Chapter Text
“Okay, Witch, why did you call me here?” Rev groaned as he entered the Occult Clubroom. At least he was alone; after the Truth or Dare, Mary was annoyed. Looking around, he saw that Bella and Wendy were the only ones in the room. Wendy was cleaning up stuff from the Truth or Dare fiasco with her dare, and Bella… was setting up a projector.
“And where the heck are Sera and Mark?” Looking up from what she was doing, Wendy rolled her eyes.
“They went for food for… whatever the witch is doing.” She then yelped and continued working as Bella glared at her. Bella then turned towards Rev.
“Hey, Rev. I am setting stuff up for Movie Night!” Rev needed to squint his eyes at how bright the Witch’s smile was. With Wendy screaming in the background.
“Who the heck brought a sun here?!”
“Movie… night? Why?” He crossed his arms as the brightness went down, and Bella nervously scratched the back of her head.
“Well… you know, I liked watching movies, but I always wanted to watch with people I can call friends. And you guys are my friends. And well, Wendy is part of a club and…” An offended squawk emanates from the aforementioned Wendigo.
“Rude!”
“...Okay, fair. Not to mention I would enjoy a break. And that damn Principal would enjoy not having her school blow up during once a week.” He smiled smugly before dropping it when Bella glared at him. Seeing this, Wendigo chuckled.
“Someone is whipped.” Before Rev could go attack Wendy, Mark and Sera entered the clubroom with food and drinks.
“Hey! We came back with food! And we made sure we brought something for everyone.” Mark shouted, catching everyone’s attention. As Sera came, she looked towards Rev before immediately looking away. That raised an eyebrow for Rev, but he ignored it.
“Good. Now, Witch, what are we watching?” He walked up to the place where they would be lying, which was near where Bella set up the Truth or Dare curse thing. Bella pulled out a box filled with… disks of some kind?
“I found something in the Forbidden Section of the Library, so I asked Lovecraft if I could grab it. He agreed.” Bella spoke it so casually that it took Mark and Wendy a second to realise what she just said.
“You just grabbed something from the Forbidden Section?!” Mark’s voice cracked with how shocked he was. Not that Wendy was far behind.
“What is with you and Rev doing impossible stuff!? That is getting ridiculous; there are two of them now!” Wendy screeched out, looking panicked.
“Calm down. I am just that good a student, and I asked. I am not like the delinquent here.” She looked at Rev, who made an audible scoffing noise before giving her a smug look.
“Goodie two-shoes.” Wendy looked between the two, not feeling amused by the scene. She then smirked, knowing how to break it.
“You should get a room and finally kiss.” Wendy's words made Bella and Rev’s faces explode in fierce blushes.
“Shut up, Wendigo!” “Y-yeah, shut up!”
‘I suddenly have a sense of familiarity…’ Mark looked at the scene with a deadpan expression. He then looked at the box with discs. Walking up to it, his attention was immediately caught by a disc with words written on it.
Dead Flower blooms again
“Ooooh, that looks interesting.” With stars in his eyes, he walked up to the projector as Rev and Bella continued to chase Wendy, who was screaming at the top of her lungs as she ran. Sera watched it before noticing what Mark was doing.
“Mark, what are you doing?” At her sudden voice, Mark yelped and threw the disc up. Both watched as it whirled in the air before landing directly in the disc space for the projector. No sooner had it landed than the projector activated.
“What the- Mark?!” Bella shouted, momentarily blinded by the light, since she was in front of the projector. Backing away, she looked towards Mark and Sera, who were standing next to the projector.
“What the heck did you-?!” She shouted before something started to play behind her, and noise came in.
Splash!
“... " A horrified look entered Bella’s face as others stared at the screen behind her. Turning around slowly, terror filled her being as she stepped back.
“No…” She gasped as she fell to the floor. Rev’s eyes widened as he looked between her and the screen, realising what it was showing.
Bella Donna choked as red, sticky liquid covered her. She looked at her dress in shock: a black dress with a small black circle on the midsection, black shoes with ankle straps, and a necklace with a small, round black pendant. She could feel her fingers clinging together because of the liquid covering her. Then she heard it.
