The same applied to the sunscreen. A handful of bottles with various SPF levels were lined up on the table outside your room. Riddle examined them with an intensity that made it look like a matter of life and death.

"SPF thirty? Inadequate." He tossed the bottle aside. "Fifty? Still no." Finally, he nodded in approval at the last one. "SPF one hundred. Acceptable."

Before you could even head to the beach, he sat you down under a parasol and began applying the sunscreen with meticulous care. Shoulders, arms, back, legs… every single motion was slow and thorough.

"I will not miss a single centimeter," he said, completely focused.

When you started laughing and told him he was overdoing it, he merely smoothed down the sleeve of his shirt.

"As a vampire, I have no intention of watching you burn," he said sternly.

And exactly two hours later, as if he had a built-in clock in his head, he pulled out another bottle.

"It is time for the next layer," he called out to you.

"I don't need it!" you called back from the water.

"You do." He looked at you with that calm, yet utterly unyielding gaze.

He applied the same meticulousness to your wardrobe. One afternoon, you noticed a few neatly written sheets of paper resting on the table. Stepping closer, you realized it was a list of rules.

The first forbade overly revealing bikinis. The second stated that a light shirt or a pareo must always be worn over swimwear. The third required a hat without exception. The fourth mandated staying strictly in the shade between noon and three o'clock. And the fifth briefly announced that Ace's fashion advice was to be entirely ignored.

"Why are there so many rules?" You looked at him, amused.

"...I do not want others staring at you," he hesitated for a fraction of a second.

"So that's the real reason?" You tilted your head. A silence fell over the room for a few moments.

"...Next question," he muttered. He didn't need to say anything more.

Later on the beach, when he noticed a man staring at you a bit longer than was polite, his expression shifted ever so slightly.

He calmly walked over to you, took your hand, and stepped right between the two of you.

"Excuse me." His voice was as polite as ever. "I do not believe you have any reason to look this way for so long."

There wasn't a single raised note in his voice. Not a hint of anger. Yet, the man apologized almost instantly and hurried away. Riddle simply intertwined his fingers with yours, satisfied, and kept walking as if nothing had happened at all.

During the day, he barely left the shadow of his parasol. But whenever he noticed the direct sun hitting you, he would move the entire umbrella without a word just to keep you shielded.

He only truly relaxed after sunset. The moment the sky bled into shades of orange and purple, he took your hand, firmly lacing his fingers through yours.

"This is much more pleasant," he offered a faint smile.

You walked along the shore as the waves quietly washed over the sand and the evening breeze played with your hair. A stray strand fell across your face. With surprising tenderness, Riddle tucked it behind your ear, pausing to just look at you in silence, as if wanting to imprint the image in his mind.

Along the way, he picked a few red hibiscus flowers.

"They will match your hair." He carefully pinned them in place and took a step back, watching you for a long moment.

"...You are beautiful." The moment the words left his mouth, his composure shattered for a second. He looked away, the blush on his cheeks impossible to hide.

But he changed the most when you were completely alone. The moment the door closed behind you or you found a quiet spot far away from everyone else, it was as if all his strict rules ceased to exist.

He looked at you differently. His gaze was calm, tender, and filled with something he would never allow himself to show in public.

"...No one can see you now." He slowly untied the knot of your pareo. He was in no rush. Every movement was careful, almost reverent.

His fingertips gently traced your hip. His cool skin contrasted pleasantly against your warmth, and he paused for a second, as if trying to memorize the sensation of the touch.

"This..." His voice was barely a whisper. "...is for my eyes only."

Then he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to your shoulder. A second kiss claimed your collarbone. Finally, he let the tips of his fangs graze ever so slightly against your neck.

He never bit you. He just smiled that rare, genuine smile meant only for you.

"Do you have any idea," he whispered into your hair, "how difficult it is to be a gentleman when you look like this?"

Vampire Instincts

He is extremely territorial, though he would never dream of calling his jealousy by its actual name.

He constantly keeps you in the shade, viewing the sun as his absolute greatest enemy.

When he notices someone staring at you for too long, he instinctively positions himself between you and them.

He protects you publicly through his "rules," while in private, he is far gentler and more relaxed.

He would never bite you without your explicit consent. As an aristocratic vampire, he views trust as something sacred.

