Rising_Hobbyist

Cater is a rather tactile person as we see in the manga and anime—a quick side hug and pulling someone in for a cute selfie, but that’s as far as Cater’s willing to go most of the time. Touch isn’t actually his preferred love language, so he doesn’t alter his behavior with you much after noticing it might be one of yours. 

Other favorites of Cater’s would be throwing an arm over your shoulder to offer comfort to you, he’s pretty fine doing this in public, though he prefers to save more intimate things like actual hugging for more private areas. If you’re noticeably feeling down then you can expect Cater is the type to lean over and share his fyp with you, cute cat videos usually distract him! 

And coming in second place for most shameless about contact is Ruggie, heck I even think Floyd says something about Ruggie being a touchy person. Which. Pot calling the kettle black— But yeah the hyena beastman does not care about showing tactile affection in public! Ruggie has the realization pretty early on after observing your behavior around other touchy people, and after noticing you seem to lean into him a bit whenever he’s got you in a side hug. 

Don’t get me wrong, he’s not gonna be all up on you in public if that makes you a bit uncomfortable, especially if you say he’s overstepping and is acting a bit too much like a boyfriend. But if do give him permission and clearly state your boundaries then best believe he’s gonna be a law-abiding citizen! 

Ruggie’s preferences for touch don’t change much in private or public, but there’s obviously some things that he’s more willing to do in the privacy of your room or his own. Cuddling is one of those! I dunno why but I really headcanon that he likes it when you’re the big spoon, like just lay your full weight on him and he’s gonna be blissed out. Crush him, he loves it and he’s right where he wants to be. 

Kalim is so playfully tactile that it can get a bit overwhelming at times, he seems to always want to have a hand on you. Surprising no one, Kalim is the king of being shameless about pda. I feel like he’s actually one of the last people to notice how you react to touch because often he needs people to tell him outright if they’re not a tactile person, he’s not the best at reading social cues in my mind, but he does remember to check in with you at times. A stream of “are you sure this is okay? Wow, I never would’ve guessed you’re a touchy person!” is common whenever he remembers you might have unspoken boundaries. 

Touch is definitely one of Kalim’s top love languages, that and gift giving. But often he tries to restrain his need for physical contact a bit, especially if he doesn’t know your boundaries yet. Throughout the school day you can expect Kalim to teasingly boop your nose, tug gently on your ears as he passes you in halls, and of course hit you with a surprise high five or hip bump! 

After you’ve verbally stated that you’re alright with Kalim going all out with his love language then be ready to get jumped, both public and private. He will sneak up behind you in the halls and attempt to tickle your sides, it’s just because he loves seeing you laugh! Kalim and you have also devolved into playfully wrestling and throwing each other around on cushy mats and pillows that Jamil laid down with a tired sigh.

Jamil probably clocks it immediately and just files the observation away for never. He’s not the touchiest person in general and that doesn’t really change after you two get closer after the events of book 4. Touching brings him out of his comfort zone and it’s a boundary that he states very easily, though of course this boundary turns non-existent when Kalim is in the picture. 

I imagine Jamil prefers words of affirmation as his love language, he expects you to compliment his cooking after every meal, but he will also offer you a simple “good job” after you get a good grade. Though he’s not very verbal about his affection, he does write letters and small, kind notes at times. I headcanon Jamil started writing to vent his frustrations about his position, he burned every letter after he was done and it made him feel somewhat better. 

Sometimes he slips a sticky note underneath your door if you’ve been studying for a long time, heck I imagine he once hand delivered you a lunch with a note and never did it again after you compared the behavior to a mother’s. If you need to be touched for comfort reasons then he might step outside of his comfort zone and lay a hand on your shoulder and maybe rub your back like his mother used to do for him. 

The huntsman is also someone who clocks it immediately, though Rook does also notice it’s a new development in your personality. Seriously, you thought you’d actually gone three years under his radar? Nope! It does make Rook curious, how you’ve become so willing to be touched when you used to be so touch averse… 

He’s not the touchiest person in the beginning, but he does try to make sure he gets his ‘quota’ in. If Rook sees you anywhere on campus then he will change direction to collide with you, sometimes literally, and make sure he gets a healthy dose of physical contact with you. Especially if he’s noticed you’ve gone the entire day without it! 

