Chapter Text
The chilly night breeze crept in through the open window, as the moonlight shone upon a seemingly empty room. However, that room was not quite empty. A boy lay on the ground, completely motionless; for he was dead.
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Azul sat on his desk, looking over this week’s profit. Much unlike his peers, his Friday nights were spent indoors, working. And he was not lame, by any means! He was merely busy.
He had too much on his plate managing the lounge.
He had spent the day as usual, attending classes from morning to noon, working at the lounge from noon to afternoon. He even managed to acquire some new information on his rival, Riddle Rosehearts.
Well, to be transparent, Riddle was not actually aware of this whole ordeal. One could say this rivalry was downright unbeknownst to the poor guy.
Then again, how can one get better without the pressure of competing against another? That’s right, Azul thought, his one-sided rivalry with Riddle was a means to improve himself, more of a stepping stone. (And it was definitely NOT embarrassing!)
Of course, the Octavinelle housewarden housed a fiery resentment for Riddle. It was only natural, as his self-proclaimed opponent. He really couldn’t tell how people got themselves to like the boy.
Riddle was perfect in every way. Good grades, slim physique, perfect posture. He was impending and strict too, a model housewarden in all his glory.
Seriously, how was Azul supposed to compete with THAT?
That was precisely the reason why his most recent scheme came into being. He would gather dirt on him. Only a little bit uncouth, but oh well, it was a quick and effective way to bring him down, no?
And to gather dirt on people, you need to make a friend out of them.
And so, earlier this day, he invited Riddle to study with him in the library. The redhead hesitantly agreed, although confused at the sudden request. And so, they spent the afternoon together.
Although a bit awkward at first, the hangout proved to be quite useful, giving Azul the chance to observe how Riddle worked on his assignments. This was by no means enough, but soon enough, the boy would start to open up to him, no doubt about it!
And when that happens, at that precise moment, Azul will gain access to all sorts of details about Riddle’s past and personal life that he keeps shut behind closed doors.
In the back of his mind, Azul knew this wasn’t the most proper way to go about this, but honestly speaking, when had his work ever been lawful? Who was going to judge him, Jade and Floyd?
Speaking of Jade and Floyd, they were, as expected, nowhere to be seen. It was Friday night, after all. Azul, however, couldn’t deny that he rather enjoyed these quiet, peaceful moments.
Only to an extent, though, because he also felt a tiny little bit of what he could only call a dreadfully overwhelming loneliness, deeply rooted in in his heart for years now.
Nonetheless, loneliness was not going to bring in cash any time soon, and so he chose to ignore it.
Azul sighed and got back to work. That’s enough thinking for one day. Also, you see, he wasn’t the type to procrastinate.
He kept at it rigorously, until he was, very rudely in his opinion, interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on his window. Not once, not twice, but three times.
He clicked his tongue and lazily walked over to the window to see which idiot could be bothering him in this late hour. Magnanimous as he may be, he really was in no mood to interact with anyone right now.
Much to his surprise, it was none other than Riddle Rosehearts. He stood outside the window, anxiously twiddling his thumbs.
“What could he possibly want?” Azul murmured, annoyed, as he unlocked the window and pulled it open.
But the unfamiliar panicked look on Riddles face as he climbed into the room seemed a bit too genuine. So genuine that even Azul started to worry that something grim had occurred.
He felt a chill run up his spine and an odd foreboding of doom. However, he could not show weakness, not in front of his rival, at least.
He cleared his throat, picking something slightly belittling to say, to assert himself. “And what might bring you here, Riddle-san? I do hope you did not get lost on the way back to your dorm.” He asked, trying to seem as unbothered as possible.
“Azul! Does that mean… you can see me?” Riddle asked, appearing only so very slightly relieved.
Really now, what was he supposed to discern from those words? Azul stared back, dumbfounded.
“See you? What are you talk-” he attempted to question the fellow housewarden but was interrupted once again by the redhead.
“I really tried contacting everyone I could think of, I have been running around all night! My phone doesn’t work and I can pass through stuff, or at least I think I can. And my head really hurts, really, I could swear I saw someone! A mere shadow, but I know I’m not crazy! And I tried to tell someone but not Trey, nor Cater could see me. Ace, Deuce, all the freshmen, really. None of them could either. I even tried the equestrian club and most of the other housewardens, but to no avail! I thought I was losing my mind. To think you of all people…”
Riddle blabbered, somewhat inaudibly due to the panicked haste in his voice.
Of course, Azul felt like he was hearing a whole other language. Not only was it late at night, making him very, very tired and rather hard on hearing, but the display in front of him was so foreign that predicting what Riddle would say next, a usually feasible act, now seemed entirely impossible.
He blinked repeatedly, in a sad attempt to keep up, but came up empty handed.
“Hey, calm down! I can’t understand a word. Take a deep breath and explain to me what on earth is going on! For seven’s sake, Riddle, I’ve never seen you like this!”
Azul tried very hard to even partially grasp the situation. Riddle was just fine earlier today, and his current behaviour was very uncharacteristic of him.
What’s worse, he still couldn’t shake off that feeling of doom he sensed earlier. Deep down, he mused that Riddle’s answer will not be as reassuring as he hoped it would be.
Riddle went silent for a few seconds, as if trying to find the right words. He nervously bit his lip before taking a deep breath.
Little did Azul know, he was about to hear the most unexpected words come out of the redhead’s lips. A sentence so impactful, it could send practically anyone into cardiac arrest. Thank biology he had three hearts, because he could swear he felt at least one slide down all the way to his gut.
“Azul. I think I’m… dead.”