Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

PART 1 OUT OF 2

"WAKE UP, (NAME)!!"

...

"(NAME) (LAST NAME), WAKE UP!"

'AH—!'

Something soft smacked you on the face which you presumed is a pillow. Disoriented, you sat up on your bed and opened your eyes.

Looking ahead, you saw your mother — an extremely stern but loving woman — who is wearing a ticked off expression on her face. She has her hands on her hips, ready to scold you.

"I-I'm up! I'm up!" you quickly told her with a sheepish smile as you leapt out of the bed, your feet hitting the padded floor.

"YOU BETTER BE!" she yelled out as she eyed your movements like a hawk, "I cannot believe you forgot today's your first day of school!"

'Oh... OH?' your thoughts had a delayed reaction as it scrambled to give context to her words.

Then it hit you. You remembered you transfered out of your old school in the middle of the first semester because you were a victim of bullying. Although you reassured your mother it was nothing serious, she was having none of it after seeing you so bruised and beaten.

You thought she wasn't being so serious when she told you you're moving schools. Now you're feeling like your past self is hitting you on the head right now.

It's just... moving out in the middle of the semester is a bold move from your mother. You never got to say goodbye to your friends nor finished that dreaded grouped school year project.

Well, what's done is done, and your mother is certainly done with you as you heard your door had slammed shut.

At least she gave you your privacy. You grabbed your school uniform and quickly wore it. You made sure to freshen up in the bathroom before grabbing your bag and leaving your room.

You made it to the dining room and saw your mother holding a piece of toast. Before you could say anything, she shoved the bread into your mouth.

"No time for breakfast for you, sleepyhead! It's almost time for school," she scolded you some more and lightly pushed your back to make you leave, "Remember, your schedule is in your bag! AND don't go anywhere after classes!"

Left stunned and still with a piece of toast in your mouth, you're suddenly outside your house with your mother behind you.

"All right. Good luck with school and make the most out of it! Bye bye, sweetie!"

Anddd she shut the door on you. You blinked before slowly walking away as you munched on the piece of bread.

That... was something. Your mother turning a 360 from her previous demeanor was so in-character but still unsettling to you.

Brushing that aside, you paused for a bit.

Where is that school she was talking about?

You are most certainly dead. It took you some detours before finally discovering what the school's name is and where its location is.

But ignoring the fact you're late (actually, extremely late), you're stupefied after learning the name of the school. 'Paper School' is its name. Huh.

It's big though. Like seriously big. When you arrived, the sheer size of the school intimidated you. It's certainly not like your previous school which you found to be exciting.

Now inside the hallway, you pulled out your schedule and read that Math is your first subject. Your subject teacher is Miss Circle.

You navigated the halls and found her classroom with ease. Although you're acutely aware you're late, you're somehow not bothered by it.

As you entered the room, you swore the temperature inside dropped drastically. The tall teacher, Miss Circle, looked at you straight in the eye with an expression you can say as either irritated or murderous.

She has long hair that goes down her ankles. She also has two horns that are the same color of her hair that protrude from the top of her head.

"The new kid showed up. Finally," Miss Circle mused as she put a hand on her hip.

Err— claw, actually. Wait, is that a compass? Why is her left hand a compass?

"I'm sorry, Miss. I fell down the stairs on my way to school," you automatically spat out a lie.

Sure, it may be a lie right now, but you have experienced falling down the stairs several times in the past. All instances happened while your mother was out for work.

Miss Circle raised an eyebrow at your excuse, "And you consider yourself all right to attend class?" she asked in suspicion, and that's when you knew she's not buying your lie. It's kind of her to entertain you though.

"Yeah, I'm fine now," you gave her a thumbs up and scanned the room for an empty seat.

The only empty seat is the one in front of a boy who has an 'A+' clip on his head. How peculiar. You noted he's staring at you intently. Well, everyone is, but his gaze didn't seem all too friendly.

"I don't tolerate my students being late, but since you're new here, I'll give this one instance a pass," she warned you seriously, "But before you take a seat, introduce yourself to the class."

Oh boy, introductions! You're not thrilled, but fine. You should've been expecting this.

You fully faced the class and gave a slight smile.

"Hello, everyone. My name's (Name) (Last name), but you can call me by my first name. I suddenly transfered to this school, so don't mind that fact. It's nice to meet you all."

"Thrilling. You may now take your seat," Miss Circle drawled out, unimpressed by your introduction.

Once you sat down, you looked at the board in front and realized that their lesson right now is your lesson from your previous school, only that you had an advanced reading of it. This will certainly be easy because, right now, the introduction of the topic was only being discussed.

"Since I was planning on giving a pop quiz for last week's lesson today, it's unfair for the new student here because she just started her school year just now," Miss Circle announced.

You heard a collective sigh of relief from everyone. Hey, you did something good for the class on your first day!

After that announcement, the teacher droned on with the lesson. You didn't even pull out your notebook because you've already memorized the formulas associated with the topic. Good 'ol calculus. Basic calculus, to be exact.

You heard a not-so quiet squeal behind you. You're sure it's not from the boy who kept staring at you, but you believe it's a person from his row. You made no move to look behind you because you're sure it's something you'll regret.

"...Newbie will be our friend!!"

You heard a high-pitched voice speak up behind you. Wait, is it referring to you?

And after that question inside your head, you saw a paper airplane land on your desk. You plucked it off and saw a text that said:

'unfold this to see my note!!'

You do so and are indeed met with a somewhat longer message.

'hey, my name's zip!! can u be my friend :3 ????? look behind u if u think yes.'

Automatically, and out of curiosity, you looked behind and saw a girl seated at the left whose hair is a split color of black and white with a writing of '2 + 2 = 8' on her bangs. She's waving at you furiously, and dare you say, excitedly.

From the looks of it, she's certainly hyperactive. If it were allowed, you were sure she would have bounced off her seat by now.

And then the bell rang without warning. Oh, so you were that late.

Immediately, Zip shot out of her seat and approached your desk. She grabbed you by the arm and pulled you out of your chair.

"Ack—"

Everything was happening in such a short span of time that you didn't register the fact there were two boys trailing behind you and Zip.

"Since you looked back at me, that means we are automatically friends!" Zip concluded as she dragged you out of the classroom.

"Huh?! What is that logic???" you questioned out loud as you tried to match her speedy pace.

"My logic, duh!" she proudly replied while keeping an iron grip on your arm.

"Zip, you sure this newbie's ripe for the picking?"

A new voice entered the fray as its owner picked up on the pace and walked beside you.

You looked at him and quickly recognized that he was the boy who sits behind you. Upon seeing him better, you realized his white hair actually goes down to his knees. Wow. His hair is pretty, honestly.

"Yeah, I'm sure, Oli! Their looks scream generically cute!" Zip replied to him, "I wanna eat them up!"

"Hah???" you gave her an incredulous look. Her backhanded compliment pales in comparison to her musing of cannibalism.

"By the way, what's up with the excuse earlier? Are you stupid?"

Another voice entered the scene, and this time, it's from the boy seated at the right of this 'Oli' person. He's got white spiky hair that goes past his hips. He also has horns protuding from his head and a forked tail to complement it. He walked beside Zip.

"Aw, c'mon, Eddie! Admit you found it funny too!" Zip pouted at him.

"You sure didn't think your excuse through though," the horned boy commented with a cruel smile as if he was mocking you.

Before you could retort, Zip slammed open a door, and it only dawned on you that you guys just arrived at the cafeteria.

Multiple eyes were on your group, and it made you want the ground beneath you to swallow you whole. You don't want so much blatant attention all over you.

You barely followed what happened, but now, you're seated at a table with a lunch tray holding your recess in front of you. Zip sat next to your right while the two boys sat across you two.

"All right, (Name), these people are dic— are my friends. The porcupine nerd is Edward and the one who looks like a femboy is Oliver!" Zip introduced them for you while you're trying to eat your weird sandwich in peace.

The two boys voiced their disdain at her descriptions, especially Oliver as he seemed to be especially ticked off by the word 'femboy'.

"Uh-huh. Cool. I'll keep that in mind," you replied with a tone that certainly held no commitment.

"Lame. You should show more reaction, newbie," Oliver criticized you.

You can't blame him, honestly. You want to leave so badly.

"I think we should show them the ropes to the ongoings of this school. Watch!" Edward exclaimed before pulling out a drone and a remote.

Where did that device come from???

The drone came to life, and Edward made it hover above a poor unsuspecting kid's table. It swooped down and picked up the kid before sending them to another table and dropping them, making them slam into someone else's lunch tray. As expected, food splattered everywhere.

He snickered and made the drone come back to him. You just gave him a bewildered look while his friends, especially Zip, laughed at the intentional misfortune.

The bell rang once again — indicating the end of recess — and the four of you vacated the cafeteria first, but not before Zip snatching the snacks from random students' trays.

"Hey, (Name), what's your next subject?" Zip asked you while she walked beside you, her hands kept to herself, finally. Oh right, she's holding a bunch of snacks.

"Uhh, let's see..." you pulled out the folded paper from your pocket, "It's Language class. Miss Thavel's the teacher."

"Awww, mine's Science!!" Zip complained.

"Oh, finally! Me too," Edward piped up as he went on ahead.

"Hey, wait for me, you spiky nerd!!" the girl ran ahead as well to catch up with Edward, leaving just you and Oliver behind.

Right. You almost forgot he was here the entire time too.

"You're in luck! My next subject is Language too," Oliver smirked when he told you that.

"Uh, yeah. I wish the best for the two of us?" you replied in a somewhat unsure tone.

"Ugh, you're boring and not engaging at all, y'know," the boy snapped with an irritated tone, "Be grateful Zip had eyes on you or otherwise you'd be in the receiving end of our mercy," he added in a warning tone that made you more wary of him.

"Though... she wasn't lying when she called you cute," Oliver mused in a tone full of intrigue, "Alice will definitely find you delightful."

"Huh? What are you talking about? Who's Alice?" you asked, the compliment flying past you.

He only gave you a smug smirk, "You'll see sooner or later," he said ominously before walking ahead, not waiting for you.

'What does that all mean???' your thoughts screamed out. You felt defeated for no reason.

You just trailed behind him as fast as you could, still confused.

Inside Miss Thavel's classroom, you scanned for any empty desks and immediately took off to go sit at one of them. You didn't really see which seat Oliver decided to sit at, but you don't care. You want to make new friends!

You looked to your side and saw a boy with white hair that goes past his shoulder with two differently colored feathers — blue and orange — as his hair accessories is your seatmate.

He regarded you with a warm smile when you noticed him.

"(Name), right?" he asked you for clarification.

"Yep! I'm the new student here," you replied to him with a smile.

"Ah, yeah. You're the one who stopped Miss Circle's pop quiz from happening. I'm grateful for that, aha," the boy added with a sheepish smile, "Anyway, my name is Engel! If you need any help settling in this school, you can just approach me."