Rook loves to hold your hand, even if it’s just for a few moments, and if you’re both experiencing some free time then he’s also willing to just lay down in the courtyard and soak up some sun with you. Don’t mind the fact that he’s got a camera out, shhhh, don’t complain, the lighting is perfect out here…

Floyd makes your life a living hell after Jade tells him about your preferred love language. It doesn’t even have to be touch specifically, either way he’s suddenly doing things that might make you swoon. If he hadn’t tried to choke you during your first interaction with him. 

Oh, you like gift-giving? Oh well suddenly Floyd’s got all these pretty shells to spare! Oh wait no that’s a tooth— Uh, you prefer words of affirmation? Then he’ll tell you you’re the best seadragon ever! Seven forbid one of your love languages is quality time…no one can pull the eel off of you. But touch? Oh Floyd can do touch, he loves touch, and yes that is a threat.

The Heartslabyul lounge is large and borderline luxurious, there’s more than enough cushy seats to go around. And yet the Prefect somehow ends up right next to you as the group sits in a neat little circle. 

It could be worse though? You could be sitting next to Riddle. 

“I must admit that I found the circumstances odd, I’ve had Cater looking into it for me.” Riddle confesses, his fingers toying with his teacup—when did he have time to make that?

Man, maybe you should quit disassociating for now…

Cater rubs the back of his neck, his expression worrisome as he smiles sheepishly. “And I found out that all the victims have been talented players like Riddle and Trey.” 

“So this really is a Spelldrive thing.” Yuu concurs, a thoughtful tilt to their head. The tilting also coincidentally makes their hair brush your shoulder. If they wanted to switch seats they really should just ask… “But Riddle, you don’t seem like the type to be careless around stairs?” 

“You’ve been here a few weeks and think you know everybody?” You mutter as you lean your body to the right, Yuu deflates at your muttered cruelties but nobody else seems to have caught what you said, thankfully. “Didn’t both Riddle and, uh, Trey…? Didn’t they both say it was like they weren’t in control of their bodies, or something like that?” 

“I did feel a particular sensation…” You do NOT want to hear about Riddle’s bodily sensations— “Like my body was moving of its own volition.” 

“The other victims said basically the same thing!” Grim points out quite loudly. How the Prefect deals with that is beyond you, you probably would’ve dropped the entity off at an adoption shelter by now…

“I believe we can safely surmise that potential Spelldrive players are the ones being targeted.” 

“You think someone is causin’ accidents to take out threats from the tournament?” 

…is that not the assumptions you had come to in Trey’s room? You click your tongue in annoyance, leaning forwards in your chair to capture the attention of the group. “Isn’t that obvious by now?” 

“Doing well in this tournament can make or break a future magician's career because everyone in the world will be watching it. If you fail on screen, then that moment will be immortalized forever. It’s no surprise that someone is trying to cut out all possibility of that happening.” 

Cater hums, “Sure, but it’s not making much sense, y’know? Somebody using wind magic to push players off the stairs would be reallyyyyyyyy noticeable.”

“Why does it have to be wind magic?” The room goes quiet at your question, the other students thinking. “You’re right, I certainly felt no external force.” Riddle admits, his brows pinching together. 

“And some people got hurt in their classrooms! Can we really assume magic was used to cause all the accidents?” 

“The culprit can tell us all about it when we capture him.” The Queen proclaims, a frown marring his features, “And we intend to help you do that.” 

…huh? 

“YOU’RE gonna help us?” Grim seems to be the only person sharing your hesitance, it earns him a few extra points in your book. Until you remember how he destroyed your blazer and he’s knocked back down your tier list. “What’s your angle?” 

“You offend us, sir.” You visibly cringe at Cater’s teasing, sing-song tone, it sounds too much like how he had back in the cafeteria. “One of our housemates was injured—why wouldn’t we wanna help him find justice?” 

