Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Are you sure you're okay?", Blyke asked her softly as they approached the meeting room. "You know... we can postpone the meeting".

"No, I'm fine", she said. "This won't take long anyway".

At seventeen, Remi was used to the disadvantages of being born a girl. She knew what to do when a certain time of the month came, and she rarely let it stop her from continuing her normal activities, specially the ones related to the school. However, there were days that were harder than others, and this was one of those days. As if waking up to cramps wasn't bad enough, she had been feeling extremely weak and tired, to the point that even walking required more effort and energy than usual.

The good news is that there wasn't much left to do. Now they'd have a quick meeting with the rest of the high-rankers to discuss things related to the end of the school year, and then she'd finally go to her room to rest in her soft, warm bed.

However, when Blyke opened the door to the meeting room, Remi had the feeling that the reunion wouldn't go as planned. Her eyes immediately landed on her best friend Isen, unconsciously expecting him to greet them with a relaxed smile on his face like he always did. But that didn't happen. Instead, Isen was curled up on the floor, his face so red that it almost matched Blyke's hair, whining in pain as everybody else in the room stared at him wide-eyed.

"Isen!", Remi and Blyke screamed in unison. One second later they were on the floor by his side, patting him on the back trying to get his attention, but it didn't seem to work. His eyes were closed so hard that they looked like a thin line, and his forehead was covered in sweat.

"What the hell happened here?", Blyke asked, staring angrily at the two guys that were standing closer to their friend. "What did you do to him?"

But judging by the way they looked, it didn't seem like they actually did something to Isen. Arlo and John were both frozen, their faces so pale that you could almost see through their skin. They were looking at Isen with so much horror that anyone would have thought that he was growing a third arm.

"I... it... it was an accident", John started saying. "I was playing with the broom... I was just moving it. And... and Isen came from behind me and... uh..."

"And?", Blyke insisted.

"And I accidentally... y-you know". He then did something with his hand, a gesture that Remi couldn't interpret, but Blyke could. His whole face turned white, and his mouth opened and closed even though no words came out of it.

Blyke went back to Isen's side, horror in his eyes as he put a hand on his shoulder.

"Dude, breathe", Blyke said.

Isen shook his head. "Holy shit I'm going to die", he whined, and Remi would have thought that he was being dramatic if it weren't because his voice sounded much higher than usual.

"You are not going to die. Just breathe".

That's when Remi realized why her friend was curled up like that. A quick glance to the position of his arms helped her understand that he was grabbing a certain part of his body. Realization hit. The boys' reactions and John's gesture now made sense.

Poor Isen had been hit with a broom... there.

"Here she is!", someone suddenly said. Both Remi and Blyke turned to the door, where Seraphina showed up dragging Elaine by the arm. It seemed that Wellston's healer was already aware of the situation, because her eyes quickly started glowing, her small hands right over the area that Isen desperately tried to protect with his own fingers.

Seconds passed, and Remi could feel under her touch the way Isen's entire body started to relax. His breathing became steady, his eyes slowly opened, and his face started to regain its original color.

"Better?", Blyke asked, patting him lightly on the back.

"Yeah", Isen replied, his voice back to normal. "Damn, I thought I was going to faint", he took a deep breath, whispered a weak "thanks" to Elaine, and only then seemed to notice Remi's presence by his side. "Oh, hi", he said.

"Hi", Remi smiled. "Bad day to be a boy, huh?"

Isen rolled his eyes. "You should be grateful that you weren't born with balls."

"She was born with ovaries, which is worse".

That voice caught Remi by surprise. She turned towards the other side of the room, where apparently Cecile had been standing the whole time. To be fair, she had been too focused on Isen to realize who else was in the meeting room with them.

Before Remi could even process the fact that Cecile, of all people, just said something to back her up for the first time ever, Isen was talking again:

"Ovaries can't get hit with a broom by your psycho classmate".

"Hey!", John yelled. Both him and Arlo were recovering as well. "But yeah, he's right".

Seraphina crossed her arms over her chest. "Testicles don't bleed once a month".

"True", Arlo nodded. "But what Isen means is that you don't have to be constantly protecting your uterus so it doesn't get hit. Even the smallest movement can make testicles feel like they are being ripped apart".

To everyone's surprise, it was Arlo's eternal suitor who decided to talk back. "Uh... that's true, but..." Elaine started saying, "how many times does a man get hit there throughout his life? Once? Twice? Girls menstruate every single month for a big part of our lives".

"I know that periods are not fun", Blyke replied. Remi could notice the way he side-eyed her for a short second. "But at least girls know what to do about them, right? You know when it's going to begin and what to do during those days. A guy never knows when he's going to get his balls crushed. Isen was lucky because you were close", he told Elaine. "But if it weren't for you, he'd still be in pain".

"In conclusion, none of you would survive period cramps", Cecile sighed. "I would love to see any of you menstruating. I know that you would beg to have your balls back".

"You mean the balls that get stuck in my zipper and feel like I'm being cut open?" Isen replied, sarcastically. "Yeah, right".

"Hear me out...", John added. "...the tip".

The four guys visibly shivered.

"Honestly...", Blyke started saying. "...it would be nice to sit down with my legs closed without fearing for my life".

Arlo flicked his tongue. "The other day a lady looked at me weird because I had to sit down on a bench with my legs open", he sighed. "That's the only way I can sit comfortably."

"You can sit with your legs open", Seraphina said. "The problem is when they are so open that they touch the people by your sides. It's not nice feeling a stranger's legs touching yours".

"I still can't see how any of that is worse that spending half of my money on tampons", Cecile said.

"You still haven't convinced me to be grateful for my balls", Isen replied, finally standing up from the floor. Remi and Blyke followed him as well.

"You know", Cecile said. "I liked you better one minute ago when you were hurting, because at least you were quiet".

"I would believe that but you never like anybody, so...", he shrugged.

Seeing that things were starting to heat up, Remi realized that it was time to intervene.

"Okay guys, that's enough", she said. "We are not here to talk about this. Blyke and I called you because we want your opinion on the activities we've been planning for the end of the school year".

"Don't change the subject", Cecile said, giving her a dry look. "You're just letting these men downplay the multiple disadvantages of being a woman".

"No one is downplaying anything!", Isen rolled his eyes. "We're just saying that having balls is as bad as having ovaries, and that's it!"

"It's not nearly as bad!", Cecile spat. "You wouldn't be able to live one week in a female body!"

"You wouldn't know that, because that's never gonna happen".

"You know, maybe having a girlfriend would help you understand. What a shame that no girl will ever want to date you".

"Awww let's date each other then! And we both win!"

Remi sighed, hugging herself as she witnessed the scene in front of her. Cecile looked tense from head to toe, but Isen was a different story: a smirk on his lips, fire on his eyes, hands on his pockets; Remi knew him well enough to know that he was no longer trying to prove a point, he was just having fun.

"Please", Cecile replied, her voice cold. "The only way I'd spend more than five minutes with you is by being forced to be your slave".

"That actually sounds really nice", Isen replied, still smirking. "Let's do it, then. Let's play a game. Whoever loses has to be the slave of the winner for a whole week".

Remi was hoping that the conversation would die there, she didn't think that Cecile would follow Isen's teasing to that extent. But she was wrong. To everyone's shock, it looked like Cecile was actually considering the idea.

"Fine. Let's fight. Four versus four. Girls versus boys".

"Absolutely not", both Remi and Blyke said in unison.

"Wellston doesn't need another damn war", Blyke continued. "Specially not over something so stupid".

"Let's find another way then", Isen sighed. "Let's compete. Three games between the two teams. The team that manages to win two out of the three games, is the final winner. The losers have to be the winners' slaves for a whole week".

Cecile nodded. "Okay. Seraphina, Elaine, Remi and myself, versus Arlo, Blyke, John and you".

Remi's eyes opened widely. "Wooaah guys, wait a minute", she said, extending her hands in front of her body. "No one has agreed to any of this. Besides, the Royals need to talk first and make sure that this new activity doesn't collide with the other ones that we've planned, and then-"

"Fortunately, all the Royals are here. And this one in particular...", Isen interrupted, pointing to himself. "...wants to have Cecile bring a bottle of water to his room at two in the morning as soon as possible".

"Remi is right", Seraphina intervened. "The rest of us haven't agreed to anything".

"True. Leave me out of this", Arlo quickly said. "I am not interested".

"Aww don't be like that, Arlo. Actually, I think it would be fun! We've never done something like that before", Elaine said, cheerfully. "But I have a question: how do we decide which games we're going to play? Should we ask someone else to do it for us?"

"Uh... Blyke and Remi, right? They're good at making arrangements and stuff", John said.

Remi's gaze fell to the ground, her body felt heavy. Just thinking about preparing a whole new activity right now was exhausting...

Isen rolled his eyes. "Unless you want the games to be Solitaire and Bingo, yeah, sure, let Blyke and Remi organize this"

Blyke frowned.

"Look, this needs to be spicy. I already have an idea for the first game, and it will be you versus me", he continued, staring directly at Cecile. "Each of us writes an article. Both articles will be published in the Wellston Weekly's website anonymously. The article that receives more likes during the first two days after the publication, is the winner".

It was an interesting idea, she'd give him that. And it looked like Cecile thought the same, because she smirked.

"Deal".

"Uh... are we going to talk about the things that we came to talk about, or not?", Arlo sighed, clearly pissed as he turned towards the door. "Because if the answer is no, I have other things to do".

"Wait- Arloooooo", Isen said. "Come on, play with us! It'll be fun!"

Cecile stared at her teammates. "If Arlo leaves, one of us has to leave too".

"No, wait! I have an idea- we need captains". Isen said. "You can be our captain, Arlo. Aaand the girls choose a captain too. As captains, you organize the games and make sure that they are fair for both teams. And since you'll do that, you won't have to participate in any of them. See? It's perfect!"

He seems so excited, Remi thought to herself. This was probably the first time she saw him eager to do something in Wellston. Seeing him doing his best to avoid those kinds of situations was far more usual, something that didn't change not even after he was crowned Jack. Remi turned to Blyke, who was following Isen's movements with a serious expression on his face. She wondered what he was thinking.

"And the captains keep the games a secret from the rest of the team, right?", Elaine added. "That way, we'll find out about them at the same time".

"Exactly! The captains won't participate in the competition, but they can help their teammates if it's necessary. Did you hear that, Arlo?"

"We need a captain, then", Cecile said. "We have to discuss this. Give us ten minutes to make a decision".

Since the meeting room was big enough, both teams stood in opposite corners so that the conversations would stay a secret. Remi glanced at the boys, and all she could see was Isen talking happily as he hugged Blyke and John by the shoulders.

"I don't think there's much to discuss. It's pretty obvious who should be our captain", Seraphina started saying, staring at Cecile. "I know that you and Isen already agreed to compete over an article, but there's nothing official yet. Out of the four of us, you are the most invested in this. You should be the captain".

"No", Cecile replied, her arms crossed over her chest. "No, I want to be a player and beat that orange rat".

"Uh... actually, I would like to be the captain", Elaine said, shyly. "I don't mind not playing".

Remi, Seraphina and Cecile looked at each other.

"Elaine...", Seraphina said. "Do you want to be the captain just to have some time alone with Arlo?"

"What? No, of course not!", she said, but the bright blush that covered her cheeks said otherwise.