“Hahahaha!”
“That is what a freak like her should get.”
“Covered in pig blood, like the swine she is.”
“No… no, no, no.” Bella covered her ears as she felt her heart beating heavily. Rev quickly came to her and put his hand on her shoulder.
“Hey, Bella! Look at me!” He yelled out as others watched the scene.
“W-what is that? When did that happen?!” Mark looked in panic, unsure how to react to what he was seeing.
“...I don’t think we are seeing something that happened recently. We are seeing something that happened in the past.” Sera answered Mark with a narrowed gaze.
“...That is- oh boy.” Wendy looked away, feeling like she would be a hypocrite if she said anything.
She looked around and saw everyone laughing, pointing at her, and ridiculing her. She looked towards the teacher, who looked away, likely dismissing it as a harmless prank. She looked at her prom date, Joffrey Bellweather, the most popular boy in school, who looked at her with ridicule.
“...Okay, for some reason I want to punch that prick,” Wendy muttered with a deadpan gaze, with Sera nodding next to her.
“I agree…”
“Come on, Bella. You are here.” Rev held Bella’s hand, and he swore she would break his hand if she squeezed it even more.
“Did you seriously think I would take you as a date, freak?” He looked down at her with disgust, making her step back as tears gathered in her eyes. The voices of other students became louder- their laughter, their mocking, their ridicule of her. She couldn’t stop herself, just turning around and running. Not even caring as she hit someone by accident with her shoulder, smearing their suit with pig blood, before running deeper into the school.
As the scene continued and Sera grew angrier, Bella began to steady her breathing and look at the screen again. She became confused at her young self hitting someone on the way.
“What? But I didn’t hit anyone on the way? Did I?” She muttered, racking her brain to see if she remembered doing that or not.
“Still, if I knew what that guy said, I would have punched him.” Rev snarked, making Bella snort and smile towards him.
“Heh, thanks, Rev.”
“Can someone explain what is happening?” Mark's sudden voice caught their attention, making them look towards the other three people.
“That… is something I wouldn’t like to disclose, but basically… it is from my past. When I was living in the human world and believed myself to be human. But why would it be-?” As Bella explained, she turned back to the screen.
The one she hit looked towards her, extending their hand before turning towards her ex-prom date, who stood before everyone with a smile.
“...I really want to punch that prick,” Rev spoke with gritted teeth, glaring at that blonde boy.
“Now that the swine is gone, we can finally start this pa-”
POW!
Before he could finish, he saw someone walking towards him, but before he could react, he was punched across the face, sending him to the floor, with everyone gasping in surprise.
“Huh… nice.” Rev grinned at that before looking towards the witch with a smile.
“Why didn’t you tell me he got punched?” But his smile formed into a confused expression at how shocked Bella looked.
“...That didn’t happen. As far as I know.”
“Did he seriously punch him?!”
“Why the hell would he do that?!”
“Ow- ptfu! My tooth!” Joffrey shouted in surprise, looking at the bloody tooth that he spat out, before looking on with an enraged look.
“...Who are they talking about?” Bella asked, with shock clear in his face. As far as she remembered, there was no one who would be by her side. She was an outsider.
“Oh, come on, Bella! Someone would react if they saw-” As Mark spoke, the scene continued.
“You punched me, you fre-”
“What the heck do you guys think you are doing?!” A loud, enraged voice rang through the ballroom, silencing everyone.
And everyone froze at that. For that voice, they had heard a lot. They remembered that tone. That kind of rage.
“Wait… was that?” Sera looked confused, unable to look away. Rev mirrored her confusion, but more like he was shocked.
“Was that…?” Wendy muttered, recognising that voice all to well.
“Me…?” Rev looked shocked as the scene changed.
“She should be here. There is no other place.” He said while rushing through the school, cursing himself for not following her immediately, but he was so consumed by rage and frustration that he needed to do something to that bastard.
But right now, Bella is more im-
“...Honestly, if I wasn’t so confused and shocked, I would make a joke,” Wendy murmured, while Bella stared at the screen in shock.