'He's so sweet!' your thoughts gushed out.

"Thank you, Engel! I'll keep that in mind!" you told him in earnest.

He looked as if he wanted to talk to you some more, but he immediately sat up straight when the door slammed wide open, revealing a slightly disheveled teacher.

'Must be Miss Thavel...' your thoughts supplied for you.

She's fairly tall and has some small tears on her clothing, giving her a savage look. She has ABC blocks as her hair accessory and both of her hands are large claws... That's concerning.

"Apologies for that, class," Miss Thavel uttered out as she scanned the room. She spotted you quickly.

"You're the new student, right?" she asked in intrigue.

"Yes, Miss," you nodded at her question.

"I see," Miss Thavel nodded back and moved to her table to get the stacked papers there, "Since you enrolled late in this school, you won't have to take these practice exercises as these are designated for the lesson from last week."

You heard your classmates murmur amongst themselves. You're not sure what they're talking about, but you think it must be about the treatment you're receiving.

"But if you want to take them, then go ahead. You just need to translate some simple sentences into English," she started handing out the papers to the first row of students.

"The sentences are all in Spanish, by the way," Engel whispered to you in hopes to help you make your decision.

Good to know. You won't bother with those exercises.

The student sitting in front of you passed the papers. You got one and passed the remaining papers to the back. You stared at the worksheet and are met with a barrage of words that made no sense to you.

You can recognize some Spanish words, but the overall sentence does not click anything in your mind. You had no foreign language class at your old school, so you're essentially just a sitting monolingual duck in this class.

That's an issue. Language takes some time to learn. You can do memorization instead to get by in this class — especially considering you're behind — but it's hard. Memorizing a language is not feasible.

You're glad Miss Thavel allowed you to sit this one out. Maybe you would have tried if what you'll be translating will be phrases instead.

You sighed as you leaned back on your seat while your hand played with your pen. Language being your roadblock right now is not okay to you. You think you need to do some self-learning before tackling the new lesson tomorrow.

Engel noticed your turmoil as he subtly scooted his chair closer to your desk. You noticed this and raised an eyebrow at him.

"You've finished already, Engel?" you asked.

"Yup. It's not so bad, actually. I noticed you seem to be struggling to begin with the worksheet though," he noted and showed you a sympathetic smile, "I can help you if you want!"

You smiled back at his proposition. He's so selfless. It made you feel warm.

"Thank you so much. I didn't have any foreign language subjects in my old school, so I just don't know what to do here," you sheepishly admitted to him.

"It's okay!" he assured you, "I can even tutor you if you want."

"Really?" you asked him in a bit of awe.

It's really sweet of him to just offer his time for you. Suddenly, you're glad for not bothering much with Oliver's group, seeing as Engel is ten times better than them.

"Yeah! We can start later during lunchtime in the library, if you don't mind," he offered.

"All right! Thank you for that, Engel. I don't know what to do with myself, honestly," you sincerely told him.

"Hey, it's not bad to ask for help," he reassured you again.

Now you really want him to be your friend! He's so nice, and you need to meet new people anyway.

After some time, Miss Thavel called out the class to pass their papers forward. You kept your own paper as you passed the ones behind you to the front.

Subsequently, the bell rang, meaning it's now lunchtime. Engel packed his things and waited for you to finish as well.

Once you finished, you stood up from your seat and faced him.

"All right, let's go now—"

You were dragged forcefully and quickly realized that the culprit is Oliver. You briefly glanced at Engel whose expression was first confusion before becoming concern.

It looked like he wanted to follow you, but Oliver is going too fast as your feet cannot keep up with his stride!

"Hey! Where are we going, Oliver?" you yelled out.

"To Alice's room, of course!" he simply said, much to your bewilderment and confusion.

"Can I not? I need to get tutored by Engel right now!" you tried to reason with him.

"That loser?" he paused for a bit to look you in the eye, "He's definitely not worth your time. He'll infect you with herpes if you stay near him long enough."

His outlandish mockery came out with a tone laced with venom. His animosity towards the sweet boy is disgusting to you. Still, you kept quiet as he led you to a peculiar door with a piece of paper stuck on the top that read 'Alice's room' and the phrase 'do not open' scrawled on the wood.

You have a very bad feeling about this.

He didn't bother to knock and just entered the room. It looked to be... a void. There's a girl sitting in the middle of it all.

She has short brown hair and a tiara atop her head, however her most defining feature has to be the spikes that protrude out of her back.

'So this must be Alice...'

You don't know how to feel about this. This room is scary. She's scary. Oliver dragging you here is a stupid decision.

"Welcome, Oliver," the girl spoke, directly addressing the boy, before harshly scrutinizing you with her gaze.

If you had more guts, you would've bolted out of the room. Screw this! The uncomfortable atmosphere these two created is very oppressive.

"Ah, is this the new student I caught wind about?" she asked as she finally approached you.

Without reason, the girl grabbed your chin and tilted your face around to fully get a look of you. You could only pray all of this would be over.

"Yup! They're fresh meat, but don't eat them," Oliver piped up, watching the interaction between the two of you with an amused look.

'Eat me? WHAT?' you sweat dropped.

First Zip, now Alice? Why are these people into cannibalism?

"They're very cute," Alice murmured and caressed your cheek. Boldly, she leaned in and hugged your waist.

You stood stock-still, not knowing what to do or how to react. You eyed your side and saw Oliver watch the two of you with great interest. He didn't bother sparing you at all, just snickering at your misfortune.

Eventually, you returned her hug. You placed one hand on her hair carefully while the other is on her shoulders. Automatically, you patted her hair in rigid motions but are extremely careful in avoiding her tiara.

Although standing for a long time hurts, you still managed to hum out a tune. It's a lullaby that your mother used to sing to you when you were younger. In response, Alice's grip on you significantly loosened.

You still wanted to leave though. Fed up, you mouthed to Oliver 'help me'. He smirked before finally approaching the two of you.

He came up behind Alice and gripped her shoulders. He pulled her backwards, making her stand up and slightly bend back towards the boy. Somehow, throughout the whole ordeal, he avoided her spikes behind her back. Maybe they retracted and you didn't realize it?

"Time's up, dear. Newbie's feeling cramped," Oliver soothed the girl and affectionately patted her hair.

Wait, 'dear'? Pet names? Are these two dating? Were you thirdwheeling????

Alice reluctantly nodded before standing up straight. She briefly pecked Oliver's cheek which caused him to flush slightly.

"Okay. Come back soon," the girl told you and briefly caressed your cheek again. She pulled away quickly.

Oliver came to your side and seized your wrist. He happily waved at Alice as the two of you left the room.

'What just happened?' your mind tried to make sense of anything.

You highly assumed those two are dating — or at least mutuals – and somehow, Oliver didn't mind the fact Alice was being all touchy-feely with you.

Now in the halls, you mustered the courage to glance at the boy. His mind seemed to be distant as he hasn't really acknowledged you besides his tight grip on your wrist.

"So... mind telling me what was that all about?" you asked him.

He just smugly grinned at your confusion, "Oh, you just gained Alice's approval. That means you're cool now," he explained.

It doesn't help you though.

"Okay? So? What does that entail?" your eyes squinted at him.

"Oh, that just means you won't die in her hands!"

What. So the spikes on her back weren't for show then?

"I see?" you replied, not really knowing what's the appropriate response.

"Come on, cheer up, newbie! Isn't it great your life was spared?" Oliver snickered and pinched your cheek with his free hand.

You felt nothing from it, but you still sent him an annoyed look.

"Maybe you shouldn't have sent me to her room in the first place," you retorted with a huff.

Oliver snickered again and said nothing. The two of you fell into silence until the two of you arrived at the cafeteria doors. It's only then you remembered about Engel.

'Geez, I almost completely forgot about him,' your thoughts berated you as you eyed the cafeteria if he could be there.

Unfortunately, no. But you did spot Zip and Edward in the midst of finishing their lunches. You and Oliver took so long in Alice's room, huh?

Once you and Oliver approached their table, Zip wasted no time getting off her seat and tackling your waist in mach speed. Luckily for you, you maintained your balance as Oliver was there to barely keep you upright.

"I missed you so so much, (Name)!!!!" Zip gushed out as she buried her face into your stomach.

"We've only met, Zip," you pointed out.

"Nah, who cares?" the girl giggled before finally pulling away and dragging you to sit next to her.

Oliver sat next to Edward once again. He picked some food from his tray which was met with some muted protest from the horned boy. Zip happily gave you the snacks she stole from other students during recess.

Surprisingly, the vibes around the group were amicable. It kind of made you feel calmer. Suddenly, maybe you want to give them a chance.

Keyword: maybe. Still, you knew it's better to be on their good side for now.

END OF PART 1

Chapter Text

PART 2 OUT OF 2

In Science class — which was your class after lunchtime — you were separated from the group. Edward had Language while Zip and Oliver had Arts. You didn't see Engel in the room which was unfortunate.

Miss Bloomie, your Science teacher, is shorter than the other teachers in comparison, however she's equally terrifying as them because, this time, she has a box cutter for a hand.

You sat next to a nervous-looking boy whose eyes seem to be trained on the teacher and her every movement. He has disheveled black hair that goes past his shoulders and has a small white sprout hair accessory on top of his head.

He's obviously trying to keep a calm demeanor.

Miss Bloomie barely acknowledged your status as a new student as she went on with her lesson, Chemistry, without a hitch. Fortunately, the topic was something you've studied in your previous school.

It's about balancing chemical equations, and you're more than prepared for it! It just needs simple math and a keen eye!

As soon as the teacher finished explaining the gist and showing examples of the chemical equations, she immediately gave out practice exercises.

And you did all of them with ease. You got lucky this happened to be your first lesson in Chemistry because you have either a vague understanding or have no idea at all on what the other lessons entail.

In the corner of your eye, you saw your seatmate struggle badly as he kept writing and erasing something on his paper. You felt bad, so you angled yourself to face him.

"Hey, you okay there?" you asked him with a slight frown on your lips.

He looked at you with alertness in his eyes, "A-ah... No..." he admitted in a small voice.

"I tried following what Miss Bloomie was saying, b-but she was too fast!" he complained with audible distraught in his tone.

Well, you can't disagree with him. Miss Bloomie taught like the whole class understood her without question.

"Four minutes left!" Miss Bloomie slammed her weaponized hand against the board.

The poor boy held his head low as he focused back on his paper. You frowned in pity.

"I can let you copy my worksheet right now," you offered to him, "Just don't make it obvious."

He looked at you with an expression that first held shock before turning into relief.

"Th-thank you!" gratitude bled from his tone. He discreetly tilted his head to get a better look at your paper.

You allowed him while you acted nonchalantly and kept an eye out on Miss Bloomie.

Eventually, the boy finished copying your paper. He gave you another grateful look.