Cecile rolled her eyes. "Guys, don't forget how all of this started: we are proving these men that they should not mess with us, therefore we must stay focused and unbiased", she added. "Which means: little to no contact with them during the week, and most importantly, no crushes allowed".

"No contact with any of them?", Elaine looked terrified. "Are you serious?"

"You can't expect that from us, Cecile", Remi said. "I have to do Royal duties with Blyke and Isen. I won't ignore them just for this".

"Fine", Cecile sighed. "No contact with them if it's not strictly necessary. But the other rule still stands, we must remain strong. We don't want those guys, we don't need them and we don't miss them. From now on, crushes are not allowed. Got it, Elaine?"

Elaine pouted. "Yeah..."

Cecile turned to Remi. "Got it?"

Her heart stopped beating.

"W-what?"

"No crushes allowed during the competition, understood?"

"O-oh yeah, sure!", she said, nervously. "But you don't have to worry about me! Really!"

"Right...", Cecile said, but to Remi's horror, she didn't look like she believed her. "Back to the captain talk then".

"I was thinking that we should take into consideration who their captain is", Seraphina said. "Our captain will have to negotiate with Arlo to achieve fair games. It should be you, Remi", she added. "You know him, and he listens to you".

Remi pursed her lips. The idea of participating in all of this wasn't too appealing, but to be fair, that was probably due to her current lack of energy. Leaving the competition sounded like an extreme decision. If she left, then one of the guys would be forced to leave as well. She didn't have any real reasons to leave, though. She loved playing games, specially with her friends. Yes, this whole competition thing was unexpected, and it might require a big part of her time and energy, but being part of it would not be the worst thing that could happen to her or the school.

If she were the captain of the team, all that she'd need to do during those days would be to meet with Arlo, come up with three games and set the rules. It didn't sound like too much work, it certainly wouldn't be more tiring than her Queen responsibilities.

She took a deep breath. Right now, she just wanted to sleep. Hopefully, she will feel more excited about all this tomorrow.

"Okay, I accept. I'll be our captain".

Seraphina nodded. "That settles it then".

"One last thing", Cecile said, her cold, purple eyes stuck in the opposite corner of the room. "When we win, and those guys are forced to be our slaves for a week... leave the orange rat to me".

•••

Just like Remi imagined, the next morning she woke up in a much better shape. The cramps were gone, her energy was back, and overall she didn't feel like her entire body was in the middle of a civil war.

She even felt more excited about the whole girls versus boys competition thing. Elaine was right, it was going to be fun. Besides, it was a good opportunity for the high-rankers to hang out and do something other than rule the school or fight each other.

(Maybe it'll stop being fun if her team loses and they have no choice but to be the boys' slaves for a week, but for now it was fun)

After yesterday's meeting, the girls agreed to write a list of ideas for possible games that Remi could show to Arlo. They realized that they needed to think of games that aligned to the girls' strengths and talents in order to make the competition easier for them. Cecile was great at finding information, Seraphina was smart in general, and Elaine knew more people than all her teammates combined. Remi would need to have those traits in consideration if she wanted to propose games that they could easily win.

The cafeteria was as crowded as usual when she arrived to get some breakfast. The smell of eggs, waffles and warm milk never failed to improve her mood. Finding her best friends in the crowd had a similar impact on her. Remi smiled when she spotted Blyke and Isen sitting on a table, enjoying some sandwiches and cups of coffee.

"Hi guys!", she greeted them, sitting in the empty space in front of them. "Did you sleep well?"

Her smile died when Isen looked at her like she was Satan himself.

"Uh... what are you doing?", he asked.

Remi blinked.

"Sitting down to have breakfast?"

Sighing, he pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "Remi, you know that I love you, but this is war, and you are the enemy. You can't sit with us!"

"Dude!", Blyke was horrified. "Are you fucking serious?!"

"What? We talked about it yesterday, remember?". He then turned to Remi. "Sorry, girl. The guys and I set a very important rule that says that we must avoid contact with you and your teammates until the end of the competition".

Oh, Remi thought, frowning at her own bad memory. It was thanks to Isen's words that she remembered that her team had set the exact same rule the day before. How could I forget?, she wondered in secret.

"But it's Remi!"

"Blyke...", showing him a soft smile, she stood up. "It's okay. My team set the same rule. I shouldn't be here with you".

"This is ridiculous", he scoffed. "So what? We won't be able to hang out until this is over?"

"Yeah, that's the point", Isen nodded, standing up as well. "Sorry, Rems. But don't worry, you will be able to spend time with us when you become our slave", he shrugged. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go grab another sandwich".

With that said, Isen left, completely unaware of the way Blyke's eyes burned holes on his back as he walked towards the buffet.

"Hey", Remi said, her voice soft. "It's not the end of the world. This is only going to last a few days".

"Yes, but it's still stupid", he replied. He then stood up and took a step closer to her. "Besides...", he added, leaning towards her to whisper in her ear. "...I miss you already".

Remi looked away, failing to fight the strong warmth that managed to cover her entire face in less than one second. Ughh, control yourself!, she thought, very annoyed at that proud little smile that formed on his lips.

The good news is that her team was there to rescue her. She turned around when she heard someone yelling her name from the other side of the cafeteria. Elaine was a few tables away from them, waving at her.

No crushes allowed, Remi thought to herself, whispering a soft "bye" to Blyke as she approached Elaine's table, where Seraphina and Cecile were sitting as well.

"Hi! I'm meeting with Arlo right after school today", she quickly said, hoping that bringing up the meeting with Arlo would stop them from asking any questions about that scene between her and her best friend that they just witnessed. "Have you thought of any ideas for the games?"

"Here", Cecile said, sliding a single sheet of paper through the table. "We made sure to write them all down before you arrived".

"Cool!"

To her surprise, the list was quite long. Their ideas went from physical fights to random games like chess and checkers. She'd need to take the time to study the list and decide which ideas were good enough to propose. She didn't want to accidentally propose something that would benefit the other team, after all.

"I've been thinking about something", Seraphina started saying. "I think that we have a disadvantage".

Cecile frowned. "What disadvantage?".

Seraphina glanced to a point of the cafeteria, specifically towards Blyke and Isen's table. Except that it was no longer just Blyke and Isen's table, because now it was Arlo and John's as well. The four boys were quietly talking to each other. From that distance, it was impossible to have any idea of what they were saying.

"They can spy on us", Seraphina said. "Isen can. And so can John".

"Damn it, you're right", Cecile whispered. "That orange rat could be listening to us talking right now".

"His ability doesn't seem to be activated", Elaine said. "Hey, but- Remi can spy on them too, right?", she turned to her. "You can feel their phones. If they have a groupchat, you could know what they're talking about there".

Remi shook her head. "...it doesn't work like that. I can tell when they carry their phones, when they receive calls or even texts, but I can't hack them."

"We're screwed, then..." Elaine said, sadly. "They have John. He has access to every ability in the school. What if he follows us while being invisible or something?"

"Best case scenario: they are so dumb that they haven't realized that they have that advantage", Cecile said, but not even herself believed her own words.

"There is only one solution, then", Remi sighed. "I have to convince Arlo to agree not to use any abilities during the competition. No abilities at all".

Seraphina shook her head. "He'll never agree. If they haven't realized yet, he'll definitely realize once you make the petition".

•••

Arlo and Remi decided to meet at a restaurant a few blocks away from the school. They liked it there, but Remi didn't remember the last time her and Arlo grabbed something to eat together. Ever since he lost his King title, he became extremely passive. He wanted nothing to do with anyone or anything, and that included hanging out with a friend. Remi was glad that the competition gave him a reason to spend some time with her. Now that he was no longer a Royal and also was about to graduate, he deserved to rest and maybe even have some fun.

As Arlo ordered something to drink, Remi placed her notebook and her pen on the table. She felt more than ready for negotiation. She memorized all the questions she had to ask, she thought about all the possible answers, and wrote down all her ideas. She didn't do that alone, of course. Having Cecile in her team was definitely an advantage when it came to organizing information, and Seraphina was good at offering different perspectives.

But they have Isen, Remi thought as the waitress placed a cup of coffee in front of Arlo, and a mango juice in front of her. I bet Arlo got prepared for this meeting as much as I did.

"Can you please remind me why I'm in the middle of this mess?", was the first thing that Arlo said. The way he took a sip of coffee right after those words made Remi think that he looked like an old man.

"Come on, you have to admit that it's fun", she replied. "We've never done something like this before".

Arlo sighed. "Ladies first".

"Alright." Straight to the point, then, she thought. "We have to set the rules for Isen and Cecile's game. We have to decide how many days they're going to have to write the article, how many days the game is going to last, and if the article needs to follow a certain topic or if they can write about whatever they want".

"Considering that they are the reason why we are trapped in this...", Arlo started saying, "I wouldn't show mercy. Let's give them two days to write their articles. They are supposed to be Wellston's best reporters. They shouldn't need more time".

"Today is Wednesday, which means that the articles should be published on Friday morning", Remi said, quickly writing down the date in her notebook. "I propose to give them until Monday to gain views and likes. That's when the game ends and we decide the winner".

"Just likes", he said. "The number of likes is more accurate because the students can like an article only one time. However, the views go up whenever someone refreshes the website".

He has a point. Isen would definitely be refreshing the website the entire weekend if it's necessary, Remi thought.

"At first I wanted to give them a certain topic for them to write about", she said then. "But then I realized that giving them the freedom to write whatever they want would be more challenging, because they have to find a topic that's interesting enough to attract the students, without any guides".

"Agreed", Arlo nodded. "No topics".

"No topics", Remi wrote in her notebook, right below "just likes".

"Now, for the second game, I would go for a physical task", Arlo started saying. "For example: arm wrestling".

Remi lifted her eyebrows.

"Arm wrestling? Seriously?"

At least, Arlo had the decency to shift uncomfortably on his seat.

"...should I take that as a no?"

"Of course it's a no", Remi replied. Did the guys really think that she'd say yes to arm wrestling? They would obviously win!

"Fine", he sighed. "What about poker?"

This time, Remi took a few seconds to think. She knew that John played poker, and that was probably the reason why Arlo wanted it to be the second game. She didn't exactly know how good he was at playing. She had seen him lose a few times while playing with other members of the Safe House, but every time she saw him lose, he left her with the weird sensation that, for some reason, he was losing on purpose. And if that's the case, then he's a very good player, Remi thought.

She also knew that Seraphina played poker, so she'd probably be their player for the second game. As Arlo took another sip of coffee, Remi wondered if John loved Seraphina enough to lose on purpose and give her the victory. She couldn't know for sure. While everybody knew that he was very fond of her, she didn't know how invested he was in this "girls versus boys" thing, hence she didn't know how willing he was to do anything in his power to win.

After all that thinking, Remi decided that she couldn't take any risks. She didn't even know how good Seraphina was at playing poker.

Besides... she had different plans for her.

"No", she finally said. "No poker".

Arlo rolled his eyes. "What do you propose, then?"

"We have an important math exam this Friday", she started saying. "It's algebra so... not easy for most of us".

"...go on".

"My proposal is: the player that gets the highest score in that exam is the winner".

"Nice try", Arlo said. "But your team has a straight A student".

"So does yours", she replied, taking a sip of her juice. It was cold, sweet and delicious.