‘Why is Rev there? He shouldn’t be there! Not to mention… oh no.’ A look of horror formed on Bella’s face, realising what was to come now.
He stopped as he felt something was very wrong. Like something that should be sealed was released out in the open. And he could sense it was coming from the classroom in the corridor he was standing in. The very familiar classroom. Her safe haven and quiet place from this bullshit of a school.
There is something in it that shouldn’t be.
Everyone else felt that. That familiar feeling. One that made Bella shudder at old memories and Wendy’s body shudder at the power she held for even a moment. And how she got controlled by that being. She looked at the screen, then at Bella, before her eyes widened in realisation.
“Oh no…”
Before he could think much more, he rushed forward, stopping before the Occult Room, and slamming the door open.
“Bella! What is-” His voice choked as he saw… only her. Still covered in pig blood. But when he spoke, he caught her attention, and when she looked towards him, he stepped back. Her once-sad but warm pink-and-blue eyes were now orange and full of nothing but malice.
“...Seriously?” Wendy murmured in slight annoyance. She gets a lot of teasing material right in front of her, but even she could see it was very bad timing!
“He called your eyes beautiful, basically.” Sera’s words shook Rev and Bella from shock, with Rev looking at Sera with a betrayed look.
“What are you talking about, Angel?! That is… we don’t even know if it is me!” He shouted, but there was a clear blue blush. Wendy chuckled, pointing at Revenant with her gremlin smile.
“Rev is being a softie.” She sang it, making Rev almost ready to jump her, but Bella still had a strong grip on him. With an annoyed hoof, he glared at Wendigo.
“You got lucky this time.” With a huff, he sat next to Bella. Wendigo chuckled at that, with Mark chuckling more nervously.
“At least it didn’t end with a fight…” He murmured as he turned back again to watch what would happen next.
“You are dear to this vessel… don’t worry. Her vengeance is not towards you. So your death… will be painless.” Her voice, once clear and melodic, was now distorted, like something much bigger and darker wanted to talk through her mouth. He could not react before she lifted her hand, and the push of force sent him through the window behind him. He could only stare as he fell and-
Crack!
Everyone flinched at the audible crack that sounded like what they could presume was Rev hitting the ground. Bella could not help but snort, making Rev look at her with a confused expression.
“Why are you laughing, witch?” His annoyed look made her snort louder.
“It is just, haha, you and your luck with windows.” He opened his mouth to respond, but then closed it when he remembered a few accidents from the previous semester and during this one, like when he tried to be a good student and, at one point, Mary threw him and herself through the window, not to mention the explosion that sent him and Mary out of Viviana’s office.
“...touche.” With a huff, he looked away, which made Bella chuckle. Rev hid a smile at that, happy she got distracted from that traumatic stuff.
Rev Vennett opened his eyes, revealing his dull grey eyes, as he heard a bird chirping. He looked at the sun falling on his face, enjoying its warmth, before sighing and moving his head forward.
“Oh great. We are getting the POV of a zombie boy.” Wendy whined before being hit by a pillow by the person mentioned.
“Be lucky I didn’t send you through the window,” Rev responded before returning to viewing. Looking at himself, he felt different from who he was. That sounds weird, but he can’t explain it.
“...That you feel weird,” Sera said, voicing his thoughts aloud, with Mark looking at her with a confused expression.
“What do you mean by that?” Sera thought for a moment before shrugging her shoulders.
“I am not sure.”
“Maybe we find out more as we watch.” Bella quickly added, intrigued by what they were watching. She will admit, she didn’t expect Rev to be part of her life, and she means before she joined KADE, so seeing him here means something for sure.
“This again…” He muttered, an old memory coming to his mind. He frowned, thinking about her before shaking his head. She was gone. And he accepted that. Before he could think much more, a familiar sound of cane against paved ground reached his ears.
“...What?” Bella asked in shock, which was mirrored by Rev, who quickly shook his head.
“Witch, calm down. We don’t know the full story of that… version of me and you. So we are not getting a full picture here.” Bella looked at Rev in thought for a moment before nodding her head.
“That is a good point.”
