crawled into her sleeping bag with Grim soon snuggling up beside her. “Oyasumi.”
“Yeah, goodnight,” Ace said as he climbed into bed, too. With a satisfied nod, Trey flicked the lights off and walked out, heading to the bedroom he shared with Cater. Yuuki sighed as she began to settle in, preparing to drift off into sleep… until…
“Psst… Yuuki?”
“What is it, Ace?”
“Just be honest with me… are you crushing on Ruggie?”
FWUMP!! Ace was soon smacked in the face by Yuuki’s pillow.
“Good night , Ace!”
“Seriously, he’s such an idiot, y’know.”
As Yuuki began to settle in once more… her eyes opened slightly as she pondered Ace’s question.
‘I can’t tell them,’
she thought.
‘They’d think something was wrong with me… and besides… Leona doesn’t seem like the type to think about a girl, anyway…’