"Uh, thank you..." his sentence trailed off as if prompting you to tell your name.

"(Name)," you told him with a small smile.

He returned that smile, albeit a shakier version of it, "My name's Abbie..." a look of realization crossed his face suddenly, "Y-you're the new student, right?" he asked.

"Oh, I am!" you nodded, "Why—"

"You saved my skin from Miss Circle's pop quiz! I-I wasn't ready for that," he blurted out, cutting you off. He looked as if he was about to cry.

"Um, no problem?" you smiled in confusion.

First Engel, now Abbie? People hailing you as a savior is something you're not used to. You're not complaining though. Your first impressions matter a whole lot after all!

"Time's up! Everyone, pass your papers forward!" Miss Bloomie commanded.

Everyone, including you, did as commanded. You got a glimpse of your other classmates' answers, and they weren't far off from yours. That's reassuring!

Abbie looked much more relieved, knowing that he has something sensible to pass. You have a feeling that if you hadn't offered your help, he might have passed a sheet with illegible writing instead.

Afterwards, the bell rang, indicating your next class. You packed your pens and stood up from your seat to follow the masses.

But Abbie shot up from his seat quickly and approached you. You decided to entertain him.

"What's your next class, (Name)?" he asked with a hopeful expression.

"I have Music next! What about you?"

"Oh..." his expression dropped, "I have Language next with Miss Thavel."

"Ah," you faltered at the mention of his next subject, "It's okay. I'm sure you'll do well!"

He mustered out a wobbly smile and gave you a thumbs up. He expressed his gratitude to you once more before walking to the direction to Miss Thavel's classroom.

That interaction was sweet. However, you noticed Abbie really doesn't seem so confident in himself. That's... sad.

You hoped you'll see him more now just to cheer him up! He obviously needs it.

Eventually, you made your way to your next class. Inside, you deflated when you realized no one in the classroom is familiar to you. You decided to sit next to a girl with white hair that's cut into a short blunt bob with a small white bow atop it, complementing her overall hairstyle.

She acknowledged you and showed a sweet smile. You smiled back at her.

"Hey, my name's Claire!" she introduced herself, "I've heard of you from Engel, and well, he was disappointed when Oliver took you..."

From her own words, this girl is definitely Engel's friend! But hearing her talk about how disappointed he was made you feel guilty. If you had willed yourself, you would have broke out of Oliver's grip.

...It's not like you can succeed with it though.

"Well, Oliver's pretty persistent," you sheepishly explained to her.

"And a big bully," she sighed in exasperation — as if she's experienced it.

You internally winced at her words. You've been hanging out with his group, however you've been planning to meet new people. In general, you just didn't agree with those three's antics.

"What did he do?" you asked in order to learn of the severity of his actions.

"He's been calling me names and just general tattling. It sucks because he's been at it time after time," she spilled to you with a frown.

"That's horrible..." you sympathized with her.

In your old school, the most bullying done to you was more akin to manhandling. Jabbing your sides, pulling your hair, and all of that nonsense. In the end, you felt nothing. It's to the point you didn't understand what your mother was fussing about. It wasn't a big deal to you until she decided otherwise.

You suppose you sympathized with Claire, but it's not as much as you'd like. It's just a shallow connection that the two of you are bully victims. Well, in your case, was a bully victim.

"Yeah," she eventually smiled at your sympathy, "It must suck too that you were immediately targeted by his group. If you want, you can join my friend group for refuge!"

'Aw, she's sweet too,' you appreciated her offer.

"Thank you, Claire! I'll make sure to follow up on that, but for now, I'll keep the three at bay," you mused with a bit of humor.

She giggled in response before delving into general topics which you entertained until the teacher arrived.

Your teacher is Mister Demi whose face and expression is nervous overall — as if he's trying to keep it together. He has short straight white hair that's just above his shoulders, two pencils as his hair accessory, a pair of small horns on his head, and square frame glasses on his face.

He's the first male teacher so far — which is unique — and somehow, you felt as if he might be the friendliest teacher you'll be seeing for a while.

"Good afternoon, class," his smile looked practiced, "I believe the new student is joining us in this class, and uh, please raise your hand if you're them!"

You raised your hand in response which caused everyone to look at you and Mister Demi to meet your eyes.

"Good. Um, since you enrolled during the middle of the semester, you may need to learn our previous topics," he picked up a booklet from his desk and approached you.

He gave it to you quickly and went back to the front of the class. You read the cover and got the gist that it's all about the basics of Music Theory.

You're not sure what to feel about Music class. You've had experience with music from playing the flute, but that was all in the past when your old elementary school made it mandatory for each child to learn an instrument.

Eh, it surely won't be bad. In the end, this is just an extracurricular subject.

Mister Demi goes on with the lesson of reading music notes and so on. It's boring to get through, but you managed to get a grasp on it.

And in a blur, Music class ended, and you felt relieved. Your first day is over! Finally.

"Oh, yeah! Engel offered to tutor you, right?" Claire suddenly asked when she finished packing her things.

Right. You almost forgot about your issue with Language.

"Yeah, I'm very, very behind, so..." you sheepishly nodded, "Where could he be now?"

"He'll be at the library with our friend!" she replied, "Let's go there together!"

You agreed easily and walked beside Claire as she led the way. She chatted with you, inquiring about your old school and other miscellaneous stuff. You answered all of her inquiries easily, seeing as she didn't prod about things much.

The two of you arrived at the library without incident. There at one of the tables is Engel! Another student sat with him whose appearance resembles foamy bubbles. She, you assumed, has a rubber ducky and a brush on her head.

Claire led you to the group and greeted them. She ushered you to sit next to her at the table. Once settled down, Engel eyed you with worry.

"Are you okay, (Name)? Did Oliver hurt you?" he immediately asked, still recalling the previous events during lunchtime.

"Nope. I'm fine," you gave him a smile to ease his worries.

He returned it shortly after, but you think he's not convinced. The girl next to him looked at you with awe in her eyes.

"(Name), this is Bubble!" Claire informed you and gestured to the fluffy-haired girl.

Bubble happily nodded, "Hello! How are you?" she asked you.

"Just peachy! Lots of things happened earlier, so yeah..." you responded to her with barely any enthusiasm.

Today just drained you, if you're being honest. Especially with the whole interaction with Alice because that was just plain weird despite you showing no outward reaction to it.

Before anyone in the group could speak up, a loud noise crashed into the library and got closer to your guys' table. You looked up and spotted a very familiar gadget.

Edward's drone. You internally groaned at the sight.

Quickly, it dropped down and took ahold of you! Shocked, you barely had any time to react as the gadget sent you out of the library.

When it released you, it almost dropped you to the ground next to Edward himself who's right outside the library door. He grinned at your predicament triumphantly.

"Idiot secured!" he cheered as if the thing he did was any kind of feat, "Quit hanging out with those losers. They'll give you brainworms."

You frowned sternly at his words. You're damn irritated, and you glared at him because of it.

"I'm doing fine with them, Edward. What gives? I can handle getting insulted, but when you insult others, that crosses the line in my eyes," your words don't hide any resentment towards him, "Engel, Claire, and Bubble were being nice to me! Unlike you guys who just push me around for your own enjoyment!"

Edward looked practically unamused at your words as if he found them boring, "Blah blah blah— you're overreacting, and you talk big for someone new," he rolled his eyes as he mocked you.

Your eye twitched because of his behavior.

"And you can go fuck right off, Edward," you told him in a menacing tone you never knew you could do.

For once, the horned boy actually dropped his arrogant expression as an unreadable one replaced it. It sent a shiver of satisfaction down your spine.

After the silent standstill, you turned around now. You didn't say anything as you began heading back to library.

Edward didn't bother to stop you. You're free.

Heading back to Engel's table, you showed them all a tired smile.

"Hey, guys, I'm back," you sat down on your seat next to Claire's.

"Edward harmed you, didn't he?" Claire asked with a frown.

"No, but..." you trailed off. You didn't want to mention your temper from earlier.

"Yeah, nevermind. Hey, Engel?" you turned to face the white-haired boy.

Engel immediately perked up at his name being called, "Yes, (Name)?"

"Can you help me now with our Language subject?"

After a successful tutoring session with Engel, he began fussing over you, asking if you'd be okay going home alone as the sun would be setting soon. The same went for Claire and Bubble as they expressed their own concerns, but you reassured them you're used to walking home at night.

...You did not know why they all gave you terrified reactions, but nevertheless, you assured them again.

Still, it hadn't sat well with Engel at all, so he's here with you right now, walking down the pavement you barely recognized. The reason why you'd rather be alone right now is because you've been mentally preparing yourself to go through so many detours before going back home.

Yeah, with the whirlwind of events and whatnot earlier, you managed to forget your way back home.

"Slight disclaimer, but uh, I think I forgot which route I took to come to school," you finally admitted after having walked down a good few blocks away from the school.

"...Is that the reason why you were very late for Math class?" Engel asked with noticeable concern in his tone.

"Uh-huh," you nodded in slight embarrassment.

You looked up and saw stars have littered the sky. You're fine with evening approaching, but you're not sure about your companion.

"Are you sure you're okay coming with me, Engel? I was serious when I said I'm fine walking home at night."

"It's okay, (Name)," he smiled at you, even if he's a little bit perturbed, "You admitted you're basically lost anyway, so it's better if I accompany you."

"But what about you though? Would you be fine if you go home at this hour?" you spun the question around him now.

"I'll be fine—"

"Nope. I'm not believing that. Once we get home, I'll ask my mom if it's okay to drive you back home."

A brief silence engulfed the two of you. Engel's probably weighing his options.

After some time, he finally spoke up.

"Hey, (Name)?"

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you just ask your mom to come pick you up right now?"

...

Oh. Oh. He's right. You forgot the fact your mother could do that.

All you could hear was Engel's amused chuckle as the two of you stopped near a light post. You dialed your mom on your phone.

And when she finally picked up, you stood your ground as she verbally minced you then and there. You're in big trouble for not texting her about you extending your time at school. The white-haired boy next to you could only give you a stare of pity and amusement.

You finally reasoned with her, and she agreed to come pick you up and even agreed to send Engel home first.

Now, the waiting game...

It's really nice of Engel to actually walk with you. Despite the fact you just met him today, he still decided to accompany you because he believed you'd be safer with him.

Okay, but he really has done a lot for you within the few hours of time you spent with him. He's really just that kind!

You playfully nudged him with your elbow, and he gave you a curious look in response.

"Wanna play rock, paper, scissors in the meantime?"

Now in the car, you stared out the window while your mother talked up a storm. She was intense towards Engel, but when she realized he's very polite, she started warming up to him so easily.

He instructed her the directions of where his house is. Your mother drove down his street.

Engel got out of the car and said his goodbyes to the two of you. He gave you a warm smile.

"I'll see you at school tomorrow, (Name)!" he waved at you one more time before heading to his house.