“We’re all house-buds here. Count us in.” Ace declares proudly while the way he puffs his chest up and glances at Yuu reminds you of a Peacock. 

Deuce’s fist meeting leather makes a creaking sound as he punches his palm, a determined furrow between his brows. “He’s gonna pay for what he did to Trey!” 

Is nobody else concerned about the first-year threatening bodily harm against someone? And heck, you might’ve had Deuce’s personality wrong, the kid seems so…thuggish right now. 

Riddle, at least, seems mildly perplexed at the Adeuce duo. “You two seem awfully enthusiastic about this.” 

“Ah! I get it, you’re gunning for that open spot on our team, right?” 

“Heh. Was it that obvious?” Shameless is the only thing you think as you stand, mentally moving Ace even further down your list. “N-no! That had nothing to do with it, I just want to avenge our housemate!” 

“At least have some decency like your fellow first-year,” You scoff as Ace pivots his attention towards you, “Your Vice got hurt, that’s certainly nothing to celebrate.” 

“Huh?” The ginger pokes a finger into your chest, his expression turning livid. “Listen buddy, I don’t even know why you’re still here. In fact, we could solve this mess without ya!” 

I don’t even know why you’re still here. 

“I would’ve k̴̟͍̀͛̌̇̆̕͘͝͝i̸̢̭̖̥̟̦̱̺̹͗̀̑̽͛̽̕̚l̷͔̞̣̎ľ̴̢̛̘͖͍̜̌̀ë̴̡́͌̐͠ḑ̵̪̰̝͓̻̥͑̒̈́͊̿͊ͅ ̶̢̮͕̱̗͝ͅm̸̨̥̟̹̎͆̏̅̈́̂̓̾ý̷͉͇͉̬ͅs̴̭̪̗̪̦̜̊͆́̒͛̚e̵͔̤͍͂̋̉̚͠l̴̥͖͍̼̮͌̀̾͆̐̈f̴̹͎͔̯̥̼̼͈͋̌̃̊ ̸̞̮̀́̄͂͗á̵̡̡̬̦̹̗̼̠̞͗̊̃̀̏̈́͂̇l̵̢̡̺̯̗̙̞͖͔̄͐́̿̍ř̶̛̮̱͍̖͍͙̟̓͌̒̒̂͘e̷̤̣̗̜̖̊̾ȧ̶̠̒̄̈́̍͝͠ḋ̶̛͇̩̙͙͈̫̇̿͗͗͋̕ȳ̷̛͓̓̑̃̅͆͝͝.”

“Wha…what did you just say to me?” There’s ringing in your ears, spots in your vision, and you crush your fingers into fists by your sides. You ache for something, all the while Ace stares at you in confusion. “Are you going deaf or somethin’? I said you don’t have any skin in the game so I dunno why you’re still here.” 

That’s not what you heard. 

That’s not what he said.

He’s lying. 

And everyone stares at you like you’re crazy. It puts you on edge while the nausea settles into your stomach as heavy as a rock. “You—…I have my own reasons for being here.” 

The wall you had carefully put together falls all around you, your cold persona destroyed because of a simple sentence. Nobody leaps to defend you or to scold Ace for his callous words—of course they wouldn’t, it was probably just a joke. A cruel one, but it was still a joke to them. 

It wasn’t a joke to you. 

Riddle is the one that cuts through the silence—awkwardly clearing his throat as your breath stutters over your lame excuse. Of all the people in the room, you had at least believed he wouldn’t allow such…humor. 

“Your…performance will be taken into account during the investigation.” 

Colors drain out of the world as the group turns their backs on you, painting the once beautiful scenery in dulled swatches of grey and white. You can see Riddle’s lips moving as he speaks, but you don’t hear whatever he’s saying. 

Something about the tournament, likely. 

The only thing you can hear is a dripping sound. 

Plink

You don’t know where it’s coming from.

Plink plink

Your hands tighten by your sides, surely the pain of your nails biting into your palms will force you back into reality—when had you grabbed your magical pen? 