Arlo crossed his arms over his chest. "What if they get the same grade?"

"We have a history exam next week. That would be the tie-breaker".

"There's a problem", he said. "This thing can't last forever. We need the grades soon to find out who's the winner. The teachers normally take around two weeks to mark the exams. We can't wait that long".

"I thought about that too, but don't worry about it", Remi said, her words accompanied by a hand gesture that asked him to relax. "It's the end of the school year so the teachers are in a hurry. Besides, we can just ask Miss Jess to have our players' grades sooner. I'm sure she won't say no".

Judging by the look on his face, Arlo was considering the idea. After a few minutes of contemplation, he finally nodded.

"Okay. I agree with the math exam being the second game".

Nice!, Remi thought to herself as she wrote their deal down in her notebook.

"Now, for the third one", he said. "What do you have in mind?"

If everything went according to plan, her team's player for the third game would be Elaine. Remi glanced down to her list of ideas, particularly the ones that she underlined with the color blue. Those were Elaine's proposals.

"It can be something simple", Remi said. "Like checkers, or Jenga".

Arlo hummed. "I want to say yes but my team would complain. They want action".

"Okay...?", Remi nodded. "What do you propose, then?"

Arlo tried, but failed, to hide a smirk. "Let's make our players go to a public space and talk to people. Whoever is the quickest to get a stranger's phone number, wins".

Remi felt her excitement growing. Arlo's idea was great. So great, actually, that she was about to say yes and make it their third game. However, something stopped her. She needed to be smart about this. Her player was Elaine. While Elaine was probably the most charismatic member of her team, she usually saved that charisma for her close friends. Remi knew how she normally acted around strangers, specially with strangers that weren't part of the higher tiers of their society.

It was risky, and it was a shame, because Arlo's idea seemed so fun...

"That would be so cool", she sighed. "But it's a no from me".

Arlo looked at her clearly surprised. If she didn't know any better, he was convinced that she'd say yes.

"Why not?"

"I can't tell you why". She couldn't disclose her teammates' weaknesses, after all. "I'd rather listen to your second idea".

He took a sip of coffee. "A fight. One on one".

"No", she said. Any of the boys could easily defeat Elaine!

"Calm down, I'm not done yet", Arlo insisted. "I meant a one on one, with the whole team. The pairs would be chosen by Ranking. Our three players fight each other, and the team that gets two out of three victories, is the winner".

One on one with the whole team, Remi thought, resting her back on the seat. Arlo wanted all the players to be part of the third game. It was an interesting twist, and having a one on one with all the players was better than having any of the boys fighting Elaine, or having all the players fighting each other at the same time like Cecile proposed the day before.

Grabbing a pen, Remi quickly made a list of the players. While she didn't know the Ranking by memory, she had an idea of who was stronger than who. Elaine was the weakest girl of their team, and Isen was the weakest guy of the opposite team. There's no way Elaine can defeat him, she thought, drawing a cross right by Elaine's name. Then there was Cecile, who had always been stronger than Blyke. But Remi couldn't trust the Ranking that much when it came to him, because his ability had been changing a lot in the past few months. For all she knew, there was a chance that now he was powerful enough to defeat Cecile. Or maybe not. Cecile had been a High Tier for a while, after all.

Remi doodled a question mark right by her name. She couldn't be sure about that one.

And it was not a secret that Seraphina was capable of defeating John, but everybody knew that she had issues with her ability during the year, so there was a chance that her level wouldn't automatically mean a victory for their team. Besides... even though John had been calm these last few months, Remi still didn't like the idea of exposing him to all those abilities and all that fighting.

"No", she finally said. "I would rather have a game that doesn't involve any fighting".

Arlo couldn't really argue with that. "What do you suggest, then?"

Remi sighed. "I have an idea, but I don't know if you're going to like it". She drew a circle around two words on her list, and slided her notebook through the table for Arlo to see. He frowned. "I know it sounds dumb, but think about it", Remi insisted. "It's harmless, and it could be super funny to watch".

Arlo looked at her. "Seriously? This can last twenty seconds at most".

"We could do more than one round".

"I don't know...", he said, caressing his own jaw with his fingers, as if he had an invisible beard. "Isen would complain, that's for sure".

"Maybe it's not the most entertaining thing ever", Remi said, "but it's fair to everyone. Anyone can play. You don't require any special skills. And this would be the last game of the competition. It's so random, that..."

"Anyone can win", Arlo finished her sentence.

"Exactly".

After a few seconds of thinking, Arlo nodded. "Fine, it's good, but I'm not fully convinced. The third game will take place in at least a week from now, so if you have a better idea, let me know".

Remi could live with that. "Okay".

"We're done here, then", he said, grabbing his belongings and standing up. "Come on, I'll walk you back to Wellston".

But before he could move any further, Remi held him by the arm, stopping him from leaving. "Uh, actually, there's one last thing I want to talk to you about".

Sitting down again, Arlo sighed. "What is it?"

Remi bit her lip. It was now or never.

"I would like to forbid the use of abilities during the competition", she said, somehow managing to sound more confident than she was actually feeling. Convincing Arlo of this was vital for her team, she couldn't ruin this opportunity. "I don't want the players to sabotage each other during the games".

Arlo crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her with his bright blue eyes.

Then, he smirked.

"No".

Alarmed, Remi told herself to stay calm.

"Please listen to my reasons", she insisted. "Our abilities provide the teams different advantages, which means that both teams are not in equal conditions. The players can't compete in different conditions. It's not fair".

"Our abilities are part of us", Arlo replied. "Asking them to not use them is like asking them to not use their left arm".

"I know that, but we can make an exception for this week. Nothing would change much, anyway. None of the games require the use of abilities", she said. "But if we forbid abilities, it'll be six people playing with the same tools".

Fortunately, this time it seemed like Arlo was thinking about it. Maybe she had chances of succeeding, after all!

"This is what I propose", Arlo finally said after a whole minute of contemplation. "We do as you say and ban the use of abilities during the competition, but in exchange we discard your idea for the third game, and choose arms wrestling or poker instead".

Remi could have sworn that her jaw hit the floor. She was so shocked, that she almost couldn't process the way Arlo's smirk quietly turned into a weak chuckle.

Arlo. Chuckling.

You- ugh!, she thought, but she couldn't think of any names to call him. She was cornered. Arlo, who at the beginning acted like he didn't care about the competition at all, wanted to make his team win at all costs. He obviously was aware of the advantages that Isen's and John's abilities provided, and he obviously knew that if she said yes to arm wrestling or poker, the boys' victory would be guaranteed.

Ughhhhh, she thought again.

"So?", Arlo said, still smirking. "Do we have a deal?"

"In your dreams".

His smile only got wider. "I thought so".

Chapter Text

A few hours later, the players of the first game were called for a meeting. Arlo and Remi waited for them in an empty classroom, and Remi wasn't really shocked to see that they were already bickering when they arrived. Cecile and Isen's sudden rivalry was the most unsettling part of the competition so far. Remi didn't even know when this weird dynamic between them started. As far as she knew, Isen actually respected Cecile and was even afraid of her due to her High-Tier status. But right now, he wasn't acting like he was scared of her at all. If anything, they were at each other's throats and her best friend looked like he was enjoying every second of it.

During the meeting, the players were told the rules that the captains set for their game. The topic was up to them, only the number of likes would be considered, and they'd have two days to write their articles. When both players agreed to the rules, the meeting was dismissed, and the girls were free to reunite with their teammates to discuss the negotiation with Arlo.

Remi tried not to think about how awkward she felt as her and Cecile headed towards her room. On their way, not a word was spoken. Not like Remi was expecting something else. She knew that Cecile didn't like her, and she wasn't her favorite person in the world either. While she didn't hate the idea of them improving their relationship, she was aware of the fact that the only reason why Cecile was walking beside her right now was because she wanted to defeat the boys; and that desire was, for some reason, bigger than the disgust she felt towards her.

They decided to have their meeting in Cecile's room. It's not like Cecile was excited about having three people there, but her room was the best option. None of the boys would ever consider the possibility of Cecile inviting the girls over, and that's exactly the reason why they decided to meet there in the first place. Seraphina and Elaine were already outside the door waiting for them when Cecile and Remi arrived.

"I have good news and bad news", Remi announced as soon as they were inside. The four girls made themselves comfortable: Cecile on her bed, Elaine on the chair by the desk, and Remi and Seraphina on the floor. "The good news is that even though Arlo clearly prepared himself for the negotiation, I'm happy with the games we came up with. I think that we have a chance of winning this competition", she said cheerfully.

"And the bad news?", Cecile asked.

"Uh... the bad news is that I couldn't convince Arlo to ban the use of abilities. It's obvious that he knew that they could use Isen's ability to spy on us. He didn't even consider the idea".

Elaine sighed. "Well... it was expected. We just have to be careful, then. We should only talk about the competition when we are completely sure that no one is listening".

"Or", Seraphina intervened, "we could use this to our advantage. If we realize that Isen or John are close, let's use that opportunity to give them false information".

"Good idea, but the problem is that we may not realize at all", Cecile sighed. "I know Isen's ability, its range of coverage is huge. He could be right now on the first floor of this building listening to us without an issue", she stopped talking for a second, her brows furrowed. She then said to the air: "Isen, if you're listening, fuck you".

Remi tapped her chin with her fingers. "There's an even bigger problem: Isen can tell whether the person he's listening to is lying or not".

"Ouch, really?", Elaine asked. "How?"

"With a mark", Cecile quickly responded.

"Uh- yeah... by putting a mark on his target", Remi continued, suddenly grateful for all the times she had seen her best friend in action. "It's that bright mark that he puts on the person's chest".

Cecile was now checking her nails. "On the heart, actually".

"...that's right", she nodded, slowly. "He can tell when a person is lying by the way the heartbeat changes. Still, Seraphina's idea is good", she added. "Let's keep an eye on Isen and John during the week, we could lie to them as long as there's no visible marks on us. And if we see the boys around the school, report their position on our groupchat, so that we'll know where they are located".

"Nice", Seraphina nodded.

Elaine suddenly gasped. "We need codes! Codes that they wouldn't understand! Like- if we're walking on a hallway and we see Isen with his ability activated, we need a special word to let the others know so we start giving him false information!", she said, her big green eyes shining with excitement. "What word could it be?"

"Rat", Cecile said instantly.

Elaine giggled. "What about 'orange'?"

"Too obvious", Seraphina said. "It has to be something unrelated to him. And also something simple that none of us would easily forget".

"What about... 'lipstick'?", Remi said. "If I ask any of you for a lipstick, you know why".

Seraphina nodded again. "Cool. And 'eyeliner' for John".

"Yes!", Elaine cheered. Remi found her excitement contagious. "I like it!"

"Now that that's settled...", Remi started saying, turning to Cecile. "You only have two days to write your article and post it on the website. Have you thought about what you're going to write about?"

"Yes. I decided on the topic as soon as that orange rat started provoking me. When the article is posted, though, I'll need help to spread it and get likes as fast as possible", she added, crossing her arms over her chest. "Don't get me wrong, I know how to promote my articles, but so does Isen. He's not Wellston's top reporter for nothing".

"We'll share the link everywhere during the weekend, then", Remi said. "Now, before we leave, there's something you need to know: tomorrow morning Arlo and I will give you the instructions for the second game".