You waved back at him briefly and finally adjusted into a more comfortable position inside the car. Your mother drove off.

As you dozed off, you recounted the whole events at school.

So many things happened, and it came crashing down on you one by one. Meeting Zip, Oliver, and Edward felt like a mistake; Alice was odd; Abbie is a mess, but he's nice; and Engel, Claire, and Bubble were all sweethearts.

Your teachers were fine. You're sure you can dance around their strictness, especially Miss Bloomie's. Language still sucked for you, but at least you caught up a bit thanks to Engel's help.

Mister Demi's nice, but he obviously needed to loosen up. Anddd you're still not sure what's up with Miss Circle and Miss Bloomie's weaponized hands.

Being the new student felt so exhausting. You await for tomorrow, but you dread it at the same time. You doubt you'll be able to avoid Oliver's group.

But at least you can sleep it off right now. School's over, so you'll enjoy this privilege.

...That is until your mother started addressing you in a voice higher than the usual volume.

Well, you're in for a long night, it seemed.

 END OF CHAPTER

Chapter Text

You woke up earlier than intended. It's barely dawn, and the sun hasn't graced the sky yet. You sat up on your bed and contemplated on what to do.

You can't go back to sleep.

So with no other ideas, you freshened up and changed into your uniform. You grabbed your bag and went downstairs to the living room where you'll spend your hours waiting for the sun to shine.

...And it's boring. Your phone could only provide so much entertainment before you felt like doing something else.

You decided you'll just make your own breakfast.

With that, you entered the dining room, turned on the lights and cooked up a simple meal that's quick and quiet enough that won't disturb your mother. You plated it for yourself and ate the meal, savoring the little taste it had.

Afterwards, you put your plate in the sink and left the room. What now?

Hmm...

What if you...

Went outside?

It's a silly idea to entertain, but you're seriously considering it. You're capable on your own, and most importantly, you relished exploration.

Now, for your mother, she's naturally overprotective over you, and that certainly clashed with your free-spirited nature.

Hell, she harshly scolded you last night for not bothering to check your phone. She apparently called you over forty times, and you missed each one of them, all because of the fact your phone was in silent mode.

Eh, it'll be fine. You'll just leave her a note! Besides, you're more than keen to come to school early! She'll understand that. Probably.

Weighing your options, you decided to indeed go outside the house. You first wrote down a note explaining why you left the house and taped it on a spot you're sure your mother won't miss.

You then grabbed your bag on the couch and slipped outside the front door quietly. You made sure to lock it before doing your mini excursion.

The air is cold outside. The sun is barely peeking out as well. The atmosphere around you is still with only the chirping of bugs audible to you.

Eerie. You liked that.

You walked on the concrete sidewalk with a little pep to your steps. You decided you might as well stop by at a convenience store to buy some snacks. You knew a 24/7 store down the street.

Also! You're more confident now in navigating your way to school. These streets are starting to make sense to you now.

Your plan for now is to first head to the said convenience store then off to school!

The worker behind the counter looked dead on the inside, waiting for their shift to end. You tore away your glance when their head lolled on the counter. It seemed like they didn't care you were here.

You made your way to the snacks aisle with junk food and sweets galore.

'Now, what to buy?' your eyes scanned the various snacks on the shelves.

They eventually land on a particular brand of cookies. Oreos. You're partial towards the brand, but they're all right as your recess. You picked three off the shelf.

You also went to the refrigerator section and grabbed yourself a small box of milk just to complement the cookies.

Then you made your way to the counter where the cashier had finally woken up. They scanned your items and told your total price. You paid for it and watched them bag your snack and drink.

As they finished and gave you the paper bag, their posture suddenly hunched down, their expression flickering from nothing to... contempt?

"UGH, I've had it!!!" they yelled out and slammed their hands on the counter.

You blinked at their outburst, not expecting for loud noise to pierce the early morning.

"You kids RUINED my day!" they sent you an accusatory glare.

"What did I do???" you frowned after your daze had worn off.

The cashier squinted their eyes at you as if you were stupid, "Your SCHOOLMATES or whatever kept asking for soft served ice cream over and over again!" they paused as if to collect their simmering anger, "Then the damn thing broke which made ice cream mixture spill everywhere!"

Wow. That sounded like not your problem. That's its own issue then.

"THOSE THREE then left the store and DIDN'T even pay!" they balled their fists after their rant.

"That's rough," you commented in an effort to show sympathy.

You actually peeked at whatever's behind them, and indeed, there was no ice cream machine to be found!

"OBVIOUSLY! Now the boss will fire me at this rate," they spilled out, defeated.

"..." you just stared at them.

What can you even say? You're just a student in the end, not a worker.

Eventually, you just awkwardly shuffled out of the store and hoped that they didn't watch you the entire time.

Thinking back on their words, you definitely knew who those students were. Of course Oliver's group would also commit after-school shenanigans.

His group aside, you were wondering what was the cashier thinking when they were being so easily compliant in fulfilling the trio's request for more ice cream. Unless they were being threatened, you still saw it as really dumb for them to comply to the group's wiles.

What a way to start your morning though. You prayed for the cashier to pull through despite everything.

You put your goodies inside your bag before continuing on with your journey. It's high time you go to school now as the sun is starting to grace the world with its presence.

You quickened your pace along the sidewalk, intent on getting to your destination as quickly as possible. You're very curious on what the school looks like when it's still this early!

Now right outside the doors of the school, you pushed them forwards and stepped in. Unsurprisingly, the hall is dim, but seeing as the entrance isn't locked, you could safely say you weren't trespassing.

...Hopefully.

You stared at the abyss which is the depth of this corridor. You felt as if something is beckoning you — beckoning you to reach the end of the hall. You walked forwards but heavily subdued that feeling. Not right now.

You can see just fine under this lighting, so you made no move to pull out your phone for a flashlight. You walked past a variety of classrooms whose lights are all turned off.

Then you reached the only room with its lights turned on, albeit just a tiny bit, providing a faint light source. It's the library, and you couldn't be more excited. You may as well be productive before classes begin.

You opened the door carefully and entered the room. You haven't had the chance to fully explore this place, so you flitted over to a deeper section in the library.

It's significantly dimmer here as you scanned for anything of note. Walking a bit more, you stumbled upon some railings. Looking further beyond them, you noticed a gaping pit which sparked your interest.

You started pondering heavily as to why there is a pit here... It's certainly a very unique addition of this school.

You leaned forward against the rail and craned your head down to inspect the pit further. It's almost pitch black and endless which made your curious.

"Hellooo? Is anyone down there?" you yelled out into the pit, still careful with your balance so to not fall.

No response. Just as you expected.

You started quickly losing interest, but you considered something before you'll leave the pit alone. What if you threw something down there? You'll start with something invaluable inside your bag.

Unzipping it, you blindly fished around for anything. It's so damn hard to see with the lack of light here.

"Aha!" you felt something small under your fingertips and pulled it out of your bag.

It's your crumbling pen-scribbled eraser! You didn't know why you still have it, but you might as well use this as your test object.

You extended your arm forward and dropped the eraser down into the pit. You watched it fall and disappear then and there from your view.

What were you expecting?

"Huh, all right then..." you muttered to yourself.

With your interest fully gone, you walked away from the ominous pit and back to the comfort of the light near the entrance.

You sat at a table and pulled out your notebook filled with Language notes and your Language worksheet from yesterday. It's filled with Engel's handwriting as he thoroughly guided you yesterday.

You began studying it over and over again until your eyes felt dreary.

You could barely hold them up anymore.

...

Maybe you should've really forced yourself to sleep earlier...

Eventually, your face fell flat on your notebook.

Edward was still reeling from the events yesterday.

It felt like he was splashed with cold water with how your words hit him hard. Not really any of the nonsense about him carelessly insulting everyone, but how harshly you told him off. Not even Claire has the guts to show that kind of bark.

Replaying the events in his head, he now felt tremendously ticked off. He tried impressing you with his drone during recess, but his plan failed. You weren't amused. Such a killjoy.

He thought going for a direct approach — as in snatching you with his drone — during after classes would work. He thought you'd just follow him like how you'd allow Zip and Oliver to drag you around.

Oh, he's acutely aware why you'd rather stick around with the two more than him. Shame you couldn't even pretend harder to like him.

...Truly a shame. Haha.

Stupid. Why should he care? You're just some fresh meat in this school. If Zip hadn't set googly eyes on you, then he wouldn't have been thinking this hard about you.

Ah.

It sure sucked he was feeling things for you.

...

Besides being irritated with your words yesterday, it sure gave him the fuel to try harder. Maybe then you'd look at him without animosity.

"Stupid, stupid..." he berated himself some more as he walked to the school grounds.

He's not an idiot normally, but he sure felt like it when he discovered that he's actually feeling something for you. Hell, it was just the first day!

It was your looks. Definitely that. Definitely...

He's now worried too. You're close with Claire and Engel and prefer them over his friends. That's exactly why he tried dragging you out of the library just so he could distance you from them. Besides, if you needed tutoring, he could have done that!

...Maybe he should have chosen that as the opener before openly insulting Engel's group.

Edward entered the school and eyed some of the students loitering the hall. Zip and Oliver aren't here yet. He's by himself for now.

Library time, then. There'd be nothing to do if he were to wait inside Miss Bloomie's classroom.

He walked to his destination and pushed through the doors. Upon entering the library, he quickly noticed you, passed out on the chair at a nearby table.

Unbelievable. He wanted to cackle then and there. It's as if fate called out to him.

He approached you and observed your figure, keeping a safe distance away from you. You're... in peace. He just stared while keeping that thought in mind.

He liked that you were alone. No one to bother you, no one to focus your attention on.

Bravely, he came up to you closer. He looked at your things on the table and got the urge to pick something. He didn't know why, but he just wanted to.

Eventually, he chose to pluck your pen off the table.

He stared at the small object. It's nothing special, just a simple, transparent ballpoint pen. It's probably something you wouldn't care about.

But it's a small memorabilia from you for him. That's what mattered. If that was your only pen, well, sucks to suck.

He glanced at your sleeping figure one last time before walking away deeper into the library. No use bothering you. You'd probably spit fire at him.

Now by his lonesome once again, he wanted a distraction from... all of that.

...

The first thing you saw were bright lights. The library is fully opened now! You sat up properly and got a full look of your surroundings. It's still devoid of anyone, but at least you can now properly see!

You fished out your phone from your pocket and saw that it's almost time for classes. You were lucky your nap was short or else... yeah.

On the table was the worksheet and your notebook. You folded the former neatly and put it in between the pages of your notebook. You put it back in your bag.

As you stood up and left the library, you began pondering what's your first class. You're aware it's definitely not Math because you just had that for your first class yesterday.

Can't be any of the extracurricular subjects either since they're usually in the afternoon.

Hm...

"Good morning, (Name)!" a voice greeted you.

