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You weren't quite sure how you ended up in this situation. Actually, you did know, but you didn't want to admit that it was because of circumstances well within your control that caused you to drop into this situation as you had.
You see, you were studying with the rest of your fellow first years. Ace and Deuce had been silently goofing off in the corner while Grim had been taking a nap on the table, his head resting on one of the textbooks needed to pass Professor Crewel's class.
There was an exam on the last five potions that Crewel had you create, which consisted of the interaction of ingredients, the main uses of the aforementioned potions, and why the ingredients used were important. While it should have been straightforward on paper, you knew from experience that Crewel was tricky and required in depth explanations for all of his essay questions.
Hence the reason why you were silently panicking as you thumbed through the notes that you had taken in the lecture portion of his class.
You weren't the best student (that was saved for the Heartslabyul and Octavinelle dorm heads), but you were certainly not the worst. Yet, you wanted to succeed, to get a passing score. You had no one to impress back home, but you wanted to make it so that all the time spent in Twisted Wonderland wasn't in vain. Even if you could never go back home, at least you had the foundation and the skills to survive past high school in Twisted Wonderland...
Now, if only Ace and Deuce would stop bickering like an old married couple!
You were about to interfere in their discussion concerning the benefits of causing a disturbance in Crewel's class just so they could get out of an exam—it was never worth it, in your opinion—when you felt rather than saw a looming presence near your study table. As the hairs on the back of your neck and arms stood at ramrod attention, you shifted your gaze from the margins of your notebook to find that one of the Leech twins was looking down at you, a curious, but polite smile on his face.
"Good afternoon, Prefect. I couldn't help but notice that you and your friends were making quite the ruckus when I came in." Despite the good natured inflection of his voice, you couldn't help but feel like he was mocking you.
"I see... Were we bothering you?" It wasn't like the Vice Housewarden of Octavinelle to appear out of nowhere. Like the rest of the students of that particular dorm, he didn't do anything unless there was something in it for him.
"I wouldn't say that you were bothering me necessarily, but..." A well placed chuckle alongside his signature covering of the mouth with one of his gloved hands. "The librarian sends his regards.” His golden eye flashed a little in the light. “And a few well meaning threats.”
“Ah…” Out of discomfort, you chuckled a little before leaning over in your seat to whack Ace and Deuce with one of your textbooks. Immediately, Ace made a sound like a dying cat, but immediately hushed when he saw Jade give one of his eerie grins that looked more at home in a horror movie.
With Ace and Deuce finally under control (although, you could see that the two of them were sending side glances at you and the Vice Housewarden of Octavinelle), you finally gave Jade your full attention. If there was one thing that you learned about Octavinelle as a whole was that while most of the students were willing to help anyone in need, there was a price that had to be paid. Had you signed a contract with Azul? Had you asked for help from one of the lower ranking Octavinelle students? Shoot… Or had you made a deal with none other than Jade Leech himself?
Jade must have sensed your discomfort because he merely chuckled and gave you one of his nonchalant smiles that didn’t dispel the differing emotion in his mismatched eyes. “The other tables in the library are filled. May I take this seat?”
You could have rolled your eyes at the blatant lie. You knew full well at this time of day that most Night Raven College students preferred to stay in their dorms or work in unused classrooms instead of going to the library. If anything, Jade would have more than his fair share of the lot.
You gestured for him to take the seat next to you and in doing so, you failed to notice that you had left the first few pages of one of the essays that you had given Crewel a few weeks ago, a red circle surrounding a very, very low score. Ace and Deuce had already seen the score and given you looks of sympathy alongside a few teasing remarks about how you would have to start requesting private tutoring sessions with Crewel. At the rate of how you were doing in certain classes… you had to admit that their teasing was not unfounded.
“Oh my…” Jade’s eyes furrowed in what you could discern was concern, but if you looked deeper, you could make out the undercurrent of mockery. “I don’t suppose you’ve found yourself a dedicated tutor this late in the semester?”
His gaze flitted to the chaotic duo—who were once again bickering, albeit a lot more quietly—and back to you. This time, the concern was completely overshadowed by the obvious amusement that he had at your situation.
“Well… No, not really.” You squirmed in your seat as you tried to evade his probing gaze. That was another thing with the Octavinelle students, or at least with the main trio that you associated with most of the time, it was like all three of them could find out your deepest secrets and weaknesses with just their gazes and with well timed questions. “But I’ve been studying a lot!”