Plink plink plink

The stone is—where is that sound coming fro—why won’t someone help—since when were cruel jokes funny—please sto—

“You coming?” Cater’s hand lands on your shoulder, forcing you out of your stupor. There are still shades of gray amongst his palette, you notice his hair doesn’t shine as brightly as it once did, nor does the heart on his cheek look red anymore. 

But he still brought some color back into your view—the green of his eyes, his peachy skin, even the gem on his uniform seems to shine brighter in your gray view. 

You blink at him, your hands clenching around nothing. What had happened with your magical pen? 

What happened to you? 

“I’m—I wasn’t…” 

“Ahhhh, fazed out, huh?” You nod meekly and hate that he seems to notice but doesn’t say anything, “No worries! Happens to me all the time, I’ll explain on the way there, yeah?”

You wouldn’t blame him for being annoyed with you. 

And you certainly wouldn’t blame him if he chose to punish you in some way for not paying attention. 

And as your phone chimes you’re sure he’s going to do just that— “There! Added ya to the group, now c’mon I’ll catch ya up on the road!” 

Oh. 

Cater sticks to you like white on rice as your group passes through the Pomefiore mirror, his arm thrown casually around your shoulder and keeping you close to him.  Color has returned to normal so the panic in your chest has eased as you notice his hair is back to its bright hue.

“There’s a junior named Rook Hunt who’s caught my eye in Pomefiore!” The ginger explains while the freshmen (and you) ooh and awe at the splendor of the Pomefiore dorm. If Heartslabyul was a castle, then Pomefiore is a palace. 

Wait did he say Rook Hunt— 

“He has a blonde bob cut and a fedora—you can’t miss him.”

“Ah,” Riddle hums, “Rook is an exceptional player. He performed extremely well in last year’s tournament.” 

“Which makes him a prime target.” You state, trying to shrug off Cater’s arm but it seems your luck is rotten. “Also I don’t think anyone would be crying us a river if Hunt got hurt…the guy is weird.” 

“Huh? You think someone is weird? Man this guy has gotta be a freakshow!” Ace will be lucky if he even has eyes to watch a Spelldrive game after you’re done with him. “Listen you little—“ 

“Oh, is that him sitting over there?” Saved by Deuce… The other freshman points out a trio of—Seven they are beautiful. 

You can only catch the side profile of two out of three, but beauty isn’t about the face, it’s about the air you exude. Somebody could have the most attractive features ever and it wouldn’t mean a damn to you if they didn’t have the confidence to match! And by the Seven, are those blonds confident…

But then again maybe you just have a thing for blonds. 

It’s so sad those blonds happen to be the Housewarden and Vice of Pomefiore.

“Whoa. That dude’s, like, a glitter bomb in human form. He’s basically sparkling.” You think Ace is referring to the taller blond, his words draw your attention to the glitter laid upon Vil’s cheekbones and his killer side profile. 

Seriously you think your heart might combust if the pretty sparkly man just glances at you. 

The boy sitting across from them is adorable with artfully arranged lavender locks and light blue eyes that catch the light perfectly. He’s not the usual beauty that Pomefiore hosts, he’s a shade too cute, but it does make him stand out in the trio. 

“Non, Epel, non. When you lift your teacup, do not insert your finger through the handle. It is most inelegant.” Oh great, your group is literally crashing a tea party. 

Or, tea party…practice? Did people actually need to practice how to hold those delicate little cups? 

“Oh…Right. I’m sorry.” Either way, the poor boy seems to be doing terribly with his cup-handling practice. He holds the handle much tighter than you would think is possible from such delicate looking hands. His knuckles almost turn white at Rook’s chiding. 

Vil sighs in a theatric manner, his long, elegant fingers toying with a handheld mirror. “I just cannot decide how I want to do my makeup on tournament day! I’m thinking maybe that new foundation from Felicity Cosmetics?” 

Oh Seven you’re too poor for this. “Feli—Cater we’re all too poor to be here.” 