You immediately recognized it! It's Claire!

You turned behind and saw her smiling at you, "Good morning to you too, Claire!" you reciprocated her energy.

"What's your first class today?" she asked and walked beside you.

You thought for a moment before giving up and just getting your schedule from your pocket.

You squinted for a moment, "It's... Science," you responded in a less enthused tone.

"Oh," she frowned, "I have Math as my first subject."

"Do we even have a class where we'd be together today?" you showed her the paper in your hand.

The two of you paused from walking as the white-haired girl read your schedule.

"We do! We'll have Language together later!" she beamed and returned your schedule.

You nodded enthusiastically and initiated a conversation with her, starting with the events in the convenience store. She looked amused and concerned.

"Geez, really? Cashier must've been pressured," she commented.

"Yeah, and it has probably been a long night for them. Still didn't like the fact they yelled at me first thing in the morning," you shrugged helplessly.

She winced in sympathy and nodded in agreement.

You and Claire walked once again before splitting up as now you're in front of your Science classroom.

Inside the room, you eyed your seat from yesterday. Unfortunately, first of all, no Abbie, and second, someone's sitting on it. A pity. You scanned the seats next to the wall and noticed the only empty seat was right next to Edward's, to his right to be specific.

Thrilling. It's as if the universe frowned upon your existence.

When you sat down on the seat and made brief eye contact with him, you were surprised to see he didn't seem all too affected with you. You genuinely thought your words from yesterday would have offended him and thus made him try to ignore your presence as much as possible. But no. This here was not the case.

Actually, Edward seemed to be more keen with staring at you instead. It's to the point that, even if you broke off eye contact, he still persisted.

Eventually, he stopped. The pressure is gone. You exhaled the breath you didn't know you were holding the entire time.

Miss Bloomie subsequently entered the class with a bunch of papers in her hand. She barely glanced at the class as she began writing something swiftly on the board.

Tense silence blanketed the entire room, save for the sound of chalk scraping against the board. You didn't even have the courage to pull out your notebook.

With what she's writing, you heavily assumed it's probably practice exercises connected to the lesson yesterday.

And she added electron configurations into the mix...? Then orbital diagrams???

You felt like you were blanking hard right now. Stock knowledge could only get you so far.

Miss Bloomie then started the lesson after finishing whatever she was writing. That's the cue you needed to get your notebook! You put it on your desk and flipped it to the page you dedicated for Science.

You also fished for you pen inside your bag.

But it's not there.

Puzzled for a bit, you opened your bag wider to begin searching for an extra pen. You must've left the old one in the library. To be fair, you were in a hurry so that made sense.

You finally found an extra pen and immediately wrote down the things your teacher just said. God was she fast at explaining things. It'd be probably better to learn the topic at home beforehand...

At least this lesson is familiar to you, and you're starting to understand it again now.

As quickly it started, it ended already. She taught so ungodly fast. Made sense though because the topic's pretty easy.

You warily eyed the papers she's now holding again. She passed it to the people to your left side... and skipped your column? You watched as she then passed the papers to the people on your right next then skipped the column after that.

What was Miss Bloomie planning?

"Work with your seatmate for this activity," she instructed as she stood right at the center of the room again, "Cooperate with each other as this is a graded task."

'Graded???' you faltered upon hearing that from her.

At least this wasn't a group activity.

Oh, but when she said cooperate with your seatmate—

Edward.

You snuck a glance at him and saw him write down on the paper. You felt pressured seeing that as he could have been starting already without even showing you the worksheet!

He's not pausing at all. You're extremely nervous now...

"There. Do your part now."

Suddenly, Edward shoved the worksheet into your hands. You barely got a grip on it as you scanned what he has already written.

And it's a lot. He has done more than half of the activity, and that made you feel more guilty than irked.

You went over the more simpler parts of the activity since he's done the harder bits of it. That's very considerate of him, you suppose.

"Done," you announced to Edward and passed him back the worksheet.

He took the paper and scanned it with a scrutinizing glance. You pursed your lips at that. He started writing down on the paper, and that's when you knew he's changing your answers.

"Hey, what gives!?"

"You did some of them wrong. You forgot the format of the electron configuration," he bluntly stated, never taking his eyes off the worksheet.

You forced a smile to mask the fact you both felt irritated and slightly hurt, "I-I see," you nodded in an effort to act nonchalant.

"But," he cracked a smile — the signature grin he usually sported, "You did your best."

...It's either he was mocking you since this sort of topic should be easy (you just blanked out, okay?) or he's trying to make you feel better — you honestly couldn't tell. You'd like to believe it was the latter though.

"Um, thanks," you hesitantly accepted his words.

Well, isn't this awkward?

The fact he's normally mean just isn't helping either. This is probably a stretch, but did he change because of your words yesterday? It should have an effect on him since his silence during that time spoke volumes.

And speaking of that, your outburst... wasn't pretty, even if you thought Edward deserved it. It was your first day too!

Apologizing never hurts, so—

"Hey, Edward, about yesterday..." you started off and looked to see if you caught the boy's attention.

You have his full attention, actually. He most likely wanted to discuss it too.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you," you left it at that to hold your tongue from adding unnecessary things. Backhanded remarks, to be frank.

"...Apology accepted," Edward easily replied and kind of relaxed in his seat.

You were blind to the fact his grin was wider than usual—

"That's good. It's just... my point still stands. Please don't make any demeaning remarks about my friends," you appealed to him.

He scoffed, "Yeah, okay," he said in a tone that sounded like he was brushing you off.

Wait— but he agreed with you? Now that is something!

Your thoughts were immediately cut off once Miss Bloomie told the whole class to pass the worksheet to the front. You watched as Edward passed the paper. At least that's over.

"I have an assignment for you all before I dismiss the class. You will work with your seatmate for this one."

You felt exasperated at the mention of an assignment. At least this wasn't Math class, you suppose. That's always a silver lining.

"You will all need to create your own problem involving balancing chemical equations and electron configurations that are unique from the worksheets I gave to you all," she paused, "Five chemical equations for balancing and ten elements for electron configuration. Deadline will be tomorrow. That's all."

You looked around the class and saw a majority of your classmates looking annoyed or inconvenienced. Meanwhile, Edward looked lax. Judging from the way he got through the worksheet easily and how he seemed unfazed by everything Miss Bloomie threw at everyone, there's no denying he's a Science prodigy.

He caught you staring at him which caused him to snicker, "Relaaax. The assignment will be easy, of course!" he gloated, "I'll do everything!"

"Eh? What about me?" you nervously asked.

Bluntly, he shrugged, "Sorry, I don't know either," he responded, "You can just sit with me in the library if you want some kind of contribution— I don't care though."

Somehow, the last statement sounded defensive. Was he inviting you or...?

"All right. When will you begin?"

That made him pause as if he wasn't expecting for you to take up on his supposed offer.

"...Dismissal time," he eventually replied.

"Great! I'll just text my mom I'll extend my time here later," you informed him and cleared your desk.

Class was dismissed shortly after, and you followed the crowd filing out of the room. Looking behind briefly, you were surprised to see that Edward hadn't gone up yet.

'What's up with him?' your thoughts questioned.

Weird...

Well, his problem is certainly not yours to deal with. He's some smartass, so he's probably thinking of something big right now.

With that conclusion, you left the classroom.

END OF CHAPTER

Chapter Text

Inside the cafeteria, you scanned the tables. By luck, you first spotted Engel's friend group, and you were ecstatic. You darted towards them and greeted the group.

"Good morning to you too, (Name)," Engel showed you a pleasant smile and ushered you to sit next to him.

You obliged and sat on the seat. Claire and Bubble were across you and Engel.

"How was your first class?" Claire asked and watched you bring out a packet of Oreos and a small milk box.

"Well..." you tore the cookies' plastic, "Miss Bloomie made us do a pair assignment, and Edward is my partner for that."

"Oh," she replied, most of her positivity drained out of her.

"You're strong! You can do it!" Bubble chimed in and encouraged you.

You smiled at the bubbly girl, "Thanks, Bubble. He's at least agreeable... for now," you sighed the last part.

Silence followed after that, and you took that as a sign to eat your Oreos. You stuck the straw into the opening of your milk box and took a sip of it.

Claire and Bubble eventually filled the silence as the two conversed with each other. You wanted to understand what they were talking about, but you just lacked so much context.

"Your mom was interesting, to say the least," Engel commented, chuckling in the end.

You took the straw out of your mouth immediately when he mentioned what happened yesterday. You're embarrassed because of the sole fact your mother couldn't stop being so inquisitive.

"Ugh, don't remind me," you pouted, "She isn't usually like that. Promise!"

"I believe you, (Name)," he nodded solemnly but looked as if he wanted to laugh again, "She became nicer to me in the end. I get where she's coming from."

"Uhhh, guys, what're you two talking about?"

Claire got in the conversation with a skewed smile as if she's concerned.

"Huh? What do you mean? We're just talking about my mom," you replied to her, not really getting her point.

Engel swiftly got the implication and blushed hard, "It's nothing like that, Claire!" he blurted out, his usual serene demeanor breaking a bit.

You were still confused. You just nodded along with the boy.

"I don't get what you're trying to say, Claire. But yeah, my mom picked us up and drove Engel to his house. She was pressing him for answers with her prodding questions throughout the car ride."

Claire looked surprised for a moment and giggled, "Ahh, I see. All of that context helped," she pointedly looked at Engel.

You also turned to look at the white-haired boy who was flat out refusing to look at anybody. Huh. What was shameful about what he said? You didn't get it.

"Oh, Engel, you worded things poorly, y'know," the girl teased him.

"If it makes you feel better, I didn't know what's wrong with what you said," you assured him despite confusion still clouding your mind.

He maintained his composure after a few seconds and smiled at you like usual.

"Thanks, (Name). Claire's got a point though. I should be less vague with what I say or else misunderstandings could arise," he admitted.

'But I don't see what's there to misunderstand...' your mind was drawing blanks because of this whole conversation.

You paused and thought of it a bit more.

Then a hand snatched your other unopened packet of Oreos from the table. You looked to the side and saw that it was Zip who took your cookies. She inspected the treat as if it were something so interesting.

"Zip! Give those back!" you stood up from your seat, not noticing the stares you're getting from your friends.

"Ya really fetched gold with this one!" Zip exclaimed and snickered, "Miss Circle's gonna love these!"

That made you pause for a moment. What's that gotta do with the Math teacher?

"I don't follow...? Are Oreos her favorite cookies?" you hedged a guess.

"Ding-ding-ding-ding! You got that right!" she confirmed your question.

Huh. That's kind of interesting...?

"But give those back!" you frowned.

"Nuh-uh! And hey, (Name), I miss you so SO much, y'know!?" Zip pocketed the Oreos and took ahold of your arm almost instantly and whisked you away, leaving Engel, Claire, and Bubble behind.