"So soon?", Elaine asked. "We'll know about the second game before we complete the first one?"

"Yes. Tomorrow you'll understand why".

"Sounds good", Cecile said. "The sooner we defeat those monkeys, the better".

•••

As expected, being the captain of her team, the Queen of Wellston and the leader of the Safe House at the same time wasn't the easiest thing to do. On Thursday morning, when she was supposed to meet with Arlo and the players to give them the instructions for the second game, she had no choice but to tell him that she couldn't attend due to other responsibilities that she needed to take care of. That morning in particular, she had to meet with the Headmaster and Keene to discuss some of the activities that would take place in Wellston to celebrate the end of the school year. All the Royals were supposed to be there, but Blyke was in charge of supervising the Safe House, and Isen had the tendency to avoid his Royal responsibilities at all costs.

One hour later, as she left the Headmaster's office and headed towards the Infirmary to talk to the nurse (Remi liked to keep track of how many students were being sent to the Infirmary per week, and the reasons behind their visits), she received a text from Arlo saying that the players were already aware of the rules for the second game. Apparently they reunited at the Safe House per Blyke's request, and Remi couldn't help but imagine the club members staring in confusion as Wellston's top students stood in a corner talking about games, rules... and probably about testicles and ovaries.

It wasn't until lunch that Remi could finally focus on the competition again. With a heavy sigh, she sat down on the spot that the girls saved for her at the cafeteria. It was one in the afternoon and she was already exhausted. And she still wasn't happy about not being able to share a table with Blyke and Isen.

But she didn't have time to think about that, because she soon noticed that her teammates were looking at her weird. They were... smiling at her?

"Hey, we saved this for you", Seraphina said, pushing towards her a slice of chocolate cake. "It's the last slice and it's yours, you deserve it".

"You're the best captain ever, Remi!", Elaine smiled. "I'm glad you are our captain instead of me! I would have never been able to negotiate with Arlo staring at me with those gorgeous blue eyes and that gorgeous blond hair!"

"Uh... t-thanks, guys!", Remi replied, her confusion evident in her voice. "But... uh... what's all of this about? What happened?"

"Look, I have no idea how you did it", Cecile started saying, and for the first time she was looking at her with something other than disgust or indifference. Instead, she seemed genuinely pleased. "But somehow you managed to convince Arlo to agree to a game in which his team doesn't stand a chance."

"There is no way any of the guys are going to score more than Seraphina in that exam!", Elaine said happily. "And not only that! Remi, you broke them!"

Remi stared at the girls, now more confused than ever. "What do you mean I broke them?"

Cecile smirked. "During the meeting, as soon as Arlo told us what the second game was going to be, Isen understood that it was over for them. He was pissed".

"Cecile and I kept an eye on them after the meeting", Elaine continued. "Isen and John were both mad at Arlo for agreeing to a game that we could easily win. They accused him of going too easy on you", she shook her head. "I mean, I feel sorry for Arlo, but he seemed calm and assured them that they were going to be fine".

"And I agree", Seraphina said. "Remi's move was great, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. They have Blyke. I'm sure that he'll be their player tomorrow".

"Seraphina, you have to destroy that loser", Cecile said. Remi frowned. "Listen, I'm almost done with my article. If I get more likes than Isen, and if you score more than Blyke in that exam, the competition will be ours".

"Woah, wouldn't it be amazing if we win the first two games?", Elaine asked excitedly. "We wouldn't even need to play the third one!"

"Again, let's not get our hopes up", Seraphina insisted. "I'll do my best tomorrow, but do not underestimate Blyke. He's the best male student in our grade, and that's probably why Arlo agreed to that game".

"Exactly", Remi nodded.

"Yeah, whatever. We have the advantage now, so make sure to protect it", Cecile said, standing from her chair. "If you'll excuse me, I'll head to the press room to work on my article".

"And I'll go study for tomorrow. Not all of us are great at math, after all", Elaine sighed sadly, waving at Remi and Seraphina as both her and Cecile left the cafeteria.

As far as Remi knew, she was free for the rest of the day. Ventus and Meili would be supervising the Safe House during the afternoon, and she finished all her Royal duties in the morning. She had plenty of time to calmly eat her lunch and then go to her room to study for the test... although the idea of using her free time to sleep was tempting.

"Don't you miss your friends?", Seraphina suddenly asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"...yeah", Remi replied. "Not being able to hang out with them is weird".

"Same", she was playing with the tip of her napkin, a blank expression on her face. "Since this all started I've been thinking a lot about how my only close friend is a guy. My mother would probably have a heart attack if she found out about that". Remi chuckled. She had heard one or two things about Seraphina's mom. She seemed to be a... difficult woman.

"Don't you ever... you know...", Seraphina continued. "Don't you ever wish you had a female friend? You know, someone to talk to about girl things?"

She didn't even need to think about her answer. While she loved being friends with Blyke and Isen, the idea of having a close girl that could relate to the things she was going through as a young woman had become more and more appealing, specially during the past few months. She thought about it every time she saw Elaine and Aurielle talking and laughing in the hallways, making jokes and exchanging pictures and clothes that they found cute. It must be nice to have someone like a sister, someone to trust with secrets that she couldn't share with Blyke and Isen. Remi felt that emptiness sometimes, that desire to have what Aurielle was to Elaine; to have someone to tell her whether her make-up was looking good or not, or someone to talk to whenever something exciting happened between her and a cute boy.

"I do", she confessed. "Uh... actually, it's been happening a lot lately".

Seraphina raised her eyebrows. "Really? Why?"

"Well...", she stopped for a moment, she needed to choose her words carefully. "Hm... to put it simply... Blyke and Isen are boys and... I can't really talk to them about boys, it'd be weird", she hugged herself. "That's why I'd like to have a female friend".

Remi bit her lip. Her problem was actually more complicated than that, but hopefully Seraphina would get the idea.

Her teammate rested her back on her chair, a relaxed sigh escaping her lips. "Yeah, I get the feeling", she said. "I knew you would relate. I love John, but because he's a guy, there's things about me that mark distance between us, and that obviously wouldn't happen if he was a girl. Like- he gets all weird when he goes to my bathroom and my pads are there, you know?"

"They gross him out?"

"No, he's not rude about it, but he acts like they are bombs or something. He avoids contact with them", Seraphina shook her head. "He grew up without a mom and with no sisters, so I can't expect him to not act weird. Besides, women were taught to hide our periods from men, right? As if they were a bad thing". All of a sudden, she frowned. "Hm. I'm starting to sound like Cecile".

Remi let out a laugh. "Maybe, but it's not like you're wrong", she shrugged. "Isen and Blyke get a little bit weird about that too, specially Isen. But they're getting better".

Seraphina took a sip of her juice. "How?"

"They try to take care of me during those days. Well, Blyke does", she smiled.

"Wait- you let him know when you're on your period?", Seraphina asked, clearly surprised.

"Not really! It's just that Blyke knows me too well, and we spend a ton of time together so he usually figures it out on his own. He notices the changes, specially when I'm feeling weak".

"That's sweet".

As they finished their lunch, they chatted about any topic they came up with. Seraphina was particularly talkative, even after they were done with their food and started heading towards the girls' dormitories. Remi didn't remember her ever speaking this much, she was normally more quiet and composed; but it's not like she minded, it was nice talking to someone who could relate to being surrounded by boys all the time. As she listened to her jumping from topic to topic, she wondered if maybe she was feeling lonely now that she couldn't hang out with her best friend.

Remi couldn't help but think of those months when Seraphina and John weren't speaking to each other. That must have been so sad...

"It was Isen the one who set the 'no contact with the girls' rule in their team", Seraphina casually told her as they walked past the press room and towards the exit of the building. "That's what John told me, at least".

"I can't say I'm surprised", Remi said. "He hasn't even texted me since this whole thing started".

"Same with John. I didn't think that he'd actually follow the rules", she replied. "Well, I didn't think that he'd be part of this at all, but he's seeing this as a chance to bond with the boys".

"I'm glad, really. It's nice how we're all having fun together".

Remi waited for Seraphina to reply, but her response never came. She looked at her, and noticed that for some reason she looked slightly uncomfortable. Before Remi could ask if she was okay, Seraphina grabbed her arm and intertwined it with hers.

"By the way...", she said, "your eyeliner looks great today. I want to learn how to do mine".

Remi could feel her own eyes opening widely, alert all over her body as her mind brought back the conversation that she and her team had the night before. Seraphina looked at her with intensity, hoping in secret that she would get the hint.

Someone was spying on them.

And that someone was John.

"Thanks!", Remi forced herself to say. "I can teach you how to do yours. Or I could send you some tutorials".

"Cool".

Where is he?, Remi thought as both girls kept walking. She tried to look around carefully, but Seraphina quickly stopped her by giving her arm a squeeze. That's right, they needed to be discreet. They couldn't do anything that would reveal the fact that they knew that they were being spied on. This was the perfect opportunity to put their plan into action, but it would only work if they remained calm.

Remi lowered her gaze and confirmed that there were no marks over her or her teammate. As expected, John was not stupid enough to put a mark on them and make himself get caught.

"So...", Remi started saying. "You said that you wanted to talk to me about tomorrow?"

She didn't know what lie they'd tell John, so she left an open window for Seraphina to figure it out. And it seemed like her intention was clear because she looked at her, her blue eyes full of recognition as she nodded. "Uh, yeah. I needed to let you know that I won't be our player for the second game. I don't think I'll show up to the exam".

Remi tried to sound as shocked as she could. "Wait, really?"

"Sorry to disappoint you", Seraphina continued. "But you'll have to ask Elaine. And don't worry, I promise that you can count on me for the third game".

"Well... that complicates things, you know...", Remi said, wondering if her acting was convincing enough to fool John. "Elaine is not as good at math as you are..."

"I have the rest of the day free. I'll help her study", she quickly assured her. "I have a bunch of notes that I'll give her. She's not stupid, I'm sure that she can get a good score tomorrow".

"I just checked. He's gone".

"Pardon?", Remi said, frowning. Apparently her teammate said something but she didn't hear it.

"John already left. I checked", Seraphina explained, her voice calm.

Oh! She got it now. From Remi's perspective only one second passed, but for Seraphina it was one minute or two that she spent walking around, trying to find her best friend as her ability kept the world around her frozen in place.

A cool ability if she's ever seen one.

"How did you realize that he was close?", Remi asked. "I never saw him".

"I just caught that stupid U-mart cap he wears whenever he wants to hide", she replied. "As you can see, it doesn't work".

"Do you think that he bought the lie?"

"Considering that he left as soon as we dropped the juicy information...", Seraphina said as she pulled her phone from her pocket. "...I'd say that he did".

Remi's phone started ringing, Seraphina's texts showing up on her screen. "John was following us" , she wrote in their groupchat. "We're past the library on our way to the dorms. He left already. I think he headed towards the school entrance but I'm not sure".

Elaine was the first one to reply:

"Woah! Did you give him fake info?"

"Yea, we said that I wouldn't be our player tomorrow. I think he believed it".

"Nice! Good job!"

Not even a second later, Cecile started typing:

"We are under attack. Isen was here".
"Come to the press room NOW".

Seraphina flicked her tongue. "She sounds pissed. I wonder what happened".