In the evening, when you fall asleep together, he holds you so tightly it feels as though he wants to shield you from the entire world.

His cool hands often seek out your palm or your waist—not just out of affection, but because feeling your warmth calms him down. Plus, it’s a lovely, refreshing contrast when you're flushed after a whole day in the sun.

Even though he claims all the rules exist solely for your own good, the real reason is much simpler. "I do not want anyone else seeing what belongs only to me," he mumbled against your neck.

— ✧ — ✧ — ✧ — ✧ — ✧ — ✧ — ✧ — ✧ — ✧ — 

his hair had been transformed from one kind of topping to another — glazed strawberry to whipped cream. you really don't mind either flavor. dessert is dessert! pressing your (currently) closed mouth against his head, you intend to do a little taste-test…

the baby-faced housewarden's eyes are fluttered shut but he still has enough energy to lift his hands from his lap and push you away, albeit gently.

you think he mutters something about you being hungry enough to eat his hair and to go ask trey to fix you something instead. It's like he's still dreaming. pawing at his fancy uniform, you smile. this rare sight is as sweet as strawberries and cream to you.

riddle’s cheeks are flushed as you poke them. his embarrassment is like bait on a thread. the more you see it wobble, the more you want to pounce upon him with all your might!

you would have liked to stay here all day to play but a part of you was nice enough to let this strange snow-white riddle rest until he returned to his usual self.

closing the door with a resounding click, you managed to drag yourself away and tried not to begin to think about having potentially broken a rule on heartslabyul grounds.

(the next day when everything had begun to become "normal" again, your head was still intact and you knew in your heart of hearts that he had forgotten your impertinence.)

🌹 » 𝓡𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞 𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 ,

—> he straight up loves animals, with the way he was with the hedgehogs? yeah definitely.

—> you being an alicorn type hybrid he’s stunned and does infact compliment you, he isn’t afraid to either.

—> if you are ever forbidden to go somewhere with them he gives the person a stern talking too— to no avail unfortunately, don’t worry he misses it if you do too, staying with you and listening as you speak of the rabbits.

—> he definitely tells his mother in a letter all about you, minus the rabbits as he knows what his mother will say about it, but minus that he gives all the details.

—> i think when he sees how passionate you are about your rabbits he falls in love, seeing how committed you are to them even if it involves abit of rule breaking.

—> he will admire you from afar while he is zoned out, then when Trey nudges him slightly he goes all red.

🦁 » 𝓛𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐚 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐫 ,

—> i don’t think he’s big on animals to be honest, in a way where he WOULDNT own one, why you may ask? simple he finds it to much work.

—> however when he first saw you well obviously he was completely stunned by you being an alicorn, he would never say it but he might think your like.. the most gorgeous looking person ever— sure he’s a housewarden of a dorm full of beastmen but they aren’t as interesting as you are.

—> when he sees you with four chunky huge rabbits that’s his final straw from him watching afar, he finds it amusing how you are always around them.

—> adding onto them always being with him it helps him locate you much easier along with your very discreet features (the perks of you being an alicorn)

—> it literally doesn’t matter if they aren’t allowed to be where you are because somehow they are still around you; he is also extremely surprised with how obedient they are, and he’s also thinking about how well fed they are.

—> he teases you about them saying how he can’t tell the difference and messes their names up on purpose just to see you get so serious about the whole thing.

☀️ » 𝓚𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐦 ,

—> he finds it adorable!! not only you being an alicorn but also with your rabbits, when he first saw you his eyes may of lit up the most jamil has ever seen in his whole life with kalim.

—> he always asks you questions about them as he is interested, right after he always runs to tell jamil all about it even repeating most stuff you have told him.

—> not to mention how he quite literally buys stuff for them, spoiling the rabbits, the rabbits whose names he learned quickly might i add. that definitely has something to do with him having a lot of siblings.

—> he can easily tell them apart, he knows all four of by heart, and if anyone gives you a funny look while walking past he will give an introduction to that person of the four rabbits even while they are walking away.

—> if you ever aren’t welcome anywhere with them , unfortunately for jamil, he will offer to look after them with you even if you say it’s fine, there’s no point because he will be joining you!