Here we go again...

Already you've spotted Oliver and Edward who were sitting next to each other. They weren't far from your table.

Interestingly, it seemed like Oliver was sulking. He looked preoccupied with his own thoughts while Edward was staring blankly at his tray on the table.

When you and Zip reached the table, Zip shoved you into a seat and sat next to you, hugging you in the process. You just stared ahead and, effectively, at the two boys.

Oliver gave you a stare. Edward didn't bother looking up.

"Oh yeahh! I forgot to tell you Oliver's kinda mad," Zip informed you with a muffled voice since she's buried her face into the side of your arm.

"What!?" you turned your attention to the girl next to you. You were slightly panicking.

You didn't expect you made Oliver mad, let alone anyone, honestly. You were amicable yesterday! Well, except to Edward, but still!

"C'mon, Zip, you're exaggerating," Oliver snorted out in amusement, drowning out the unexpected tension between you and him.

You looked at him, and he stared right back.

"Anyway, you really should reconsider hanging out with Engel and his friends," he stated, point-blank, with a neutral expression.

You wanted to ask why, but for some reason, you couldn't bring yourself to do so at all. He was serious with his words.

No explanation and no excuse to his words. It's as if he was basically instructing you to do that.

You just sat there and took it in, keeping your lips pursed. Engel's group didn't deserve this in the slightest.

"I agree with him," Zip casually piped in, "Those guys are stealing our time together!" she complained dramatically, still hugging you.

You kept your simmering annoyance under wraps. How hard is it for these three to be nice at all? Are they allergic to acting like decent people?

Oliver didn't say anything else as he opted to just observe you. You kept your head low, avoiding whatever kind of look he's giving you.

'Insufferable. He's got no control over me,' you reminded yourself.

Obviously you'll ignore his words and continue spending time with nicer trio. Consequences be damned. If you'll become a laughing stock to these people, then so be it. You're tired of sticking with this kind of group, and it's just the second day!

"On an unrelated note, I heard you did something to Edward over here," Oliver eventually switched topics and poked the boy next to him.

Edward was immediately startled and glared at him, "They did not!" he stammered out uncharacteristically.

And that made you peek at the spiky-haired boy's expression. He was flustered as seen with the darker shade on his face. Strange. You're curious now.

"What'd I do though?" you deadpanned with an unamused expression plastered all over your face.

Edward gave you a fleeting panicked look — as if surprised that you spoke — while Oliver smirked.

"A whole lot. Did you know he's got a—" the smug boy's words were muffled when a hand smacked over his mouth.

You gave the two a confused look. Why was Edward being so defensive?

"He meant Edward's got—" Zip tried to get in the conversation but was quickly shut down when she was forcibly wrestled out of her seat by Edward who lunged over the table.

"—and that makes us rivals!"

That was the only nonsense you managed to understand from the girl whose mouth was also covered.

"That's cool, guys," you replied and nodded slowly, scooting away from the two.

Yeah, totally. You understood everything fine. Definitely.

And then the bell rang. You sighed.

You're done here, thankfully.

Zip followed you out of the cafeteria when you told her your next class is Language. It happened to be hers too. Great. You were looking forward to that subject because at least you'll get to sit next to Claire, but now you were just feeling indifferent.

Entering the classroom, you saw Claire already seated which made you slip free from Zip's grasp to sit next to her. The girl who was holding you captive the entire time also followed and sat next to you.

You prayed Zip doesn't distract you the entire period. She seems the type to do so.

Looking at the short-haired girl, it was obvious she isn't really enjoying this arrangement. You internally winced at this.

"Ella es tonta," you heard the split-colored hair girl to your right snicker out.

It took some time, but you understood her words. You furrowed your eyebrows and shook your head in disapproval.

"Don't be like that to her, Zip," you reprimanded immediately.

"それがどうした? 本当だ," she replied with a shrug.

Your mind blanked. Did... she just speak in Japanese?

To your left, you heard Claire sigh in exhaustion. You looked at her and gave her a look of sympathy.

"She's so annoying," she mumbled, barely meeting your gaze.

"Mhm," you nodded to her words, unsure on what to say.

You're glad you're in the middle between them or else Zip will have an easier time picking on Claire. Could've been better if Zip just went to another seat, but oh well. This is a fine compromise.

Shortly after, Miss Thavel walked in the classroom which caused everyone to turn silent. She didn't slam open the door this time.

"All right, class! Today's topic will be all about the basics of Japanese," the teacher announced and wrote down on the board.

'What about Spanish though...?' you nervously thought as you watched her write unfamiliar text.

So, you studied that language just for nothing? Engel's efforts were all in vain then. To be fair, you did remember her mention the Spanish worksheets were related to the class' lesson last week. It made sense a new lesson was brought up today, but you genuinely thought it'd be a continuation, not an introduction to a new language to study.

Maybe it's because you're not yet used to this system, but you wondered how your classmates survived this. It'd be a chore trying to learn multiple languages after all.

Like most of the other students, you got your notebook and focused on jotting down notes. You even mimicked the Japanese texts as best as you could.

Miss Thavel went on a tangent about the history of the language and so on before diving straight to understanding it. You followed along when she told the class to repeat the romanizations of the text.

So far so good!

...Until it's not, that is.

She went in-depth on the rules, and all of that flew over your head. You're not doing well. At least you wrote down the rules to get back on them.

"Any questions, class?" Miss Thavel asked. She looked pretty pumped as if teaching all of this made her happy.

You wanted to raise your hand so badly, but your classmates all collectively said 'no' to her question, causing you to keep your confusion to yourself. It's fine. You can study.

You looked to your right and saw Zip was half asleep as she was about to snooze in her seat. She didn't even have a notebook out! It's either she's that good or she just wants this period to be over.

You shuddered. If you were like her, you doubted you'd be passing any classes.

At least she's not disturbing you like you expected.

To your left, Claire looked focused on her own notes. That's admirable. Now it made sense why she and Engel are friends. They're both the diligent types!

You got back to focusing on the lesson once more and saw that Miss Thavel had made a few practice problems to be translated into English.

"I'll call a random student to share their answer for each number once everyone is done."

Ah. Your heart dropped.

Quite distressed, you scrambled through translating them and referred back to the notes you had just written down. Half of the questions were unanswered as they were confusing, but you really tried.

Language sure is different from Math and Science... Ugh.

"You did 'em wrong."

You were startled by a presence hovering over your shoulder. It's Zip. She ignored your expression as she pointed out your inaccuracies.

"It ain't that hard, y'know," she commented as she spilled out alternate answers — presumably correct answers — for you to write down.

Unsure on how to react with the whole interaction, you just wrote down what she told you. She seemed confident, so she's gotta be right. Right?

"Hey, (Name), can I see your answers?"

This time, Claire spoke up. She held a ticked off expression which is definitely targeted towards Zip. You noticed her chair's closer to yours now.

"Sure?" you subtly handed over your notebook to her.

She gave the notebook a once-over before lowering it.

"Zip! Your answers are all wrong!" the short-haired girl spat out after just a few seconds of reading.

Uh-oh. This is why you were in the middle.

"Huh? I'm always right! You're in the wrong, idiot," Zip sniped back with a somewhat annoyed expression.

'Please don't fight loudly, you two,' you prayed and watched things unfold between the two.

Claire said nothing as she rewrote your answers on the notebook. Surprised, you blinked multiple times. At least free answers? Saves you from developing carpal tunnel, that's for sure.

When she returned your notebook, Zip straight up snatched it. Although it was quick, you were instantly fed up and took ahold of her arm. You wrestled out the notebook from her hold and came out victorious.

"She definitely did your answers wrong, (Name)!" Zip whined when she didn't get her way.

You opted to ignore her. Just in time, Miss Thavel announced that she'll be calling names.

She called the first student who is, luckily, not you, and they answered right. Same goes for the second student, third, fourth...

...

They perfectly understood the lesson, huh?

Fortunately, throughout the whole session, you never got called. Classes came to an end shortly after as the bell rang. It's lunchtime now.

You packed your stuff and waited for Claire to pack hers too. You obviously didn't want to follow Zip, so you were ignoring her blatantly. The way she was pulling your arm for your attention didn't bother you.

"Let's eat lunch together, Claire!" you cheerfully told her.

"Stoppp ignoring meeee, (Name)," Zip pleaded and tugged your arm harder.

"...Right!" Claire barely gave the split-colored hair girl a glance as she focused on you, "Let's go," she smiled genuinely.

You stood up and followed her which shook off Zip's hold on your arm. It surprised you she wasn't persistent, but, hey, you're not complaining.

Lunch was uneventful. It was a good thing because that meant Oliver's group didn't come and pester you. Zip must've had the conscience to back off... for now.

You spent your time spilling your Language subject issues to Engel, Claire, and Bubble who all nodded along in sympathy. Claire gave you tips on how to improve and Engel offered to tutor you again.

All in all, it was a pleasant hour.

And now you're in Miss Circle's classroom, seated next to Engel as his next subject is Math as well. You pulled out your notebook and your pen as preparation.

"(Name)!"

"Huh?" you looked up from your desk and saw Abbie approaching you.

He looked relieved just seeing you. That made you smile. He sat on the empty seat to your left and pulled out his own notebook.

"Hey, how are you?" you asked him.

"'M doing fine, I guess..." he shrugged, "Science sucked though."

"Ah, well, it takes practice and studying. You'll do fine," you assured him, "The internet's your pal for all of that stuff."

Abbie reluctantly nodded, "Yeah... You're right!" he showed you a wobbly smile.

Then Miss Circle showed up with Oliver in tow. What. You shared Math class with him too!?

He walked to your seat row — barely giving you a glance — and sat behind you. Your heard the sound of a chair scraping behind you, and you knew he moved himself closer to you.

Miss Circle went on with the topic of a new concept in Basic Calculus. She's tackling the Limits of a Function which you've already learned from your previous school.

You can sit back and relax for once, which you do so without hesitation. This topic's pretty easy anyway.

In the corner of your eye, you saw Engel giving you an odd look. You turned to face him and tilted your head in curiosity.

He gave you an apologetic smile, "(Name), shouldn't you be listening to Miss Circle's lecture?" he asked politely so to not offend you.

His question surprised you, but you welcomed his concern nonetheless.

"Don't worry! I've learned this topic in my old school. It'll be fine."

"Is that so? That's good to here then," Engel responded with a soft smile and left it at that as he focused on the lesson again.

You went back to paying barely any attention to the teacher as your thoughts have detached themselves. You just checked your schedule earlier, and your last period is Art class.

Like the Music subject, you were indifferent towards Art. Just another extracurricular subject to get through.

...You felt fingers smoothen out the back of your hair. The touch was delicate but glaringly deliberate — as if it was done to simply get a rise out of you. It took every inch of your fiber to not shiver at all.

What's Oliver doing this time?