Boisterous laughter from Rook distracts Cater from responding to your tearful statement, “Mon belle Vil, the Roi du Poison…Surely your beauté is not so faint that you need makeup to shine?” 

“Of course I don’t!” Vil smiles as if Rook was an amusing court jester, “But I don’t dare miss an opportunity to accentuate it further!” 

“I admire that passion. Magnifique, Trés magnifique!” 

“He’s such a simp…” You mutter, eyes sliding away from the scene to the rest of the group. Cater huffs a laugh, his breath hitting the back of your neck and almost startling a scream out of you. “Weren’t you just drooling over both of them?” 

“I was not drooling, I was being very respectful about my looking at their assets.” Very, very respectfully looking at Rook’s arms, those are certainly the arms of an active man…Cater ogles with you.

“Uhhhhh…” Grim side eyes your little duo, “And you’re sayin’ this guy is some kinda incredible athlete? Somehow, I doubt he’s gonna be the target.” 

“Yeaaahhh, maybe we should peace out and move on,” Cater grins and throws up a peace sign while he’s actively dragging you back to the mirror, “We might need to get sweetie here a drink~” 

Yuu blinks at the innuendo—at least it sounded like one—and looks from you to the trio, their brows furrowing in confusion. “…what’s so special about blonds…” 

The group passes through the Hall of Mirrors once more and follows behind Cater as he scrolls on his phone, checking his list of potential victims. Surprisingly he ends up stopping by the cafeteria and actually getting you that drink…

“Lemonade?” You ask as you take a cautious sip from the bottle, Cater grins at you with a teasing light in his eyes. “Since ya can’t get a sip of your favorite blond this’ll have to quench your thirst!” 

…You take another sip of the lemonade. 

“Next on Cay-Cay’s big list of potential targets,” Cater makes a big show of showing off his phone and the mile long list in his notes app before motioning to the courtyard where two tall boys are now the stars of your little show, “Are Jade Leech and his twin brother Floyd. They’re both sophomores at Octavinelle House. Word is, they work so well together on the field that other teams don’t know how to counter them.” 

“Twin telepathy!” Deuce pipes up, looking amazed. “So it's real?” 

“I don’t know about that, the two probably know each other better than anyone else.” The boy deflates a bit at your explanation, his eyes losing a bit of shine. “…but hey, we never know, right?” 

He blinks at you before breaking into a small smile, “Right! I’ll keep believing until proven otherwise!” 

That—That is not what you were trying to suggest to him. You’re genuinely amazed, is he going through life pulling non-existence meanings out of every interaction? 

“Whoa!” Grim exclaims, “They have, like, the exact same face!” It’s a bit uncanny how alike they look like, the same teal hair, the same heterochromatic eyes, you aren’t able to tell which twin is which. 

“Is it just me, or do they make all the other students look tiny in comparison? They’re giants!” The group observes the two with hesitance, those twins really are giant compared to the other students. 

“I could see that being a big advantage for ‘em.” 

You can’t imagine someone willingly messing with either of them on the field. 

“So what do we think? Could they be in danger?” 

You scoff, your eyes rolling. “I’m pretty sure they’re more dangerous than whoever is hurting other students. I mean, look at them!” 

One of the twins wraps his arms around a smaller Scarabia student in a threatening manner. His cruel, lackadaisical grin shows off dangerously sharp teeth. 

“If I were the culprit, I’d save them for last.” Riddle hums, an uncomfortable expression on his face as your group witnesses the strange display. “Like you said, just look at those two, I wouldn’t want to get anywhere near them—especially Floyd.” 

As if he has a second sense for his name, twin number 2, that you now know is Floyd, catches sight of your group and approaches with a wide smile. “Oh ho ho! What is UP, Lil’ Goldfish?” 

“Bwah! He spotted us!” 

…Who is this us? As far as you’re concerned Floyd seems fixated on Riddle, not anybody named us. The audacity to be dragging you into his bad situations… 

“What brings you to our humble abode, huh? Playing hide-and-seek? Sounds like fun.” Seven, this guy is creepy. The lilt of his voice is borderline hostile with a manic glee, this dude could never be a victim. He makes them. 