“Ho ho ho. Who do we have here? Young Rev outside his home and enjoying nature? What a rare sight, ho ho ho!” Warm laughter full of humour reached his ears, making him look towards an old lady with a wooden cane walking towards him. She was leaning forward, and she was covered in many layers of clothes, robes, something that would be bad in the summer, but Rev knew she could handle that easily.
“Oh, Rev, I didn’t know you knew someone from before the academy! You never told me.” Mark explained with excitement, but Rev was not even angry, just confused.
“...Because I didn’t. Well, I knew my neighbours but no one personally…” Hearing that, Mark piped down, understanding that this situation was quite complicated.
“Stuff is becoming weirder and weirder with every second passing…” Bella murmured, her gaze narrowed at the old lady.
“Morning, Miss Fig. Just enjoying whatever is left of the summer, before the storm hits like always.” He got up from the wooden park bench before immediately extending his hand to help Miss Fig carry whatever she bought at the market. With a smile, she put a bag full of what he could already presume were potion ingredients. Or possibly just something she would cook up later.
“What the? Rev actually helping someone without being asked?” Wendy asked with a raised eyebrow, making Mark chuckle nervously.
“Aren’t you being too harsh, Wendy?”
“She is not. Me helping immediately without even saying anything is… something for sure.” Rev crossed his arms, or well, tried, but Bella didn’t let go of his hand.
“Witch… could you?” Hearing his voice, she looked at him and saw him gesturing with his eyes, which made her realise she was still holding his hand. With a small yelp and a large blush, she let go of his hand.
“S-sorry! I… have forgotten myself. Sorry…” She then yelped when Rev put his hand on hers.
“I don’t mind, just… don't squeeze it like you want to break it.” He murmured, looking again at the screen even when Bella had a light flush on her face.
“Ah yes! Summer! The time of the year when powers of life and light are at their highest! Honestly, I prefer Spring and Autumn. While more rainy, they are less likely to swing in hard with the weather.” She chuckled, Rev, smiling, idly listening as he walked slowly beside her. He enjoyed listening to her talks and found them educational.
“But Spring! Ah, what a lovely time! Of rebirth, life and love. Oh, how I would love to be young again. Maybe I would go for you.” At that, she winked towards him, making him look away with green colour on his face.
“Please…no…” He grunted, feeling like he would vomit, at which point she only cackled, happy that she had made him disgusted.
“...She is one old witch for sure…” Rev muttered, a similarly green look on his face at what he heard, with Mark looking the same, close to vomiting.
“It is like being flirted with by Miss Yaga. I would rather be turned into a toad!” Wendy yelled out, holding her mouth with her hand.
“...” Sera only tilted her head in confusion.
“Ho ho ho! I love that reaction every time! Still, I am not as lucky as Baba Yaga. She seriously got herself a catch which kept her young. Ah, being a witch is hard.” She murmured before wincing, glancing at Rev, who stared ahead with a dull look in his eyes. She cursed (not literally) at herself for letting her mouth blabber like always. She quickly changed the topic.
“Oh great. She knows Miss Yaga too…” Rev murmured, shaking off the thought of what happened several minutes ago.
“At least she seems nicer?” Mark chuckled nervously.
“What about you, young Rev? How are your ma and pops doing? What about that little Raven? Did she get herself killed again?” Fig’s change of topic helped; Rev’s eyes regained at least some life.
“I am fine. Still being homeschooled. My parents are travelling like always, but they stayed home for the last month. Honestly, I think that was the longest they were here. And Raven…is Raven.” As Rev spoke, Fig could not help but huff at the part with his parents.
‘Of course those two would leave at the latest necromancy stuff while leaving a boy alone. And not even telling him about his true nature. But at the same time, it would be dangerous because he would lash out. Negative emotions are a thing that attaches to them easily.’ Fig closed her eyes, enjoying the wind and Rev’s voice, as he continued to talk about another way Raven got herself killed, before opening her eyes and stopping.
“Wait… ‘still homeschooled’? That is a specific way of saying it.” Bella looked towards Rev, who shrugged his shoulders at that.