It escalated as his hand went up and softly patted your hair for some ungodly reason. Was he being so obvious to get caught by Miss Circle?

But shockingly, Miss Circle's gaze has at least flitted over to you three times and even right now! And yet she ignored what the boy behind you was currently doing.

"Oliver, what are you doing?" you calmly asked without turning around.

"Isn't it obvious?" the boy cracked a grin unseen by you.

He relinquished his touch and left your hair alone.

"You somehow hurt Zip," he mentioned, "For shame, newbie. For shame."

No response came from you. You showed no reaction either.

You just watched Miss Circle absentmindedly as she illustrated practice problems she'll solve herself. Better to ignore Oliver as well or else your head's gonna blow up at this rate.

The lesson ended eventually before you could even blink. You read the writings on the board and realized how overcomplicated the equation became. Barely readable. Cool.

You stuffed your notebook back in your bag and saw a glimpse of a familiar blue plastic wrapping. Ah, your Oreos! You vaguely remembered the little tidbit Zip told you about Miss Circle's favorite snack.

You picked the cookies and pondered to yourself. Might as well give it to her? Brownie points are brownie points!

You stood up and walked up to Miss Circle who sat at her desk. She eyed you with a raised eyebrow but immediately changed expression when she saw what you were holding.

"That for me, new kid?" she asked, barely holding back a grin.

'Her scary look is gone,' your thoughts mused.

You nodded silently with a nervous smile and handed her your Oreos.

She snatched the treat, "Thanks, new kid! Continue that behavior, and you'll live through my class!" she joked as she tore the plastic with one hand and ate an Oreo.

You barely processed her words as you gave her another nod. Her sharp... everything scared you. You went back to your seat to get your bag before leaving the classroom, seeing as Abbie and Engel were gone already... Also Oliver.

Outside the classroom, Engel had been waiting for you. You waved at him.

"Hey! what's your next class?" you asked.

"Arts. What about you, (Name)?"

"Ooh, same! I have Art class too!" you said with enthusiasm as you'll be with him again.

The two of you walked together to the classroom. You conversed with him all the way through.

Before you could head in the Art classroom, Engel touched your shoulder. You looked at him with a questioning glance.

"About Oliver..." he sighed in disappointment, "He was blatantly bothering you. I'm sorry I wasn't able to stop him."

"Why are you apologizing?" you gave him a fond smile, "You did nothing wrong at all, Engel!" you brushed him off.

"But—" he blinked shortly before eventually returning your smile, "Nevermind. Next time, I'll be better."

The boy ushered you to get inside the classroom before you could even dwell on his words.

You got on your seats, and shortly after, the teacher, Miss Sasha, walked in. Immediately, you could tell from her face that she's super friendly!

The green book that's been implanted on the right side of her face is kind of unsettling though. Despite that, with the way she presented herself, she really looked approachable!

She and Mister Demi are now part of your mental list of kind teachers.

"Good afternoon, class!" she greeted with a beaming smile. Shortly after, she showed a look of realization, "Oh! The new student's joining us this class. (Name) (Last name)?" she mentioned.

That caused you to sit straighter. She actually went the extra mile to remember your name. That's sweet!

When you raised your hand, Miss Sasha immediately noticed it and showed you a smile.

"Ah, hello there! If you have any questions relating to the subject — or anything in general — don't be afraid to approach me!"

Your heart melted as you nodded to her words enthusiastically.

Then the lesson started. She started off with the basics as to probably acclimate you with the subject. You listened to her attentively just to relay your appreciation towards her.

Art class ended, and you learned a lot! Miss Sasha warmly bid the class goodbye as everyone began leaving the room.

You left with Engel and parted ways with him in the hall as you wanted to go to Miss Thavel's classroom because you actually forgot to pass the Spanish worksheet you worked on.

That flew out of your mind all because of the new lesson. Ugh.

You stepped aside and opened your bag to pull out the aforementioned paper before heading over to her classroom.

Now at the door, you frowned at the sight of the lights already turned off. This early? She must be busy then.

You turned back and realized something so crucial! Your Chemistry assignment with Edward! You put the Language worksheet back inside your bag and pulled out your phone to quickly send your mother a text about you extending your time at school.

You didn't wait for her reply as you speed walked in the corridor on your way to the library.

'I hope Edward hasn't finished the worksheet without me,' you thought with slight annoyance.

He should really value the art of other people contributing. You can definitely do work!

Just because he was smart doesn't mean he should do everything. He must suck being group mates with, but you guess that's the opposite for people who... don't like doing work.

...An odd stench wafting about made you full-on stop with your journey. It's not an outright rancid smell that can make you hurl immediately, but it's coppery? Metallic?

You looked around and saw nothing of note at first... until you saw the door to your side. You think that's the supply closet. Its door is slightly ajar which meant someone entered.

You double checked your surroundings to see if anyone's nearby, but no. The hall's desolate.

Well...

...

You approached the door and pushed it slightly. It's not enough to give you a full view even when you peeked. You frowned.

Out of a sudden impulse, you finally pushed the door wide open with slight control to make sure it didn't slam against the wall.

The light from the hall flooded inside the supply closet, and...

A mangled corpse.

Your entirety froze as your morbid fascination kept you looking around. The student wasn't someone you could immediately recognized.

Their body and face were slashed in such a gruesome and deliberate fashion. You couldn't... even see their eyes.

You almost gagged, but your iron grip on your stomach, fingers digging through the uniform fabric, kept you distracted.

Blood dripped from the claw marks inflicted on them and it pooled below.

The smell... No wonder why it was strikingly metallic.

But...

Why?

Why?

It's clear who did this. Your stomach clenched at that. The claws gave it all away.

You wanted to calm yourself down — you really did — but the thought of knowing that there's a killer in the school cannot settle your mind.

And the victim was a student.

A student.

Just... why?

"(Name)...?"

END OF CHAPTER

Chapter Text

Out of fear and impulse, you pulled the door shut before turning around sheepishly — like you were caught doing something unscrupulous. You'll just make an excuse that you were just passing by... and—

It's Abbie... Huh. You should have recognized that meek voice already.

With the way he's shaking visibly — as if he'd break at any moment now — you knew he saw it. That is not good.

You didn't know how to react. Eventually, through your frayed nerves, you released your grip on the doorknob and stepped forward.

"Haha, that was something," you forced a smile, "Hey, Abbie, what's up? Where'd you come from?"

"Y-you saw..." he stuttered out, ignoring your questions. His trembling hasn't ceased.

The smile on your face dropped instantly, "...Do you know why she did that?" you asked.

"I-I..." he couldn't utter out a proper response.

You held back a sigh and opted to show him a bit of sympathy, "Come on, let's walk. This isn't a good place to idle around," you placed a hand on his shoulder and encouraged him to walk with you.

Abbie calmed down with your touch but still kept his head low. You just looked ahead, letting the silence occupy the two of you.

You... were strong, you suppose. You thought in your whole life that seeing a corpse would make you utterly sick, but you just held it all in. Your mind's scarred imprinting the image though.

You don't want to be the killer's next victim. No one does. Maybe you should leave the school now, seeing as it's not safe here.

Perhaps it's time to call a teacher. They'll know what to do.

With your resolve strengthened, you paused your steps which made Abbie look at you.

"Let's report the incident to a teacher, Abbie."

All calm seen on his face had turned into nervousness. He furiously shook his head in disagreement. You gave him a look of surprise.

"No... Th-that's a bad idea," he told you, "All of the teachers a-are in on it!" he blurted out.

"What?"

"I-I'm sorry, (Name)," he cried out pitifully, "You're the new student. Y-you didn't deserve to see any of that."

Suddenly, you felt very uncomfortable. You stepped back from the boy, your hand leaving him as if he had burned you.

"What. Do. You. Mean."

You held your stance and gave him a questioning glance that looked as if you were scrutinizing him.

He didn't give you a response as he sobbed to himself now. He hung his head lower and caved in, lowering himself to the ground.

You looked down at the pitiful sight before you, "Tell me, Abbie," you clenched your teeth as your calm tone wavered, "Come on..."

His crying made you feel bad, but it worsened the atmosphere.

It certainly set your worries ablaze as well. Everything felt distressing to the point you're desperately keeping your rationality together.

"Abbie—"

"I-I DON'T KNOW!" he yelled out through his tears.

You flinched and elected to observe him and keep quiet despite your apprehension.

"I-I'm about to fail in Math..." he admitted in a strained voice.

Where is he getting at?

"I'm scared," he hiccuped as he hugged himself.

This time, you kneeled down in front of the boy and engulfed him in a hug, hoping to soothe him. You held his wracking form close to you and rubbed his back to comfort him.

Automatically, he hugged your waist and buried his head into your shoulder. You just stared at the wall.

In a softer voice, you asked him, "Abbie, I'm just worried. Truthfully, this situation is scary," you let out a weary breath, "...Why are the teachers like that?"

His breathing calmed down after a few seconds.

"Whenever someone fails a subject, the teacher will kill them," he explained so eerily calm now.

You flinched at that. His hug tightened subtly.

The condition is if they fail.

...The three red flags would be the major subjects then. There's no mistaking the intent of the weapons those teacher visibly wave around as if they were nothing.

It's no wonder why Abbie is scared of Math. He's aware he'll die.

And then you remembered the small joke Miss Circle made earlier. She wasn't all that subtle.

You stiffened at that thought. No one deserves an unfair death, especially if they will never be able to have a second chance to improve.

"I don't get it," you uttered out in tone that's full of confusion, "Why? Just... why? Remedial classes are a thing and yet..."

You tried to comprehend the teachers' thinking process, but it's just so illogical. There are other ways to deal with a student's failure, but their method to go about is disgustingly "unorthodox" . It made more sense that they do that to give them self-justification to kill a person.

...You wondered what that student's last thoughts were. They'll never see their family ever again and they'll never live out their future — all because of the fact they failed Language.

You never struck Miss Thavel as the heartless type. She seemed better off compared to Miss Circle and Miss Bloomie, but now...

They're all the same.

That only made you wary of Miss Sasha and Mister Demi. You understand their subjects are incredibly minor and are hard to fail in, but...

...You don't want to think about it.

You pushed yourself from the hug and promptly stood up with your legs shaking. Abbie gave you an owlish look, quite surprised at how sudden that went. He stood up eventually and wiped his tear-stricken face.

"You should go home, Abbie. I still need to do something here," you informed him tiredly and showed him an equally tired smile.

"Y-you're not safe here at this hour," he pointed out.

Ah. Teacher on the prowl. One kill probably didn't satiate her.

'Edward isn't safe too...' your mind gravely reminded you.

You're certain he's waiting for you up until now in the library. Just a hunch though.

"I need to meet up with Edward."

Abbie frowned and meekly nodded, "O-okay," he responded lamely.

Without much thought, you patted his hair and showed him a fond smile.