"John was after us, and Isen was after Cecile at the same time", Remi said. She then started typing:

"Elaine, careful with Arlo and Blyke. Make sure that they're not following you".

Elaine quickly replied: "Got it!"

•••

To say that Cecile was pissed was an understatement. When the girls arrived at the press room, they found their teammate fuming at her desk, her fingers squeezing her arms so hard that they were turning white. Her laptop was on the table, next to a mountain of books, magazines and pencils.

"Cecile", Seraphina said. "What's wrong?"

Instead of speaking, Cecile pulled from her pocket a small piece of paper with a note on it. Remi looked over Seraphina's shoulder as she unfolded it, and read:

"Your article is cute, but you'll have to do better to beat me ;)

–Wellston's #1 reporter."

"I found that on my laptop", Cecile said, gritting her teeth. "He must have come here during lunch. That rat".

"Damn...", Elaine whispered. "Do you think Isen actually read your article?"

"Obviously", she replied. "And I don't know how the fuck he did it because my laptop has a security code. But it's Isen we're talking about, I bet he found a way to hack it or something".

"But... is the article okay?", Seraphina asked. "He had the chance to ruin it, or even delete it".

"The article is fine", Cecile assured them. "He probably did not have enough time to touch it".

Remi frowned. Isen was taking the competition way too seriously, but at the same time she found it hard to believe her teammates' accusations. Remi knew Isen well, probably better than any of the other girls in the room. Seeing him trying his best to annoy someone wasn't new, but hacking onto Cecile's laptop just to ruin her article didn't sound like something he would do.

"No. He would never go that far".

Three pairs of eyes turned to her. Cecile in particular was looking at her like she was growing another leg.

"Yes, he would", she said. "It's Isen".

"He wouldn't. I know him", Remi insisted, her voice firm. "I even believe that he didn't read your article in the first place. Instead, he only gave you that note to mess with your head, to make you feel insecure".

"That also makes sense", Seraphina said.

"Look, it doesn't really matter what exactly Isen did", Elaine intervened. "We still have to respond to their attacks somehow. They're trying to provoke us and we can't let it slide".

"I can't believe I'm going to say this but Elaine is right", Cecile replied. "The question is how do we respond".

Elaine tapped her chin with her fingers, gaze lost in thought. "I was thinking that we could steal Isen's laptop or something, but he's not stupid, he must be already protecting it as well as he can". She shook her head. "And stealing his phone wouldn't do anything because we don't have his password".

Cecile flicked her tongue. "I bet Remi knows his password, since she knows Isen so well..."

There was something about her tone that Remi didn't like, but as usual, she decided to ignore it.

"Hm... what if we just physically attack him?", Elaine continued. "You all are stronger than him. You could reduce him easily while I take his laptop and run."

"The problem is that he's never alone", Cecile replied. "He has Blyke, Arlo and Voldemort watching his back".

"Right...", she let out a frustrated sigh. "Ughhhh, then what do we do?"

At one point, Seraphina had grabbed a magazine from Cecile's desk. She was silently turning the pages, not really interested in any of the articles except for one, which she marked with her index finger.

"I think we need to see this situation from a different perspective", Seraphina said. The girls turned to her. "Isen is not the person we should be focusing on. Not entirely, at least". She closed the magazine, her finger still marking the page. "We should be thinking about Blyke".

"You're right, attacking their player would be a good strategy", Elaine frowned. "But... what could we do about him? Lock him in his room so that he won't make it on time for the exam?"

How can she come up with so many evil plans?, Remi wondered in secret.

For the next few minutes, Elaine and Cecile kept brainstorming. Seraphina commented on one or two ideas, but she seemed more focused on the article she found. Remi looked over her shoulder and saw that it was actually an eyeliner tutorial. How funny. She wasn't lying earlier when she said she wanted to learn how to do hers.

Remi herself helped whenever she could, but she couldn't help but feel conflicted when the ideas that her teammates proposed were a little too extreme. She wanted to help, she genuinely did... but it's not like she could support them when they started talking about putting a sleeping pill in Blyke's water bottle.

Eventually, Cecile snapped her fingers, face lighting up with excitement. "I know what we're going to do!"

Remi was slightly scared.

"The second game is about concentration, it's about staying focused", she started saying, pacing from left to right. "Therefore the smartest thing we can do is make sure that their player is distracted". Her fierce, purple eyes landed on Remi: "Remi, go pay Blyke a visit. If he's studying for the test, don't let him. Find a way to get in his head so that he'll forget about the exam. Make him lose track of time. Keep him awake all night if it's necessary. Do whatever it takes to take his mind off the game".

Remi could feel her mouth open and close like a fish out of water.

"U-uh?"

"But you said no contact with the boys until the end of the competition!", Elaine whined.

"Elaine, this is strategy. The best way to guarantee our success tomorrow is to mess with their player's head, and if Remi has to sacrifice her dignity and spend the night in her boyfriend-not-boyfriend's room, then that's exactly what she's going to do". Cecile's eyes once again landed on her, this time full of determination. "Understood?"

Remi stood there, frozen in place feeling three sets of eyes stuck in her face. She was perfectly aware of what she had to say at that moment. She had to say no, that she wouldn't do as Cecile says, that she didn't want to, that there was no need to, that it didn't have to be her, that it could be anyone, that her relationship with Blyke was not like they thought it was, that her presence in his room would not make a difference.

Her shoulders dropped.

Yes. She would do it. She wanted to. She needed to. It had to be her. Her relationship with Blyke was exactly like they thought it was. Her presence would make a difference.

As Cecile waited for her response, Remi accepted that there was nothing to deny...

"Understood".

...after all, both of them thought that paying a visit to Blyke was a great idea.

•••

Remi took a deep breath.

Her heart was beating fast already, she knocked on the door with shaky hands. It was dumb, really. They had been friends for years, and yet she still got nervous every time she was about to spend some time alone with him.

Except that right now she was not only nervous about them being alone, it was also because of the task she had to accomplish. Cecile's words echoed in her mind like a broken record: "Find a way to get in his head so that he'll forget about the exam. Keep him awake all night if it's necessary. Do whatever it takes".

It was not only nerves, it was excitement. 

A couple of seconds passed before the door opened. She didn't want to say that she was disappointed when the person who opened the door was not the best friend that she was hoping to see, but she was certainly surprised.

Isen seemed surprised as well, except that his shocked expression quickly turned into a serious one.

"Uh... Remi? What are you doing here?"

Before she could reply, Blyke joined him at the door. All her attention was drawn to him in an instant. He was still wearing his uniform even though school ended a couple hours ago, but he had taken off his jacket and his tie, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.

"No crushes allowed" Cecile had said. Ha. As if it was that easy.

"Hi, guys!", Remi greeted. "I need to talk to Blyke for a second".

Isen crossed his arms over his chest. "That's against the rules. And he's busy".

Rolling his eyes, Blyke pushed Isen to the side. "Come in".

"Thanks", Remi said, walking into the room as Isen looked at her like she was a demon, suspicion all over his face as if she were about to make a bomb explode or something.

"Okay, you're here now", he said. "What do you need to talk about?"

"Look, I'm not excited to see you either", Remi replied. "What you did to Cecile earlier was low".

A wide smile spread across Isen's face. "No regrets".

"As expected", she sighed. "Now, I came to talk about Royal stuff. I understand that our teams have rules, but we're still Royals and we need to keep working together. That's why I'm glad you're here, what I need to say to Blyke concerns you too". Remi tilted her head, and said the next words with the sweetest voice she had. "Because you're our Jack".

Isen's posture visibly deflated, and that's how Remi knew that she had him in the bag. Even though it took him a while to get used to being one of Wellston's Royals, he had gotten a lot better at it during the past few months. That didn't mean that he enjoyed his position, though. It was pretty obvious even to this day that the only reason why he held it was because Cecile didn't want it... and because giving it to Zeke was unthinkable. Isen was slowly becoming a better Jack, but both Remi and Blyke knew that if he had the chance to quit and go back to a life free of Royal responsibilities, he would.

"Well... I still need to give the final touches to the article that's gonna make my team win the competition", Isen said, letting out a dramatic sigh. "So I have to leave you. What a shame".

"That's terrible", Remi replied, failing to hide her smirk. "Bye bye".

But before he could leave, Isen pulled Blyke to the side. He hugged him by the shoulders and leaned to his ear like he was about to confess something dark. Still, Remi couldn't help but wonder if Isen actually meant to keep his words a secret from her, because even though he talked to Blyke in whispers, she could hear perfectly well everything he said:

"Dude, I'll warn you: do not get played by those cute puppy eyes. Yes, it's Remi, but she's still a woman. Do not forget it".

Blyke pushed him off of his shoulders. "Just leave already, weirdo".

"This is war, bro. Be strong".

"Okay byeeeeeee...", he pushed him through the door and quickly closed it behind him. He then let out a deep, tired sigh.

Remi chuckled.

"He's taking this a little too seriously, don't you think?"

With a groan, Blyke sat on the chair by his desk, where apparently he had been sitting on right before she arrived. "Ugh, you have no idea", he said. "The competition is all he can think about. He's driving me crazy!"

Remi sat on his desk, like she normally did when she visited his room; except that now her hands were together behind her back in a pose that screamed innocence. She was quietly observing the place, hoping to find something, anything, that could help her team win the competition. The first thing she found: books about algebra and messy notes all over the table. Just as she expected, she arrived when Blyke was studying for tomorrow's exam.

"Why didn't you stop him?", Remi asked. "During the meeting, I mean, when we were with the rest of the high-rankers. When Isen started talking about competing, I thought that you'd stop him".

"I was going to, but... you know... I decided to let him when I realized that it was the first time that we saw him actually wanting to do something", he explained. "This whole thing- he made it happen. We're all in this together because of him".

Remi smiled softly. "He's basically doing what we've been asking him to do since we crowned him. Finding ways to unify people".

"Exactly", he nodded. "But he's doing it unconsciously, and he doesn't dislike it because he's not seeing it as something he must do-"

"...or as something that we expect him to do".

"Yup. Instead, this is something that he wants to do because it's fun and because it's an excuse to flirt with Cecile".

"Yeah, exactly, he's-...". Remi's eyes opened widely. "...to WHAT?"

"Wait... you didn't know?", Blyke asked, panic suddenly taking over his face. "Shit, maybe I was supposed to keep it a secret?"

"Isen likes Cecile?!"

"Well... yes? I mean, he has liked every girl that has ever walked on this planet", he replied. "But it seems to be different with Cecile. Come on, you can't be that surprised, Isen hasn't been discreet at all", Blyke added, obviously noticing her shock. "He keeps provoking her to have her attention".

"Yes, I noticed that, but... I dunno. I didn't think it was a crush", she frowned. "What's the point of annoying someone you like? Aren't you supposed to do the opposite?"

"Rem... it's Isen".

"Right". It made sense. A crush was the most logical explanation for Isen's behavior... even though he was doing things that Remi herself would never do to her own crush.

"But..." she hugged herself, "Cecile doesn't like him back. Actually... she doesn't like him at all. I've heard the way she talks about him, she keeps calling him rat".

Blyke looked unsure. "Well... if it makes you feel better... Isen knows that. He doesn't think that he stands a chance, so it's not like he'll get his hopes crushed", a sad shadow darkened his eyes. It seemed that both of them were thinking the same thing: of all the girls in the world, their best friend had to fall for Cecile...