“Not to mention. This Rev is more… at ease than ours?” Hearing Mark’s remark, Rev glared at him.
“What is that supposed to mean?!”
“That you can’t have casual talk with most people unless you know them.” Hearing his Guardian Angel made Rev shut his mouth.
“...right…”
She looked towards the entrance to the deep woods. The way was a door to where she lived. She made a deal with the government of this town to supply them with some of her potions if they left her forest alone. They agreed. It helps that an old acquaintance of hers is there. That old sucker, still trying to flirt with her.
“Wait, what? How is- wha?!” Wendy stammered, unable to form proper words at what she just heard.
“Oh yeah, that is a thing…” Mark muttered before nervously chuckling when everyone looked towards him.
“What do you mean, Mark?” Rev asked, raising an eyebrow, surprised that monsters actually live among humans. Okay, he understood that part because that is a point of Lovecraft’s lessons, but seeing it is completely different from hearing it.
“I mean… my Father has several of my older siblings and servants work in the Human World. How do you think my family stayed so rich? The wealth doesn’t appear from nowhere, you know.” Everyone looked at Mark with looks that made him chuckle nervously before they looked away, making him sigh in relief.
“Honestly… kinda easy to forget that Mark is rich,” Bella muttered, with Rev nodding in agreement.
She chuckled as she saw Rev walk a few steps ahead before realising she had stopped. Making him look back with a shocked expression.
That made Bella giggle, Wendy laugh loudly, and Mark try to hold his laughter. Rev glared at them before he heard Sera’s laugh, making him grumble.
“Screw all of you.”
“No thanks, zombie.” Wendy’s immediate answer made Rev glare at her with an enraged look.
“I didn’t mean that way, Wendigo!”
“You could have told me we were here.” He muttered, clearly annoyed, not helped by her chuckling louder. Sighing, he shook his head and walked towards the old witch. She then struck her cane against the ground, making the forest rumble as its branches and trunks moved away, clearing the path for her. Seconds later, she and Rev heard thudding approaching before a bloodhound walked out towards her. Fig smiled, petting her pet, while Rev crossed his arms, an amused look in his eyes.
“Still awesome to see, as always.” He spoke, making her smile and look towards him over her shoulder.
“...Okay, it is seriously weird to see Rev complimenting someone.” Mark couldn’t help but comment, with others agreeing.
“...I am here, Vampire…”
“Good to know this old lady can be awesome, as the youngsters like to say. Now, give Clifford the bag, and I will be going. I bought a nice piece of swine that needs to be prepared.” Rev’s lip twitched at the mention of what was in the bag, a flash of red and black rushing through his head, before he shook his head and gave the old bloodhound the bag, which it caught with its teeth, before jogging away.
“...So we are not gonna comment on that?” Wendy asked, looking at everyone in the room, hearing silence at that question.
“I guess not.”
“Heh, still has spring in his step.” She chuckled before giving Rev a sterner look, reminding him who taught him potions besides his parents.
“Oh? I am curious what she taught you.” Bella looked excited, which made Rev smile slightly before dropping it.
“Remember to write about the effects of Emotion Potions. I want those papers in a month. I don’t want another incident like when you decided to test the effects of a Draught of Living Death on yourself.” She glared at him sternly, making him look away but not rebuke her for her words. He still remembered accidentally dropping the wrong catalyst. He was lucky she came home to check on him after Raven dropped herself to her death right in front of her.
“What the hell, Rev?!” Bella suddenly shouted, making him wince at the volume.
“That is a different me, Witch!” Rev yelled back, wincing at the volume of her shouting.
“Emotion Potions? Wait, wasn’t that what Rev drank after Lovecraft’s Empathy test?” Mark asked Sera, who nodded. Wendy had an annoyed look on her face.
“Oh yeah, I remember when he started screaming, and then he punched me on the way.”
“Hehe, I am proud of that.” Rev turned to her with a smug smile before being knocked out of it by Bella, who hit him on the side. “Ow…”
“I understand, Miss Fig. I need to go anyway; I don’t want my parents starting anything without me.” He grumbled before waving the old witch goodbye as he departed. Miss Fig watched him, a smile on her face, before she turned around, entering her forest as trees closed the path behind her.