“F-Floyd…I’ve asked you several times to stop calling me by strange nicknames.” 

“But you’re so small and red! How are you NOT a goldfish?” 

“This guy seems like he’s a few cans short of a tuna casserole…” 

When did Grim get behind you— when did Floyd get in front of you actually? The uncanny boy had moved way too quickly and is practically right up on you in an attempt to catch sight of Grim, his face lighting up in a way that sends shivers down your spine. “A talking cat? Now THAT’S something you don’t see every day! Can I squeeze you ‘til you pop?” 

“Huh?!” 

“Uh, no?! Stay away from me, weirdo!” Grim stays tucked behind your legs, using you as some sort of meat shield. You’re not sure how long he thinks you’d be able to hold off this behemoth if he really puts his mind to ‘squeezing’ Grim…

Why is he seeking protection from you actually??? You’re not his cat-mom or dad or whatever, you’re not even a weird uncle! “Myah, protect me!” 

…okay, that might make your heart grow a few sizes for Grim. 

You shift just a bit, putting yourself chest to chest with the incredibly amused Floyd, all in an attempt to protect an entity that you barely like.

“My, it would appear a contingent from Heartslabyul House has paid us a little visit.” The other twin, Jade, seems perfectly polite and sane compared to his twin. His uniform is much neater and one of his hands lands neatly against his chest in some mimicry of a heartfelt motion. 

He seems more palatable than Floyd who is clearly crazy. But there’s still something in those eyes that makes your hair stand on edge… “Here to assess the competition in advance of the Spelldrive tournament, perhaps?” 

“Nah. We…can’t really go into it, though.” Cater shrugs and looks nervous at how close you and Floyd are. You don’t miss the way Floyd’s hands twitch like he’s itching to wrap them around you and, what was he said? 

Squeeze you ‘til you pop?

“We take a dim view of spying at Octavinelle.” Shudders run down your spine as Floyd instinctively fixes his height as his twin speaks, towering over you now. “I would ask you to justify your actions, suspicious as they are. And please, spare no detail.” 

“This guy sure talks fancy, but man, his eyes are stone cold.” 

The eyes never lie, you think. You see your own terrified expression reflected in Floyd’s eyes, you’re worried those eyes are going to be the last thing you see. 

The twins remind you of predators. Ones that seem amused by the prey that’s wandered directly into their lair. “Ya gonna start talkin’ or am I gonna have to get squeezy?” Floyd giggles as lays a hand on your shoulder, his touch is like a shock to your system and—

You kick him. 

Right in the…well, the only place you can reach. Which is…yeah. 

He falls to his knees—breathless and gasping, and laughing? Is he actually crazy?—everybody in the courtyard seems to gasp and hold still for a moment. Shocked at your retaliation, even Jade’s careful and poised mask falls as he stares blankly at his writhing twin.

You’ve got to run, get away from these crazies—

You freeze as Floyd kicks at your legs. A shudder runs through you as your cheek scrapes against the concrete path, the stinging in your palms doesn’t feel nearly as bad as the pain in your jaw. 

Floyd lunges for you once again, his arms wrapping around your shoulders, then your neck, and he’s squeezing you— 

He’s squeezing you— you’re choking as he tightens his arms around your neck, resting your head in the crook of his elbow in a mimicry of intimacy—your pathetic kicking and hitting doesn’t seem to do much to him, hell he seems thrilled when you resort to biting him. 

“C’mon! I bet’cha can’t get your teeth through my skin!” 

Your voice is raspy as you beg and plead with him. When that doesn’t work you resort to yelling insults with fierce hatred. 

“Awwh, you’re gonna hurt my feelings!” 

You think you’re going to die as you feel his grip get even tighter. 

“Where’s that fight from before, huh?” 

Then you and Floyd are burning. 

Blue flames lick up his arm, startling him into letting you go. Someone grabs you by the shoulders and tries to help you to your feet, whispering assurances into your ear as they get you away from those evil twins. 

Your body feels like lead—weighted and useless.