"It is weird, though", Remi continued after a minute of contemplation. "The way Cecile has been responding to his teasing, I mean. At the beginning I was sure that she'd say no to the competition, it was obvious that Isen was just trying to annoy her".

"Yeah, that's the thing", Blyke replied, a knowing look on his face. "Rem, we're talking about the same person who rejected the Jack title because she didn't want to be associated with us", he continued. "And now she's teammates with you".

"...what are you suggesting?"

He pursed his lips. "I don't want to suggest anything, but you're right, the whole situation is weird. Cecile is not easy to read like-".

"...like Elaine", she completed the sentence for him, a little laugh escaping her lips. The contrast was too strong to miss. There was Cecile on one side, who was a closed book that fiercely protected her secrets; and there was Elaine on the other side, who was more than ready to share everything that was going on in her heart.

Where am I, then?, she briefly wondered, staring as Blyke lifted his chair and approached her until he was sitting right in front of her. Am I more like Cecile, whose heart is a complete mystery... Blyke looked up at her, his golden eyes glowing under the light of his lamp. For a short second, Remi ran out of breath. Or am I more like Elaine, who wants the entire world to know about her love?

Unaware of her thoughts, Blyke decided to change the topic. "Now, are you going to tell me why you're here?", he said. "Because maybe Isen bought that 'Royal stuff' excuse, but I did not".

Caught. In less than a second she had to make a decision: find a school-related topic to discuss with him and pretend that she did, in fact, come to his room to talk about "Royal stuff"; or be honest about it and find another way to keep him distracted.

"You're right, I didn't come to talk about Royal stuff", she admitted. "I just wanted to hang out, we've barely talked lately".

"Yeah, it sucks", he sighed. "But look... I'm pretty busy right now. I'm studying for tomorrow's exam", he tilted his head, and the small smile on his lips didn't go unnoticed. Remi frowned slightly. "Let's hang out tomorrow instead".

She didn't like the way that sounded.

"I thought about tomorrow, but I didn't want to wait that long", she hugged herself, staring at him innocently. "I miss you too much".

Blyke's smirk turned into a soft smile.

"Besides...", she added. "It's not like you need to study that much, right? I'm sure that you memorized all the formulas already". The tone of her voice carefully crossed the line between sweet and flirtatious. Her hand traveled to his forehead, then used the tip of her fingers to push some strands of hair to the side of his face. "And I know that you can ace that exam with your eyes closed. That's how smart you are".

Her fingers stayed there, caressing his skin lovingly. First his cheeks, which felt warm under her touch; then his ear, partially hidden under his gorgeous red hair; and later his jaw, his ever so sharp and attractive jaw. She kept caressing him as he looked at her, his gaze full of adoration.

"I miss you too".

And that was the reason why Remi's desire to have a close female friend was only getting stronger and stronger. It was because of this. This magic that she felt inside her, this joy that lighted up her days. It was the need to share it. The need to call her friend and shout at her, to tell her about the way Blyke looked at her, about the way he whispered that he missed her, about how he had such a strong effect on her that the whole world around them ceased to exist whenever they were together.

She wanted to scream it, and celebrate it, and live it fully, because her feelings were too precious to be kept a secret.

But life was not that easy. Spectre and Ember were still out there, and the magic between them was simultaneously their biggest treasure, and their biggest weakness. That was why no one knew about them, not even Isen. No one could know about the true nature of their relationship, about the dreams they shared and the secret moments of intimacy; not until they felt safe enough to love each other freely.

It was a mutual decision, but that didn't make it any easier. They convinced themselves that protecting what they had was worth it, and it was; but somehow it still hurt. Knowing that they were making the right choices didn't stop her sleepless nights and the tears on her pillow. It was just too painful sometimes, it felt too unfair.

Remi sighed. She told herself that now it was not a good time to be thinking about that. She should be happy now: the competition was fun, it was keeping her distracted from the danger of the outside world; and Blyke was with her, by her side. There was no need to focus on the negative.

His latest words kept echoing in her ears. As usual, he was all that she could see. Him, the sincerity in his eyes, and the delicious smell of his perfume that never failed to drive her crazy.

With her shaky fingers softly caressing one side of his neck, she leaned in and left a kiss on his cheek.

It was a clumsy one, she was too nervous, too excited. But as always, none of those things would stop her. Her free hand cupped his face as she left another kiss right by the corner of his lips.

She heard him sigh, his eyes were now closed. Her nose brushed his cheek, she smiled against his skin.

"Let's watch a movie", she whispered. "You pick it and I'll go get some snacks".

"Hm...", he mumbled. "I don't really feel like it".

Remi kissed his cheek again.

"Then let's watch that anime you like. I haven't watched it in a while".

But it looked like he had his own plans. He turned his face in her direction so that her nose was brushing his. One second later, one of his hands was on her waist, while the other one traveled to her face, more specifically to her lower lip, which he touched softly with his thumb. He then stood up, and all of those gestures combined left her out of breath. He stood in front of her and their noses hadn't stopped touching for one second. Remi closed her eyes, anticipation burning her alive as she leaned in so that his thumb would be replaced by his lips.

But that never happened. All of a sudden, he was gone. His hands were no longer on her body, his face was no longer close to hers, and the loss of those feelings brought her back to Earth violently. She opened her eyes, only to see him smirking again, this time painfully away from her.

"H-hey!", was all that she could say. "W-why...? Come back!"

Blyke shook his head. "That's your punishment for coming here to spy on me", he said. "And for trying to distract me from my studies".

"B-but...!", she mumbled. "I did not...!"

"Yes, you did, Rem. But it's okay. Isen is right: this is war. And no matter what we think about the competition, we're all doing anything in our power to win". He stared at her lovingly. "...even the sweetest girl I've ever met".

Remi was stunned, but it didn't take long until she accepted her defeat. He sounded too convinced. She could come up with a million excuses, but she knew that nothing she could say would make him think that he was wrong. Dang it... She failed the mission terribly. Not only did Blyke discover her plan way too quickly, but she also couldn't find anything that could help her team win the game.

Her shoulders dropped.

"You're right. I'm sorry", she whispered. "But not everything I said was a lie. I do miss you".

Still smiling, he grabbed her hand and left a kiss on her knuckles. "I know". He pulled her towards the door, a gesture that Remi could only interpret as an invitation to leave.

She pouted. "Are you sure you don't want to watch a movie?"

Blyke chuckled. They stood together by the door, her hand still in his. "Look, when my team and I win the competition, and you and the girls become our slaves...", he started saying, way too confident for Remi's liking, "...I'll make sure to have you all for myself for the entire week. We'll spend a ton of time together, and we'll watch as many movies as you want". He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, and Remi couldn't help but flinch at the touch. "What do you say?"

It was at that moment that Remi finally understood the reason behind Cecile's rules. Turns out, forbidding crushes was not a matter of dignity; it was actually about keeping the team focused on the prize. Remi understood because Blyke's promise acted as a weapon that in less than a second managed to pass through the barrier of her willpower. He didn't need more than a couple of words to cloud her judgment, to break her motives and turn his enemy into a traitor. As Remi stood there hypnotized by the sight of him, with her hand being squeezed by the hand of the boy of her dreams, she dared to think that maybe... just maybe... the prospect of losing the competition was not that bad after all.

Chapter Text

Friday morning came and Remi was feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness. Today was an important day for the competition. Not one, but two games would take place.

Today, the war would officially begin.

And it began early. Remi sat on her bed, still in her pajamas as she clicked the icon on her phone that would redirect her to the Wellston Weekly website. She scrolled past the usual posts that she was currently not interested in (the weather, the menu of the cafeteria, Keene's petition to respect the curfews, etc) until she finally found what she was looking for: two articles written by anonymous authors, published on the same tab, side by side. Remi randomly decided to read the article on the left first:

"An unspoken hierarchy: what does it mean to be born a woman?"

"Cecile", Remi said to herself. "Obviously".

"'Tell me what your level is and I'll tell you who you are', that is a short but efficient way to describe a world that is ruled by power. In our world, one individual's luck is decided even before his birth: powerful parents give birth to powerful children;  children who will one day be aristocrats, politicians, Royals. The chances of becoming part of society's elite without being born in it are close to zero. You are either lucky, or you are scum. Powerless. Weak. A nobody.

What people don't seem to realize is that our hierarchy based on power is not the only factor that determines the life of an individual. In fact, the Low-Mid-Elite-High Tier segregations are subcategories of the actual main groups that rule society: male and female.

Being a man or a woman doesn't seem to make that big of a difference in our world. Actually, it is safe to say that a powerful woman is ensured the same successful future as a powerful man; and, at the same time, a weak woman is ensured the same future as a weak man. However, that does not mean that life is equally fair for both sexes, at least not when seen from a biological perspective. In this article I present a comparison between men and women’s experiences navigating through society, with the objective to expose how the differences between the two seem to be particularly harmful towards women. 

According to a study led by the University of Wellston (2015), men tend to be more physically capable; heavier, taller, stronger. Meanwhile, women tend to be shorter and thinner; more agile in most cases, but not as strong (page 35). It is important to note that these physical attributes could vary depending on each individual's physique and ability level (page 37), however, that does not change the fact that there are factors that represent a disadvantage exclusively for those born in a female body. Such as, for example, the huge influence that hormones (more specifically, the menstrual cycle) have on a woman's strength, energy and resistance throughout the month.

Due to the nature of each sex, men do not experience strong hormonal changes, nor do they deal with a period or with any of its symptoms like women do (page 36). This heavily implies that, unlike women’s, men’s physical capabilities remain constant through time. No matter when you pick up a fight with a man, there will not ever be any biological factors that could interfere with his performance during the fight.

The way male and female bodies work is taught in schools from a young age, which should mean that the disadvantages that women face are public knowledge and, therefore, taken into consideration in order to make women's lives easier. However, they are not. In schools, Elite-tier and High-tier girls are expected to fight at any given time of the month; bleeding, cramps, lack of energy or nausea have never been considered valid reasons to walk out of a fight, not even when those symptoms could easily affect the outcome of these fights. It is necessary to consider how harmful this could be for girls who belong to the upper ranks, and whose status, authority and Royal titles depend solely on their performance during battle.

The biological disadvantage that women face is also evident when seen from a financial perspective. The sanitary products that women need every month, and cannot live without, have been proven to be the most expensive hygiene products found on the market. In the following picture I present a comparison between the prices of different brands of sanitary products that can be found in three different stores (U-Mart in graphic A, Wellshop in graphic B, and Kovoro Market in graphic C). At the end of the picture I have included the total of the money that would be spent in each store, plus the total of money that is spent in one year..."

For the next few minutes, Remi kept reading until she reached the end of the article. She gave it a like as soon as she was done reading and quickly sent the link to every girl she had in her contacts. It’s not like she wanted to get her hopes up, but she felt confident about the first game already: somehow Cecile had managed to make a full investigation in two days! Now she could only hope that the students, especially the girls, will recognize the effort of the anonymous author and reward the work with likes.

It was a convincing article. So convincing, that Remi actually sat still on her bed, wondering if there could be any way to make the girls' lives in Wellston a little bit easier. Free sanitary products in the restrooms, maybe? That would be helpful, for sure.