He hummed a little under his breath before fixing you with a gaze that would have easily frozen one of the braver students in their place.
“I see.” His tone sounded unconvinced, but he turned to his own pile of textbooks that he had on hand before settling his gaze upon you again. “I don’t doubt your ability to exceed expectations, but not many would pass up the opportunity to increase your chances of success.”
Ah.
You should have guessed.
Another business proposal.
Your gaze fell upon your notes; half finished equations and misspelled ingredient lists greeted you in return. Oh… You were deep in the shit weren’t you?
“Okay. If someone, hypothetically, were to increase their chances of success, how would they go about doing it?”
You always wondered what it was like to see a shark react to a drop of blood in the water, but seeing Jade’s face now, you realized now that you no longer need to contemplate such an image. It was rather horrifying, like watching a fly get trapped in a spider’s web and start struggling for its life: you were long since desensitized to this, but when you really thought about it, it made your skin crawl with unease.
“I suppose they could find themselves a competent tutor… but I suppose this person—hypothetically, of course—would have to remember that everything comes with a price.” He paused. Was it for dramatic effect? You wouldn’t know, but it did add emphasis to what he said next. “However, if you talk to the right person, perhaps they might offer a rare, once in a lifetime discount?”
Your eyes narrowed. “And does this right person have to be you, Jade?”
He placed a gloved hand over his chest. “Prefect, you flatter me!”
Your eyes narrowed further.
“Your intuition serves you well, I was talking about myself.” He chuckled, his joke entertaining himself just fine. “Since we’re both on a tight schedule this evening, I’ll make this concise: I’ll help you review for your next exam and in return, you have to taste test some recipes that I have in mind for next season’s menu for the lounge.”
If it were anyone else, you would have thought that he would have been getting the shorter end of the stick. Getting tutored by one of the higher ranking students in the school? And taste testing what was sure to be heavenly food? Amazing! The thing was, this was Jade Leech. And Jade Leech was always hiding poison underneath that honey eyed gaze and sweet words that he would murmur.
It was also worrying that Floyd had told you that a week ago, Jade had been out in the mountains procuring various plants for his collection.
Taste testing Jade’s newest concoctions was literally a recipe for disaster, one that would either land you in the infirmary at best or you would end up back in the Ramshackle Dorm… as a permanent non-living resident.
Yet, despite the risks, you wanted to not only get a passing score, but you also wanted to one-up Ace and Deuce. They were equally as average as you, but you were tired of the fact that because they had magic, they were already miles ahead of you in certain subjects. You were studying theory and would it not be nice to be good at least one thing in this school? It rankled at you to admit it, but Jade’s offer was tempting.
“Let me make this clear,” because if you didn’t, you knew that Jade could and would exploit any loopholes that you would leave glaringly open, “you’ll help me ace this exam and all I have to do is eat your food?”
Jade’s smile, ever present, seemed all the more mischievous.
“Now, now, Prefect… I said that the right person would tutor you, not that it would lead to you passing.”
The smug bastard.
He was at least somewhat honest, even if it let you down.
“So what would it take to get me to pass?”
And that’s when you began to be all the more alarmed when you saw Jade’s teeth peek from beneath his lips. A part of you knew that he and Floyd were twins, but you thought it was only Floyd with the sharp shark teeth. To see it from Jade’s (usually) non-threatening visage was alarming.
He leaned in close, the gold in his left eye entrancing and chilling you to the bone.
“Well, I’ve found that since I’ve invested most of my efforts in procuring and preparing my newest additions to the recipes, it appears that I’m running low in my personal stores. Perhaps, if you’re willing, you can accompany me on my next hiking expedition.”
Well, that didn’t sound too bad.
The woods near the college weren’t particularly dangerous and you would be traveling with a seasoned hiker. As long as you took precautions when handling the fungi that Jade wanted to incorporate into his food, you should be fine. It seemed like the main threat here would be the initial taste testing and Jade himself.
All things considered… It was actually a pretty good deal.
As long as Azul didn’t get involved and Jade actually helped you, then you didn’t see the problem.