“Good luck, young revenant. You need it.”
“...Wait, that would mean it would be around the time I came back home with my parents doing a reanimation ritual on Raven.” Rev snapped his fingers as he realised the timeline of the events.
“That…what, gives us a day?” Mark scratched the back of his head.
“Pretty much.” Sera nodded, actually curious about how this Rev would act.
“Miss Donna, Headmistress Kincaid requested you in her office.” The scratching of notebooks suddenly stopped, as everyone in the class turned towards the person at the front, who sat frozen in shock.
Looking from her notebook, Bella Donna looked towards Professor Lovecraft, who was looking towards her, his gaze showing slight surprise and sympathy as he heard from the living armour that had opened the door to deliver the message.
“Wait… are there classes already?” Rev looked towards the Witch, who shook her head.
“No, those are additional classes that we do before we start a new year. For additional grades.” She sweatdropped when she felt Rev’s gaze on her.
“Of course you had some…” He muttered, making her chuckle.
Professor Lovecraft looked towards the armour, his eyes narrowing, not liking that a student was taken from his supplementary class so suddenly, but he couldn’t really fight against Viviane’s decisions. But he could ask.
“May I ask why the Headmistress requests Miss Donna?” His raspy voice and narrowed gaze didn’t make the armour flinch, not like it would, given that this type of Living Armour is without true sentience.
“...Miss Donna, Headmistress Kincaid requested you in her office.” It replied after a slight pause, making Lovecraft sigh and look at Bella, who returned his gaze with a questioning look.
“You may go, Miss Donna. We can’t keep the Headmistress waiting.” With a slight nod, Bella got up from the seat, grabbed her stuff and walked towards the exit of the class.
“...Kincaid getting interested in you is a concern.” Rev crossed his arms, his obvious dislike towards the headmistress well known.
“I don’t think it will be as bad.” Bella nervously chuckled.
“Believe me, it is something bad for sure,” Wendy muttered, her dislike of Kincaid similar to Rev's but for different reasons.
But as she walked, she could hear murmurs from around the class. As she glanced, she saw her classmates looking at her, whispering to each other.
“What did she do to catch her attention?”
“Did she curse someone?”
“Is she go-”
“Quiet in class.” Lovecraft’s command quieted the class, making Bella release a sigh of relief looking over her shoulder to nod towards the professor, who nodded back.
Bella smiled sadly at that, remembering that before Rev and others, she didn’t have any friends at all in KADE. Her main focus was studying, learning new spells, and waiting for the time when the trip to her town in the human world would be approved. Thinking back on it, if Rev wasn’t there, she would surely be a lone ghost in that school.
Quickly scrambling forward, she left the class. As the living armour walked ahead of her, she could only question… Why would the headmistress request her?
“Excuse me, Headmistress Kincaid, but you want me… to show a student around the academy?” Bella gave Viviana Kincaid a questioning look. While it normally wouldn't be wise, Bella believed her reaction was understandable.
“Well, let’s see what she has in mind,” Rev muttered while Bella started to drink water from the bottle that Mark and Sera brought.
“You heard me right, Miss Bella Donna. I want you to show a student around the school.” Viviana Kincaid stared calmly and warmly toward Bella with her black eyes. But she could see that the latter was more fake. Blake knew when someone faked the warmth in their eyes. Only he showed her true warmth.
Which she immediately spat out on Rev, who didn’t look amused.
“S-sorry, Rev!” She quickly went and grabbed some spare towels she had in the clubroom to help clean up Rev, who grumbled, but he let her.
“Just be careful next time, Witch.” He murmured, while he heard Wendy chuckling behind him, but he ignored her.
“...I feel like I got a romance video here.” Mark couldn’t help but comment, which made Rev and Bella blush.
“Don’t start with any sappy crap, Mark. Seriously, don’t overthink that.” Rev focused on the screen, very much trying not to glance at Bella, who tried to do the very same.