Isen didn't have it easy. His article would need to be as good as Cecile's, and even better, to win the game. But he was an excellent reporter as well, probably the best one in Wellston. It was a battle between two titans. Anyone could win.

Pushing those thoughts to the side, Remi zoomed on the other article at the right side of the tab, which was obviously Isen's:

"High-rankers, assemble!: the secrets behind The Wellston Games".

Remi let out a gasp. Okay, that title was revealing. She stared at if for a couple of seconds, silently wondering if her best friend actually had the audacity to let the entire school know about the competition. It's not like it was against the rules, but... seriously, Isen? Seriously?

"Strong, powerful, ethereal, impossible to touch by anyone out of their own league. Every day we admire the group of High-Tiers and Elite-Tiers that make Wellston the most powerful school in the country. We look at them, we admire them, we gasp at the presence of those gods and goddesses that make their everyday life in the same territory as us, the peasants.
But, what if I told you that they're no different from us? What if I told you that they're just a bunch of bored teenagers who just want to enjoy their last few weeks of the school year?

I have received information from an anonymous source that states that, right now, eight high-rankers are participating in what they call «the competition». It's a game between two teams: girls versus boys. What does it consist of? No one knows, but it is expected that «the competition» is going to last a week or maybe a bit more. The prize is also a mystery, what could possibly be being disputed between a group of people that already have it all?

If you're desperately wondering which high-rankers are participating in «the competition», then it's your time to place your bets, because The Wellston Weekly already has its hands on that information. I hope you didn't immediately discard the top of the ranking: Seraphina and John are 100% in. Yes, they are scary, but apparently they thought that putting their friendship on pause for a week to fight for the grand prize would be fun. Believe it or not, it looks like Rank 3 thought the same. Ladies and gentlemen, Arlo is participating as well. Shocking, right? Turns out, the guy is 18 years old, not 80!

Who else do you have in mind? Zeke? Holden? Ventus? Well, you're wrong, wrong and wrong. If you thought about Elaine, you're correct. And if you thought about Cecile, you're correct again! (Given that Cecile literally runs the newspaper, I am forced to stop myself from making any jokes about her... surprising participation)

Now, the moment of truth... What about the Royals? Are they part of this as well? Oh, you have no idea. Our Jack, Isen, has turned «the competition» into a personal challenge. Either he's just enjoying the experience, or the prize is something that he really, really wants. I wish we knew what it is!

And, to everyone's shock, our Monarchs not only approved the whole idea, but they're also participating too. It looks like Blyke and Remi, Wellston's King and Queen, have cleared their busy schedules to compete for whatever is in dispute. And yes, this means that they're kind of enemies now. Did anyone see that coming? I certainly didn't.

So there you have it! Blyke, Isen, Arlo and John against Remi, Cecile, Elaine and Seraphina! Just a group of bored teenagers doing whatever bored teenagers do in their free time. What team do you think will win? Leave your comment below!"

•••

The students were staring at her more than usual. 

She was used to the stares; when you've been a Royal for a long time, being the center of attention becomes part of your everyday life. But now it felt different: the students not only looked at her, but they also seemed more curious than they normally did. Remi couldn't help but feel like she was facing the effects of Isen's article: people wanted to know if what they read in the newspaper was real. It's not like she blamed them for their curiosity, the idea of Wellston's high-rankers playing a game together was something they'd never heard of before.

It got worse as Remi joined her teammates outside the classroom where the second game would take place. It was not only the stares, it was also the gossip. She could hear their little whispers, she caught the way they tried to hide their mouths to keep their words a secret. Some of them, the bravest, took one or two steps towards them, hoping to hear whatever Remi and her teammates were about to say.

Remi sighed. She blamed Isen for this.

Thankfully, seeing Elaine managed to distract her. She was lying against the wall, her body swinging from left to right in a slow, delicate motion; smiling at nothing as she played with the tip of her hair. Red cheeks, shiny green eyes; she irradiated joy.

"Uh... what's it with her?", Remi asked Seraphina, her voice low.

"No idea. She's been like that all morning".

It seemed that Elaine could hear their interaction, because she let out a happy sigh. "Guys, you won't believe it!", she started saying, her small hands on her chest, right over her heart. "Arlo went to my room last night! And we spent a ton of time together!", she sighed again, her blush only getting stronger.

"What? Arlo was in our dormitory last night?", Seraphina frowned. "But I didn't hear anything".

This time, Elaine giggled. "Yup! He asked me to stay quiet, it was our little secret! But I'm telling you now because I need to talk to someone about it!", her eyes closed, a dreamy smile on her face. Remi couldn't help but wonder if she also looked like that when she had her own special someone in mind. "He was so, so sweet! We talked a lot, and watched some videos together! And every time I thought he was about to leave, he stayed. And we spent so many hours alone, together, just the two of us! It was the most beautiful night!"

Remi frowned. Arlo staying at school at night to go to a girl's room? Watching videos with her and being sweet? It didn't sound like him at all, but Elaine's excitement looked too genuine, there was no way she was making it all up. Maybe he does like her after all?,  she wondered, but it felt strange. So far, she'd never seen anything that hinted that Arlo was finally returning Elaine's feelings. Not a smile when her name was mentioned, not a curious look when she was close, nothing at all.

For Elaine's sake, she decided not to say anything.

And apparently she was not the only one that found the situation odd. Cecile looked more serious than usual, and soon Remi realized why. Elaine was so lost in her memories that she seemed to forget about a certain rule that her team set. She just confessed to all her teammates that she had been interacting with the enemy, and Cecile didn't seem to like that.

Except that, contrary to what Remi believed, that was not what Cecile was thinking about.

"Hold on...", she said. "Are you saying that Arlo went to your room... and spent hours in there with you?"

Seraphina gasped.

"Yes yes yes! And he was so sweet and cute and perfect!"

As if the three of them shared a brain, the truth simultaneously clicked. Oh, Remi thought as the girls looked at each other and then at Elaine, who was completely unaware of the looks of disappointment in her teammates' faces. It all made sense now. Being cute, attentive and overall a sweet teenage boy are not things that Arlo would simply choose to do.

Remi gave her a worried look. She could feel the heartbreak coming.

"Elaine", Seraphina started saying, her voice as calm as always. "Yesterday, Remi and I made the boys believe that you would be our player today".

"They clearly bought the lie", Remi continued. "They sent Arlo to distract you so you wouldn't be ready for the game”.

The thing about being an open book is that the world could not only witness your love, but it could also witness your pain. Remi could see the exact instant Elaine's heart shattered into a million pieces. Her entire posture deflated, the color left her face so quickly that she feared that she might faint. Remi approached her, but she didn't really know what to do to make her feel better. Clumsily, she passed an arm around her shoulders and held her. Stupid, stupid, stupid Arlo, she thought.

But her irritation couldn't last long. There was this little voice in her head that reminded her that she couldn't be mad at him, she had no right. As much as she hated to admit it, Arlo did to Elaine the same thing that she tried to do to Blyke.

Remi lay her cheek on Elaine's head, still holding her. The thought of her hurting Blyke the way Arlo hurt Elaine hit her like a bucket of cold water. What last night felt like a failed task, now turned into relief. She was so glad that Blyke had been quick enough to figure out her plan and not fall in her trap...

"Guys...", Cecile sighed. "Our rules exist for a reason. Arlo went after Elaine because of her crush. This is war, and a crush is a weakness. We cannot let the boys take advantage of them".

Seraphina didn't say a word, but she gave her an intense glare. Both her and Remi were thinking the same. Not now, Cecile.

She cleared her throat. "The good news is that now we know that our plan worked. However, the boys are going to find out about the lie in a couple of minutes. They will be able to connect the dots".

"Yes", Seraphina crossed her arms over her chest. "They'll know that we found a way to trick them... and they still could use that knowledge to their favor. Whatever false information we share from now on, they'll be extra careful with it. We can no longer trust that they'll believe everything we say".

Remi's fingers quietly caressed Elaine's shoulder. "Best case scenario: they decide that spying on us is no longer an option", she said. "And if they do keep trying, the safest thing we can do is to say the key words and stay quiet".

Seraphina hummed. "Yes, them stopping spying seems very likely considering that they fell into our trap in their first try. Since they were busy worrying about Elaine, I could spend the entire afternoon studying in peace. They won’t let that happen again”. 

“By the way, Remi", Seraphina added. "How did last night with Blyke go?"

Remi swallowed, finally letting go of Elaine as her entire face warmed up. She couldn't really understand the reason behind her reaction. Was it because her teammates were asking her what happened with Blyke the night before, and she was not used to having people asking her about her whereabouts with the boy she liked? Or maybe it was because she remembered the touch of his thumb against her lips? Or maybe it was the fact that now she had to confess that she failed the mission because Blyke discovered her true intentions way too quickly?

"U-uh... well...", Remi mumbled. "Honestly... it was pretty bad. Blyke is not the kind of person that studies only the day before the test, he has been studying for a while, so interrupting him didn't do much".

"I see. Well, back to plan A, then", Seraphina sighed.

"Attention", Cecile said, her voice firm. "They're here".

The four girls turned towards the corridor where the opposite team had made its appearance. At the sight of Arlo, Remi used her body to hide Elaine. She wouldn't let him see how much he hurt her, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction. And it seemed that Seraphina and even Cecile thought the same, because they stood beside her until Elaine was no longer visible.

Just like them, the boys were all together, walking towards them with a confidence that turned everyone's heads in their direction. Isen at the front, Blyke one step behind, Arlo and John side by side at the end. The steady pace, the hands on their pockets, the wide chests and the confident stance; it all looked like a well-rehearsed intimidation tactic. Remi, Seraphina and Cecile stood still.

"Good afternoon, beautiful ladies", Isen said, a huge smile on his face. "And Cecile".

She looked like she was about to burn him on fire.

"Two games in one day", he continued. "Isn't it exciting?"

"Stop talking so much, it's annoying", Cecile spat.

Isen laughed. "Hey, don't be rude. I just wanted to congratulate you". There was an evil glow in his eyes that made Remi fear for whatever he was going to say next. "Your article ended up being even cuter than it was yesterday".

"Fuck you".

"Okay, that's enough", Blyke said, grabbing Isen by the arm and pulling him behind him. He then turned towards the girls. "The exam is about to begin, so we better not waste more time. I will represent my team in the second game".

Seraphina took a step forward. "And I will represent mine".

Remi's gaze had landed on John just in time and she was glad, because his reaction was priceless. His jaw fell like a ton of bricks, his eyes so wide that he looked like he had just been punched in the face. He looked at Seraphina, then at Elaine, and back to Seraphina, who didn't bother to make eye-contact with him. Cecile, on the other hand, didn't hide her chuckle.

Remi would have sat down and enjoyed John's reaction forever, but Isen was quick to intervene. "Please excuse us", he said, gritting his teeth as he grabbed John by the jacket and pulled him to the side, far away enough so the girls wouldn't listen to whatever he had to say. Unfortunately to him, the content of that conversation was pretty obvious. Isen was fuming, and judging by his gestures, John was trying his best to justify himself.

Remi smirked. That's what you get for spying.

"Everything alright?", Remi heard someone whisper behind her. She turned around to see Arlo, who was staring at Elaine probably wondering why she wasn't being her usual bubbly self. She was hugging herself, and it didn't look like she had the intention to answer his question. Instead, she just walked past him into the classroom, without saying a word.

