Chapter Text
What had just happened… Sayaka, Junko, and Leon are dead..? I-I can't even fathom it… dead. I slumped back to my room, running into Byakuya as I did.
“Oh, hey Byakuya, how are you holding up?” I flash him a kind smile. I mean, our friends just died horrendous deaths; he had to be shaken up as well, to say the least.
“Worse now that I’ve had to interact with you, commoner.” He scoffed as he pushed his glasses up and headed into his dorm, across the hall from mine.
“Wow, such a nice person, aren't you?” I said under my breath, returning to my respective dorm. Couldn’t he show some decency? I mean, our friends, our classmates, people had just been murdered, and he’s still this cocky, arrogant, bastard.
I closed and locked my door cautiously, extremely paranoid from the deaths that occurred today, and started shakily changing into my pajamas—an oversized shirt and a pair of boxers.
I walked into my bathroom and just kinda stared at everything for what felt like hours. I stared at my shower, myself, my sink, my floor, my wall, the part of my bathroom where Sayaka was lying lifeless in Makoto’s. I stared at that part of the bathroom for what felt like forever, unmoving, unbreathing, unblinking, just silent tears rolling down my cheeks.
The taste of death had penetrated every pore that lay on my skin, like a thick, smoky, nauseous cloud.
-+-
The next morning, I exited my dorm and bumped into Byakuya again, but this time, Toko was harassing him. “H-hey, so By-Byakuya… uhm.. I know that you said to stop b-bothering you, but p-please give me a chance!” she said, doing that stupid pose where she presses her pointer fingers together.
“Please, Byakuya! You’re sooooo hot!” I said half mockingly as I walked by, “Toko, you're better off dating the dirt under my shoe than this prick; the dirt would be a better boyfriend than he'll ever be.” I let out a sharp laugh and continued walking to the cafeteria.
“I’ll have you know that I would be an excellent boyfriend, I just choose not to indulge in any plebeian’s filthy fantasy.” He scoffed and adjusted his shirt cuffs.
“Riigghhtt~” I laughed as I stepped into the cafeteria.
-+-
“Where’s Byakuaya and Toko?” Taka questioned their absence.
“They’re not dead, Toko was pestering him in the hallway, I saw it on my way here.” I picked at my food with my fork while the others bickered over their absence.
-+-
“Yeah, I think I’ll just hang out in the library today if you wanna hang out.” I awkwardly scratched the back of my neck while talking to Celeste.
Celeste tapped on one of her metal finger guards, something I noticed that she does when we talk, “Well, I suppose I might stop by for a few minutes later, you’ll have to show me your favorite book.”
“O-oh, yeah! Yeah, I’d love that actually, I mean.. as long as you’ll show me yours?” I shyly looked into her stunning ruby eyes.
“Yes, I’ll show you.” She continued to tap her finger guard.
“Ok, well, I’m looking forward to it. I’ll see you later, I guess?” I gave a small wave.
“Indeed, I’ll see you later, Y/N.” She returned my wave with one of her own as I walked out of the cafeteria and up to the library.
-+-
I pushed the squeaky library door open and took a few steps in before Byakuya stopped me.
“Ugh, another commoner has come to bother me.” he glances up from his book and up at me.
“I haven’t come to ‘bother’ you,” I do air quotes, “I’ve come to get a book, and hang out with Celeste later.” I scoff and walk towards the back of the library.
“What business do you have with Celeste?” He turned his page, refusing to look up at me.
“We’re friends, why does it matter to you?” I started looking for my favorite book so I could show it to Celeste.
“It doesn’t, she just doesn’t seem the type to hang out with someone like you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I snap my head back to look at him.
“Are you a complete and utter idiot? Genuinely, I’m insulting you, are you too dumb to understand that?”
“I know that you're insulting me, I’m not stu-”
“You act stupid.”
“I do not actually!”
“I’m done entertaining a pointless and annoying conversation with a plebian, stop talking.”
“Rude,” I mutter to myself, and continue looking for my favorite book.
-+-
Around thirty minutes later, Celeste comes into the library.
“Celeste!” I hopped up from my spot on the floor and ran up to her. “Hey, uh, I would invite you to come sit, but Byakuya is in the only seat...” I awkwardly scratched the back of my neck.
“Oh, that's a shame, isn't it?” She laughs slightly, covering her mouth with the tips of her fingers. “We could head down to the cafeteria?” she tilted her head.
“Y-yeah! Yeah, we can head down there!” I felt a pair of eyes burning into the back of my head. I turned back, and Byakuya quickly looked back down to his book, so quickly that I almost didn't catch it. I turn back to Celeste, “Just go grab your book, and then we’ll head out.”
“Oh yes, I suppose I do have to do that.” She turns and starts walking to the gothic horror section.
As soon as she's out of earshot, I turn to Byakuya. “The hell was that dude!?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He avoids eye contact.
“You were basically staring into my soul, what do you mean you have no idea?!” I put my arms up in confusion.
“That didn’t happen.” I see his fingers twitch around his book.
“It did! I saw you! When I turned around because I felt like someone was looking at me, you were-”
“Your date is back.” He says as Celeste walks up with “The Black Cat” by Edgar Allen Poe.
She tilts her head curiously. “Am I interrupting something?"
I look up at her with a kind smile. “No, we were just... settling our earlier argument, but I’m over it anyway, so let's go.”
I hear a scoff come from behind me. It’s obviously Byakuya, he always has to be so... just... I'm at a loss for words to describe how aggravating he is.
-+-
I sat across from Celeste in the barren cafeteria and slid my book over to her, “It's called 'Y/F/B'.”
“Oh, I think I’ve heard of it before.” She gracefully picks the book up and examines the cover, “Here’s mine, it's called “The Black Cat”, it's by Edgar Allen Poe, it's not quite long, but it’s interesting, and saddening.” She hands the book over to me.
“Oh?” I urge her to continue while looking at the cover.
“Yeah, it reminds me of my cat, Grand Bois Chéri Ludenberg. He’s such a sweetie,” She looks like she's talking about the best thing in her life.
“That's… a long name…” I said, slightly confused, I mean, how could anyone remember such a long name?
“It’s only proper for such a regal boy to have a long name!” She put the book down in a playful manner… I’ve never seen her act so… how do I say ‘normal’ without sounding mean?
“Do you call him by a shorter nickname?” I tilted my head.
“No, he deserves his full, proper name, now, read.” She pointed at the book.
-+-
Around 45 minutes later, I placed the book back on the table, “That… was… I uh… that was gruesome to say the least…”
“It is.” She looked up from Y/F/B.
“Why does that remind you of your cat?” I scratched the back of my neck and avoided her piercing gaze.
“The cat comes back to haunt him, well, figuratively at least.”
“How does that have anything to do with your cat… what was his name, Quincey Adams?”
“His name is Grand Bois Chéri Ludenberg, and one of his eyes is smaller than the other.” She sounded utterly disgusted at the name I called her cat.
“Oh, I guess that makes sense.” I looked back up at her.
“It should, because it does.” She seemed to be getting irritated.
“Yeah… uh, I guess.” I looked away and scratched the back of my neck.
“Ugh, whatever, I’m going to finish reading Y/F/B in my dorm!” She abruptly stood up and started storming off.
“What do you want me to do with 'The Black Cat'?” I hold the book up with a shy smile.
She turned to face me to yell, “I don't know! Put it in the library!" and then stomped off.
The cafeteria doors slammed shut as she left. “Wow…” I said under my breath.