"All right. Get home safe, okay? I promise you I'll be alive for tomorrow," you joked to lighten the heavy atmosphere.

Unexpectedly, he averted his gaze to anywhere but you, his cheeks showing a darker hue.

'Ah, geez. That was weird of me. He didn't like that then,' you casually retraced your arm to your side.

"Well, anyway, see you tomorrow!" you stepped away and went on ahead, seeing as the mood turned awkward all of a sudden.

You really hope Edward's still in the library...

In any case, it's best not to linger any longer in the halls lest you'll run into a teacher.

"You're late," the spiky-haired boy deadpanned, "I finished the assignment already."

"Oh."

When you entered the library, you saw Edward nearby immediately — much to your relief — and, well, he wasn't exactly happy. He flat out showed you the paper he wrote on, revealing he did everything.

You awkwardly pulled the chair across him and sat down, "I'm sorry," you sheepishly said, meaning it.

"Well, yeah. Okay," Edward shrugged, acting nonchalant, "You could have admitted to me you suck at Science beforehand."

'Rude,' you internally winced as you drummed your fingers on the wooden table.

Although it sucked he did everything, it kinda is your fault for showing up late. Of course he'd get impatient in the end.

"Uh, then, do you want to grab some ice cream? My treat," you offered, "That's... the least I can do since you put effort in our assigned work."

Edward visibly flinched at your suggestion, making you regret even speaking. Was your offer weird? Too much? You think it's just a nice gesture...

"...Or we don't do that," you awkwardly chuckled in embarrassment.

Now you wanna to leave. The air around here feels tense and awkward.

"No!" he interjected quickly, almost desperately. He realized that and immediately cleared his throat, his gaze off to the side, "I mean no to you retracting your offer..." he added to save himself, his face flustered.

You stared at him, basically signaling him to elaborate. No response.

"So, you do want to grab ice cream with me?" you iterated your previous invitation.

"...yes...." he muttered so quietly you almost couldn't hear it.

"Let's go!" you smiled triumphantly as you rose from your seat.

Wordlessly, Edward nodded and put aside the worksheet inside his bag. You went ahead to the entrance and he followed shortly after.

You exited the library with him, and before you could even fully step out, you saw Miss Thavel, a good distance away and her back facing you.

And she looked different. Wildly different.

Automatically, you closed the door shut and backed away, inadvertently pushing Edward in the process. The boy let out a surprised noise and steadied himself.

"The hell?" he sent you an annoyed look.

"Miss Thavel is out there," you told him with a grim frown.

He gave you an unimpressed look, "Then we just pass her?"

You held yourself back from shooting him a glare or any scathing remarks. He's probably just clueless.

"Yeah, sure. We can do that and get killed," you retorted with an eye roll.

"Oh," he raised his eyebrow, "So it's about that?"

With his words, you realized he, too, knew about the situation. That's oddly relieving and pitiful, honestly.

"We're not going to be her soon-to-be victims. Relax," Edward shrugged and pushed past you to open the door.

And when he did, you pulled him by the back of his outfit immediately, causing him to stumble and almost fall over to you.

"I don't trust your words," You told him flatly. You pushed him slightly away from you for some distance, "Miss Thavel looked as if she'd kill on sight."

Recovering from the momentary surprise, the spiky-haired boy shot you a small glare, "Then what? We can't stay here forever."

He's right. You grumbled, trying to think of a way.

"Look. She's gone already," Edward mentioned as he's already opened the door and peeked outside. He looked at you with a raised eyebrow, "Were you that paranoid?" a shit-eating grin formed on his mouth now.

You simply sighed. Your worries were very much justified, but you didn't have the energy to deal with Edward's teasing.

"Yeah, very much so," unapologetically, you walked past him. You looked behind, "Let's go now."

Edward's grin dropped as he walked beside you. He seemed perturbed at your demeanor right now.

He cleared his throat, finding a way to make conversation, "Let me guess, you saw something you weren't supposed to, eh?" he looked off to the side, avoiding your gaze.

"I did..." you admitted as your thoughts immediately went back to the body.

You frowned in self-guilt. That student didn't deserve that fate...

"You'll get used to it," he shrugged, "Just don't fail your classes."

'How helpful..' your thoughts snarked out as you held the urge to say something out of pocket.

In the end, you can't bring yourself to disagree. He may be callous with his words, but you knew it's still sound advice. After all, and like what everybody else thinks of, you have your own life to look after first and foremost.

"That's true," you agreed with him, "I don't want to die myself..." you said in a subdued tone.

Edward glanced at your face as he held an unsure expression. He isn't one to show sympathy nor say kinder words so easily, but he might as well try. Just to fill in the silence. Totally.

"Then don't think about all of that depressing stuff," he responded, "It's not yet test week, so you've got weeks to prepare."

You halted to look at him, "You're right," you smiled slightly, "Thanks, Edward. You gave me some clarity."

"Uh, no problem..." he glanced off to the side again as if he's deliberately avoiding your attention.

You noticed that and frowned a tiny bit. After a moment, you decided to focus on what's ahead of you.

The exit was in view now, and you let yourself relax your shoulders a bit.

That is until you heard screaming coming from behind. You turned around, much to your regret, and saw Miss Thavel with bloody claws and blood-stained clothing chasing down a student who's running straight for the exit. They barreled past your stunned form, forcing the door to open as they rolled away outside, never to be seen again.

You stared at Miss Thavel, the smell of blood making you gag on the inside. Edward, who was beside you, stared on as well, but he was impassive. You were scared straight.

She glowered at the two of you, "Why are you two still here?" she asked despite her savage appearance giving the impression that she'd rather not talk.

"We were about to leave," Edward answered her for the both of you.

Her eyes narrowed at the clipped response, but her stance eventually shifted. She huffed before turning away, "You two saw nothing," she then walked off without looking back.

Once she was out of sight, Edward looked at you, "See what I mean?" he sounded smug.

"But that was a close call," you told him once your nerves have settled, "She looked like she was about to attack us."

"Yeah, well, we still get to live another day." he shrugged your words off, unconcerned with it all.

...

You suppose he's right.

You don't think you'll ever have the courage to pass that Spanish worksheet now.

Inside the convenience store, a more cheery cashier manned the counter. Edward had a nervous expression with a similarly nervous grin.

It was then you remembered the ice cream machine was broken.

"Sorry 'bout that, kids!" the cheery cashier waved off apologetically, "For now, you two have to settle for the ice cream in the freezer."

When you and Edward reached the other end of the convenience store (and most certainly out of sight from the cashier), you gestured him to come closer to you.

"So, mind telling me why you three kept asking for ice cream consecutively?"

"I..." a grin cracked up on his mouth eventually, "Because we can?"

"Uh-huh," you shot him an amused look before sliding open the freezer.

You were impartial towards the brands, but you chose your favorite flavor. You stepped aside to give Edward the space to pick out his ice cream.

"You guys were insane for that. The cashier who fell victim to your schemes ranted to me early in the morning," you sighed and rubbed your forehead with your free hand, "Getting an earful wasn't part of my to-do list at all..."

"Seriously?" Edward snickered without any remorse, "Poor you. May your ears and wasted time rest in peace."

He picked out his desired flavor and the two of you went back to the lively cashier. They scanned your items and informed you of the total. You quickly paid for it.

Outside the store, you walked a comfortable pace with Edward beside you as you and him enjoyed the ice cream. No words were exchanged between you and him the entire time.

Eventually, you reached the corner that led to your street. You paused and turned to look at Edward.

You took out the nearly-finished ice cream from your mouth, "I'm gonna go home now," you informed him, "It's just down the street."

Although he definitely didn't need that information, you felt as if your parting statement was lacking, so you just added on to it.

"Huh. All right," he chewed on the popsicle stick.

"So, see you—"

"Hold on!" he suddenly cut you off.

You raised an eyebrow at seeing him act so weirdly again.

"What if I walk with you?" he offered in a hurried tone, "Just because... uh, the sun's about to set! You wouldn't wanna get in trouble when it's night out," he added his rushed excuse.

Your eyes squinted in slight suspicion, "For real? Well, if you want to, I guess it won't hurt," you accepted his offer, "Just know the walk to my house will be short."

His shoulders sagged in relief as he grinned, "Good to know," he responded.

Resuming your walk, you finally finished your ice cream. You kept your disbelief regarding his attitude to yourself just to be polite. With how he presented himself this afternoon, you're starting to think of him as a potential friend. He isn't all that bad as a person, even if he's still considered as a bully.

He may be rough around the edges with how loaded his mouth is with banter and shit talk, but he's all right!

...Too bad he truly is ruthless towards others. You can't justify being friends with him if he openly hates your own friends.

But you really enjoyed the dynamic between you and him. As long as he doesn't talk about others, he's fine to be with.

The walk back to your home was uneventful. Edward didn't talk at all, and that just wasn't helping his case. It made you even more suspicious of his intentions.

Or maybe he really was concerned for your safety.

His expression wasn't giving much either. He looked distant, and that just unsettled you. It's as if he was deep in thought with how blank his face is.

"This is my place," you mentioned as you stepped inside the porch.

When you said that, he perked up, all traces of his previous expression gone.

"Thanks for walking with me," you said with a sheepish tone, "Sorry if it's short, but I did tell you my house's close by. Anyway, walk home safe. See ya, Edward."

He stiffly nodded at your words, "...By the way, we need to pass the Science worksheet together," he said when you were about to enter your house.

"Ah, all right. Let's do that during recess then," you replied before finally entering your home, closing the door once you're inside.

You put aside your bag and walked to the kitchen, taking a seat at the table. You let out a weary sigh as you relived the events that played out earlier.

It confused you to no end about the school's system, but you've no choice but to go along with it. Moving to another school would be another burden, and you don't want to be like that to your mother.

You're not sure if talking to her about the happenings at school would help either. Chances are she'll just stress over you and your education. She'll probably force you to book for an online school, and that sounds... isolating for you.

As long as you don't fail in any of the subjects, you'll be fine. Besides, you're fairly confident with your academic performance overall. You'll live.

You have your friends too! You're sure you'll be fine.

...

He didn't know what the fuck he was doing, honestly. All he could think of was prolonging the day with you. Not his best moment, but he was desperate.

Even when you told him your house was nearby, he took the opportunity just to be within your presence. Of course he blew it for not speaking at all during the whole walk, but what can he say anyway? Not like he can talk to you about Oliver or Zip or make fun of any of the losers at school. You'd probably verbally lash at him.

He had to remind himself he wasn't your friend. He can't treat you as one because you certainly didn't like him... for now. He coped.

You were so damn nice to him. Considerate, even. He's becoming delusional and he's not even mad about it.

He stared at the door before slowly walking away. He broke the popsicle stick in his mouth as his molars had grind into it for too long. He spat out the splintered wood into the curb without a second thought.

At least he knew for sure he was progressing with you. Way better than Zip, that's for sure.