Arlo locked eyes with Remi, who just shrugged.

He'd need to figure it out on his own.

•••

"Shall we?", Blyke's voice, directed to Seraphina only, brought the players back to the competition. Seraphina nodded, and both her and Blyke led the way to the classroom where the second game would take place. Arlo and Cecile, the only fourth years in the group, whispered their good lucks as the door closed in front of them.

Remi knew something was odd the second she sat down in an empty chair, right in the middle of the classroom. Seraphina and Elaine quickly found their own seats as well, but the boys seemed to stay behind, right by the door. They only walked towards their desks when the three girls were already sitting, and Remi couldn't help but feel like they just made a mistake.

Seraphina chose to sit one row in front of Remi, but two at the left. Maybe, the fact that John followed her and chose the desk at the right side of his best friend shouldn't have raised suspicion; they were always together, after all. But this was war, and friendships no longer existed. Remi knew that the situation was bad when Isen approached the girl who was sitting at Seraphina's left side, and kindly asked her if she could change seats. The poor girl blushed, mesmerized by Isen's charming smile, and quickly picked up her stuff and nodded before moving to an empty desk at the other side of the room.

Meanwhile, Blyke picked the desk right behind his opponent.

As the teacher handed each student their exam, Remi shook her head, upset at her and her team's lack of preparation. The boys clearly had a plan and it looked dangerous. If Seraphina was aware of the fact that she was now completely surrounded, she didn't let herself show it.

"The exam consists of forty questions. You have one hour and twenty minutes. If anyone needs my help, just raise your hand and I'll come to your desk", the teacher said. "Good luck".

The exam began, and Remi found it extremely difficult to focus. Her eyes kept traveling from Blyke, to Isen (to Blyke), to Seraphina (to Blyke), to John (and to Blyke), waiting for something to happen. But she didn't know what she was supposed to wait for. What was their plan? The boys surrounded Seraphina, but what for? Maybe they were just trying to intimidate her? That seemed unlikely. No one could intimidate Seraphina. Why, then?

Ten minutes passed and nothing. She was still in question number two. Focus!, she told herself. Another ten minutes. Question five was pretty easy. Another ten minutes. The teacher had her nose buried behind her laptop, typing rapidly as the sounds of her keyboard filled the entire classroom.

Now that she wasn't looking, Remi could feel movement around her; the students took the lack of supervision as an opportunity to cheat. Some of them tried to take a peek at their seatmates' exams, others carefully grabbed the notes they kept hidden under their desks. Remi wouldn't have cheated not even had she wanted to, because Isen now had her full attention. He was looking at the teacher intensely, so intensely that he was barely blinking.

For a moment, Remi thought that he was feeling anxious about something: his fingers moved around his desk in what seemed to be a nervous gesture. But it felt odd, because she had been friends with Isen for years and she had never seen him moving his hands so much when he was nervous.

Isen's one-sided staring contest with the teacher lasted for a whole another minute, and at one point the movement of his fingers turned into actual sounds: small taps against his desk. Remi frowned. The sound was so quiet, but so loud at the same time. Tap tap tap tap tap...

It all happened in one second. A flash of gold that illuminated Blyke's eyes, another flash of gold that illuminated John's, and next thing she knew, Seraphina's pen was flying across the classroom, pushed by a small wave of black energy.

NO WAY!!!, Remi thought, her eyes wide open. Another second passed. Blyke and John stayed still in their seats, no trace of the abilities that had just been activated. Isen resumed his test. Blyke turned the page; he was on question eleven.

Remi was speechless. She could only stare as Seraphina calmly stood up and walked across the classroom to pick up her pen. As she walked past him, Isen smirked.

This is bad, Remi thought as Seraphina, pen in hand, went back to her seat. Their eyes locked, and they knew that they were thinking the same thing: we are in trouble.

Remi looked at her exam, trying to read the next question even though she knew that her brain wouldn't process any of the words. What do we do?, she wondered in silence. So far it looked like the guys' plan was to distract Seraphina, but she couldn't know for sure until they did their next move. For now, we wait, Remi thought, still staring at her own test hopelessly. Yes she had to pay attention to the opposite team, but she needed to have a good grade as well.

For the next twenty minutes or so, nothing happened. Remi spent half of that time answering the questions, and the other half looking at Isen, who every once in a while would lift his eyes from his desk just to stare at the teacher. His fingers rarely stopped moving. There were times where she would hear his taps louder than others.

The teacher was now very interested in a big book she brought. Isen was now focused only on her, and Remi was now focused only on him. The nervous movement of his fingers increased, and Remi felt something coming. Tap tap tap tap tap...

Again: a golden flash that illuminated Blyke's eyes, another one that illuminated John's, and Seraphina's pencil was cut in a half by a black laser.

This time, though, she jumped in her seat.

"Seraphina? Everything alright?", the teacher asked from her desk, staring at her from above her round glasses.

"Yes, Miss. I'm sorry, I thought I saw a spider".

Remi pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers, suffering in silence as Seraphina took the remaining pieces of her pen and saved them in her pencil case. She got it now. It wasn't only about keeping Seraphina distracted, it was also about getting her in trouble. If Seraphina kept making interruptions, she'd be asked to leave the classroom, unable to finish her exam.

Remi was distressed. She wouldn't stop wondering how the heck the guys managed to activate their abilities twice already and go completely unnoticed. But she had an advantage now, she was sure that she now knew what exactly they were doing. From what she could tell, all three of them had a specific role: Isen was in charge of letting his teammates know when the teacher was distracted. He would tap his desk when she wasn't looking, and the taps would get louder as Isen grew confident that she wouldn't look in their direction anytime soon.
After Isen gave his signal, all that Blyke needed to do was activate his ability and quickly deactivate it. Just one second was enough for John to activate his, and use Blyke's power to attack Seraphina. As soon as that was done, the guys resumed their exams like nothing happened.

It was a risky plan, but it was a good one. It was designed to harm Seraphina while protecting Blyke at the same time. His job consisted simply of activating his ability for one second, which required minimum distraction. This meant that the chances of him getting caught by the teacher were extremely low. Isen and John were more at risk than him, and that's how it was supposed to be; Blyke was their player, after all.

Still, Remi's genuine admiration for the boys' plan wouldn't stop her from trying to ruin it. For the next few minutes, as she tried to answer more questions, she paid attention to Isen's soft taps on his desk. That was the clue. If she was fast enough, maybe she'd be able to save Seraphina from the next attack.

Tap... tap... tap... that was all that Remi could hear now. She silently wondered if there was a specific amount of taps that Blyke and John were waiting for. Were they counting in their heads? She couldn't know for sure. The teacher was using her phone, the light of its screen shining bright in her glasses. The taps got faster and so did the beating of Remi's heart. She lifted her gaze. John was shaking his leg in a nervous gesture.

Tap... tap... Remi held her breath. The taps were too loud to ignore. Tap tap tap tap tap...

NOW!

A flash of orange illuminated Remi's eyes, her entire body now filled with a powerful energy that turned her into a superhuman. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Blyke doing the same, his own body glowing under the power of his ability. This was her chance.

She waved her hand in front of her without thinking, frowning in concentration as lightning escaped her fingers and landed directly in the middle of John's back. She caught a glimpse of the glow that illuminated his own eyes, but it was too late for him. She got him.

"OUCH!!!", he jumped in his seat.

The teacher lifted her gaze from her phone, frowning. Remi closed her eyes shut, her entire body tense as a rock as her ability quickly faded from her system.

"John?", the teacher said. "What is going on?"

"U-uh...", he mumbled. "S-sorry, I accidentally stood on my own foot and it hurt".

The disapproval was clear in her face. "Quiet", she said.

Remi stayed there, frozen, for what seemed to be the longest second of her life. It wasn't until a moment later, when the teacher went back to her phone, that she remembered that her body needed oxygen to function. A gasp of relief escaped her lips.

I did it, she thought, her shoulders dropping as her muscles released the tension. Remi then lifted her gaze, she wanted to see the effects of her success. And it was worth it, because apparently John decided that he wanted to see as well. He turned to look at her, eyebrows frowned, so evidently pissed that Remi couldn't help but chuckle.

Isen, on the other hand, looked like he had just been hit in the face with a pan.

After Remi's intervention, the boys' confidence in their plan seemed to fade. For a while, there were no taps on Isen's desk, and Remi took advantage of that time to answer more questions of her exam. One hour into it, she was still in question twenty. She shook her head. Her parents were not going to be happy about that grade.

Eventually, Isen's taps returned. They were subtle. Insecure, even. He knew that Remi was listening, and he knew that she was ready to intervene again if she had to. Maybe he was considering quitting. Maybe he'd understand that he couldn't take any more risks.

But then again, Isen wanted to win. Sooner than Remi expected, he regained his confidence and his taps regained their strength. Tap... tap... tap... The teacher had returned to her book.  Tap... tap... tap... Remi's entire body tensed, her fingers squeezing her pencil as she waited for the moment to act.

And then, Isen's taps suddenly stopped.

Remi glanced at the teacher again. She was still reading the book.

Why did he stop?

When she looked at him, realization hit. Isen was staring at his own hands with his red eyes wide open. Except that his hands didn't look like they normally did: they were gray, with small particles of purple light surrounding them. But the worst of it all is that they were frozen. Remi could see the muscles on Isen's arms twitching, trying desperately to regain control of his fingers, to no use. They were stuck to his desk, completely immobile.

Remi turned to Seraphina, who was writing on her test calmly, one of her hands resting on one side of her face. For comfort? No... She was using her hand to hide the bright blue glow that illuminated her eyes.

Isen was not the only one affected. Both John and Blyke had their hands glued to their desks as well. They tried to move them, but their efforts were not enough to break the effects of Seraphina's ability. One minute passed and she didn't show any mercy. The way she kept answering her test as the guys struggled was so funny to watch that Remi had to force herself to control her laughter.

As more minutes passed, Blyke was getting more and more nervous. He was losing some precious time that he needed to finish his test. His entire desk shook as he tried to free his hands, but Seraphina had no intentions to let him or his teammates go. Remi flicked her tongue. He was starting to sweat.

She kept looking at him, ignoring the voice in her head that advised her to take advantage of those minutes that Seraphina got her to answer her test. But, as usual, that boy with red hair attracted her gaze like a magnet. At one point he stopped fighting and was now calm, a blank expression on his face. Remi wondered what he was thinking. If he didn't do something soon, he'd lose the game.

After a moment of quiet contemplation, he spoke out loud.

"Excuse me, Miss. I have a question".

The teacher let out a tired sigh. "Remember: if anyone has a question, raise your hand to not disturb the rest of the class".

Oh... Remi said to herself. Oh!

She could see Seraphina moving uncomfortably in her chair, probably wondering what to do next. But it seemed that the battle was lost. Soon, Blyke's hands regained their original color, and the purple sparks around them faded. Almost immediately, he raised one of them. The teacher stood up.

Except that, in order for her to reach him, she'd need to walk right in between John and Seraphina. The latter knew this, and she also knew that she couldn't risk getting caught with her ability activated in the middle of an exam.

So she deactivated it, and now both John and Isen were completely free.

Clever, Remi thought, staring at Blyke as he and the teacher spoke quietly about whatever "question" he had. Very clever, she thought again, shaking her head. She couldn't help but smile a little.