“May I ask why the student would need it?” Given the obvious distances, someone would already be in the Academy and have found out about its layout. Unless-
“That particular student is just coming in now. He seems to have only recently found out about his entering the Academy, so he didn’t have time to get used to it. And I believe you are the best for that particular case.” Bella raised an eyebrow at that; she wouldn’t know why she would be the best option. Not to mention, them only finding out about the academy doesn’t give her a good opinion of them.
“Honestly, Witch, you didn’t give a good first impression, either.” Hearing that, Bella looked at Rev with a confused expression.
“What do you mean by that?”
“When I first came here, I saw you use one of your spells on one of the students walking by.” Hearing that, Bella froze before a small blush appeared on her face.
“Oh… yeah. That happened. Sorry.” She squeaked at that, making Rev smile before focusing on the screen again.
“I will do that, Miss Kincaid.” She groaned, slightly annoyed that she would lose some quiet studying and testing out a spell. She was gonna use the teleporting spell damnit!
“...Speaking of which.” Rev now grinned, making others shiver at how bad it looked.
“Zombie boy… never do that again. You look creepy.” Wendy muttered, taken aback by that grin.
“At least it is not as creepy as when he was on Joy Potion.” At that, Rev grimaced and looked away.
“Don’t remind me… my cheeks still hurt.”
“Good to know, Miss Donna.” The headmistress smiled at her, making her look like a doll. Bella stopped herself from shuddering, walking towards the exit. Closing in on the door, she reached out her hand to grab.
“Ah, Miss Donna?” The young witch flinched before looking towards Miss Kincaid, who smiled at her with… an amused glint.
“...Okay, now I am worried.” Bella shuddered, not liking when the principal did this.
“Enjoy the time with him.” She said that teasingly, Bella looking at her with a confused expression before what she said about the student made her realise something. The student is a boy. Kincaid said to enjoy time with him. A blush sprouted on her face, and she quickly scrambled to the door.
“I-I-I understand! I will go! Have a nice day!” She cried out, opening and closing the door after she left it, trying to slam it closed, before she rushed towards the main front yard of the Academy.
“...That is so embarrassing…” Bella muttered, already disliking her counterpart’s situation.
“Hey, at least you will be a guide to Rev!” Mark shouted with excitement, making Bella blush harder.
“I am curious how they will react when they see each other,” Sera muttered, tilting her head.
“Given the timing, I believe we will know soon enough.” Rev crossed his arms, internally curious about how he would act around the witch. He hoped he wouldn’t look like a loser.
“Ugh, why would she say that??? Not like I would enjoy time with a boy!” She shouted silently, trying not to draw the attention of other students. That is best for her. To be unseen, to be good in the academy and then… leave. As much as it will take her.
“Did you seriously think you would go ‘unseen’?” Wendy couldn’t help but look dumbfounded at what Bella was thinking, at which point the witch shrugged.
“Can’t explain my exact reasoning besides… me being a mess.”
She didn’t understand why it was taking so long for her to actually leave the academy. She knew how to be among humans! She lived most of her life in the human world! But at the same time, she enjoyed her time in the Academy because she could learn so much about monster societies, spells, curses and potions. So, why is she kept here?
“...Okay, I am basically hearing Rev here.” Bella couldn’t help but comment, seeing her thought process from an outside view.
“...I can’t argue with that…” Rev admitted in defeat.
“Not that it matters. I just need to meet up with that student, show him around and just go with my d-” As she looked down, trying to get her bearings straight, she didn’t look ahead. And before she knew it, she slammed into someone.
“Ow!” “Ah!” Two voices rang out in the hallway, with Bella landing on her butt after colliding with someone quite sturdy. She groaned as she looked ahead, only seeing black pants, white-and-black sneakers and some chains on the black pants.
“Fated meeting,” Mark said with stars in his eyes, while Rev and Wendy groaned at that.
“Please, don’t mention fate here…” Rev muttered while Wendy had a disgusted look on her face.
“Hey! Watch where you are rushing! Could have hurt someone.” Bella frowned at the voice; it sounded familiar. But she quickly shook her head and got up from the floor, dusting her skirt of whatever it had gathered, her face covered by her big witch hat.