What you didn’t take into account, however, was the fact that Ace and Deuce had actually been listening to your conversation the entire time. While you were somewhat aware of how protective Ace and Deuce may have been concerning you, it was still somewhat shocking to feel the back of your chair hauled backward. The movement was so jarring, you almost didn’t register the squealing sound the legs of the chair made upon the unrelenting wood underneath your seat. In your peripheral, you could spot a few meandering students sending shocked glances in your group’s direction, but you paid more attention to the fact that Ace had placed himself in front of you while Deuce flanked you at your side.
“No way, dude. They’re going to get by with some good ole elbow grease and determination.”
Because Ace's back was turned towards you, Jade's expression was not made noticeable. Instead, what made you concerned that Jade was miffed at the interruption was the fact that Deuce's grip on your bicep tightened marginally. Deuce was already a strong young man and his grip was not something that should be laughed at, but you were still somewhat surprised by how little you could move under his grasp.
"I can understand your lack of trust in receiving help from others, but I can assure you, I only have the best of intentions for our dear Prefect."
You heard Ace snort in front of you. Knowing him, he was probably only seconds away from offering a rebuttal that would only increase the tension rather than defusing it.
"Hey, Ace?" You grasped Ace's sleeve, not quite leaving the safety of your seat due to Deuce's grip, but you were leaning forward in an attempt to do so. "Come on, I think it might be fun to get some help from Jade! And besides, it's not like he's a bad cook!"
Then again, you didn't have any evidence that he was a good cook either. It was usually Floyd who created the menus for Mostro Lounge.
Ace ignored you, dark righteousness lacing his tone. “It’s not that I don’t trust others. I don’t trust you.”
What happened next remained a mystery.
All you knew was that Deuce was pulling you back, the tall tower of books that had been placed precariously at your side prior to this encounter wobbled before knocking into Ace, and then Ace…
Well, there were a few interesting takes to this situation, but all of them didn’t seem to make sense.
- When you asked Ace, he would say that when the tower of books fell, they bumped into him. Normally, this wouldn’t have bothered Ace at all, but Deuce tried to catch the books that began to break free from their formation. While your books about alchemical laws and encyclopedias of fungi were saved from getting crumpled on the floor, Deuce had unwittingly pushed Ace right into Jade’s personal space.
- You never tried to ask Jade what happened, but Floyd happened upon you one day and said that Jade watched as the tower of books fell, which knocked into Ace, and Ace began pinwheeling into Jade.
- And finally, when you asked Deuce what happened, he said that he wasn’t paying attention, but he did try to get all of the books back onto the table before they fell. It wasn’t until later that Deuce realized that he pushed Ace into Jade.
The fact of the matter was this: your books were safe, Deuce was a good friend, and Ace and Jade were not doing too well in the aftermath of such an event.
You see, all three stories recounted the fact that Ace fell onto Jade.
What these three stories didn’t tell you was that Ace was hotheaded and impulsive.
So when Ace began to realize that his balance was failing him, he reached out to steady himself.
Unfortunately, as coordinated as Ace could be in most circumstances, his talents failed him now. Instead of reaching for the table, he reached out for Jade, but overshot it (somehow), and ended up barreling on top of Jade.
Jade, as composed as he was on any normal day, decided to let loose in the most deranged way possible. Instead of sitting still and taking the blow or trying to steady Ace with outstretched hands, Jade had found it necessary to push Ace back by thrusting his palm upward and straight for Ace’s chin.
Ace did, indeed, fly backwards into Deuce and not into Jade like you had expected.
No, Ace decided to be as overdramatic as possible. His arms flailed like the blades of a windmill and as he continued his descent towards Deuce, one of his arms swept a particularly large textbook from the table and straight
INTO
JADE’S
LAP.
If it were any other day, any other scenario, this detail would have slipped everyone’s minds immediately. However, it wasn’t any other day. It wasn’t even a normal day.
And as such, you had to face the overwhelmingly ridiculous reality that Ace may have had either perfect aim or his anger and confusion was enough to send the book rocketing at speeds rivaling Mach 1 right at Jade’s crotch.
The groin.
The area where Jade probably hid his family jewels.
The instant the book made contact with Jade, the most feminine of shrieks erupted from his throat. Jade didn’t have the time to look abashed at the sound he had made. Instead, he devoted his energy to folding over in his seat before falling unceremoniously on the floor.
His face was carefully blank, but his eyes.
Oh, his eyes.
Something told you that you either had to make amends on Ace’s behalf or make a contract with Azul to make sure that his Vice Housewarden was well in hand before he decided that the three of you were on tonight’s menu.