“I apologise. I needed to quickly go and find a new student. Headmistress tasking me with showing them around, which I presume it is y-”
“Bella?” At that, Bella froze in shock, for she knew if he was a new student, he shouldn’t know her name. She then heard a happy voice coming from the side, making her realise that the new student was accompanied by others; at a glance, she saw Mark Dracula, Son of Dracula, and someone she knew was quite the opposite of a standard vampire. A walking ball of sunshine.
“Oh, thanks, Bella.” Mark smiled towards Bella, who smiled back.
“You are welcome, Mark.”
“I would say he is more of a bleeding heart, but a walking ball of sunshine is not far off,” Rev muttered, crossing his arms. What he did not comment on was his counterpart’s voice. He sounded so shocked. Like he saw a ghost.
‘But given what we learned so far, he didn’t know Bella was alive. And possibly vice versa.’
“Oh my god! I didn’t know you already knew about Bella Donna, Rev!”
Scraaaatch!
Record scratched inside her head, her eyes widening in horror. She looked at the floor, at the sneakers of the person standing right in front of her. A person who should be dead. Like, it can’t be him! ‘Rev’ is not a common name but is still used! It can’t be him. I-it can’t b-be.
“Little witch?” His voice- hearing him again- she could hear the familiarity, sounding rougher but… she could hear him trembling too. And the nickname… damnit!
“...” Both Bella and Rev were shocked by this. Rev already presumed Bella thought that version of him was dead, given how his version thought about her. But still…
“Oh god! What a softie you are, Rev! ‘Little Witch’?! That is hilarious!” Wendy couldn’t help but laugh her ass off, falling from the chair to the floor as she laughed loudly.
“S-shut up, Wendigo! And that is not me! That is a different version of me.” Rev got up and started shouting at the laughing Wendigo, who continued to laugh.
‘’Little Witch’? That is… kinda cute.’ Bella, meanwhile, held her face in her hands to hide the massive blush on her face. It couldn’t get worse…
Looking up, she could see his face. He looked much older and much paler than she remembered him. His grey eyes looked at her in shock, like he didn’t expect to see her. Like he…
“...Rev?” She asked, but before she knew it, he stepped forward and enveloped her in a hug, making her yelp in surprise, one arm over her back and the other on top of her head to hold the witch hat in place. But what caught her by surprise was… the warmth she felt. And the slight thumping of his heart that she could hear against his chest.
That… stopped everyone. Especially Rev, who closed his mouth and turned towards the screen. Through the screen, they could hear the heartbeat. Rev’s heartbeat.
“...Okay, pretty sure that old hag called him a revenant… so why the heck do we hear his heartbeat?” Wendy was one to break the silence.
“That is… true. And not to mention… warmth. What does that mean?” Mark scratched the back of his head, remembering Doctor Frankenstein's many lessons about the undead. Revenants were brought up a few times, but the most prevalent things about them are: blue blood, lack of warmth and heartbeat, and their curse.
“...I guess we are ignoring that Rev just hugged someone?” Serra looked at everyone with a raised eyebrow.
“”Yes.”” Everyone replied at the same time.
“Thought so.”
“You are alive. You are alive. You are bloody alive.” He muttered quietly, but as she was close to him, she could hear it. She could feel him clutching her like she was the dearest thing to him. It honestly made her blush, but she smiled nonetheless.
“Yes, I am. So you are.” She muttered quietly, so he was the only one who could hear. Which made him hug tighter.
“Ow ow ow! Rev, not so tight.”
“Sorry.”
“...Okay, I am gonna bring some alcohol,” Wendy announced before getting up and walking out of the clubroom.
“I agree,” Rev muttered, leaning against the table, while Bella sat on the floor next to him.
Meanwhile, at the Vennett Household
Unknown to anyone, a simple flower sat in the flowerpot in Rev’s room. What was noticeable was that it was dead. It had been dead for several years. But now… it twitched as it began to rise.
The dead flower… started to bloom again.
“...Okay, what is this now?” Rev muttered, already having a headache from what he just experienced. He just hoped there would be no bigger surprises for him.
To be continued…