🏹 » 𝓡𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐭 ,

—> the rabbits most likely have something to do with how he met you in the first place, you were chasing one while the 3 others ones hopped after you and him being an ex savanaclaw student had witnessed all of it while you were completely oblivious.

—> i believe he knows all about animals so he can immediately detect what type they are— their size gave it away to him immediately, so don’t be to surprised when he comes up behind you and says ‘flesh rabbits! such an interesting species, the world's largest domestic rabbit breed in that fact!’

—> he’s also like the rest completely stunned with you being an alicorn, though he doesn’t hide it, the shock on his face is extremely visible and he’s hella dramatic about it too.

—> whenever he sees you he immediately feeds you with compliments with absolutely no shame about it, the compliments almost seem fake but you eventually learn that’s just how he is.

💤 » 𝓢𝐢𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐞 ,

—> he finds it interesting, more then anyone else, suddenly he’s more awake then ever when you are around him or even mentioned.

—> he has an extreme liking to animals and bonds with them extremely well so when the four rabbits run up to him as you chased behind he isn’t surprised you on the other hand? your extremely surprised to see your rabbits instantly warming up to someone.

—> he loves watching you with your rabbits, he loves how you handle situations involve them; if they do something slightly more evil then usual he watches intently as you attempt to scold them but end up babying the little villian.

—> he actually smirks when you are refused to go somewhere, no not because he finds it funny he actually looks up to your determination about it and how set you are about them coming in, don’t worry if you end up being left behind he will always stay behind, Lilia will understanddd..

ִ › ⦂ masterlist here

He eyes the other ingredients on the counter you’re working on, spotting a bowl of strawberries, shining a healthy red. “Ah, could it be that you’re making…strawberry tarts? What seems to be the occasion, hm?” 

It’s not that he’d forgotten, in fact, he already prepared his present for this month’s 3rd Monday, which was tomorrow. Oops. He figures that you’re making his present and that he spoiled his own gift. Flushing a bright red, Riddle makes haste for the exit, not wanting to ruin your present. 

“I-It seems that you’re preparing something special, Prefect. I apologize for intruding – I’ll be on my way now,” seeing your lack of response, Riddle adds, “Goodbye, I love you.”

Hm. Still nothing, so gathers his courage and tries again, “Prefect, I’ll be on my way, I love you!” 

“♫ ~ ♪ ~ ♬ ~.”

You hum in response yet again, and the housewarden assumes that you’re disappointed he found out about your gift so early – the thing is, you still couldn’t hear a thing! 

With slumped shoulders, Riddle leaves the kitchen a bit heartbroken.

The next day, you excitedly head to Heartslabyul’s courtyard to meet up with Riddle. You see your lovely boyfriend already in his seat despite you coming 10 minutes earlier than your agreed time. How long has he been sitting there?!

“Riddle! I hope I didn’t keep you waiting long! Well, are you ready to trade gifts? I worked especially hard on yours this time, hehe,” you flash him a toothy grin and he feels a bit guilty about spoiling the surprise for himself. On the outside, he responds as usual, “Of course, I’m looking forward to your reaction to my present as well, I believe you’ll be quite fond of my present this month.” 

Unwrapping his gift first, you find that he had given you something you mentioned you’d wanted in passing. You look at him with wide eyes before wrapping him in a big hug, “Seven! Riddle, this is exactly what I wanted…I can’t believe you remembered! I love it so much, I love you!” You nudge your head toward his cheek a bit, and he flushes a bright pink. “W-well, I do try to pay attention to the things you desire…ahem, so I take it that you aren’t cross with me anymore?”

“Cross? With you? Why would I be…? You shoot him a confused expression. 

Now it’s Riddle’s turn to act perplexed, but he continues anyway, “Yesterday, when you were making the tarts…you seemed disappointed that I had found out, and…”

“Wait, what? How’d you know I was making you strawberry tarts? You even came into the kitchen??”

“Yes, I’m not sure why you’re so surprised. When I said goodbye, and told you I loved you, you merely ignored me…” In an attempt to seem displeased, Riddle crosses his arms and looks away, but you know that he’s really just trying to hide his embarrassment.

“Oh Riddle…I really had no idea you came into the kitchen! I was so focused on getting the recipe as perfect as Trey’s, and the music I was listening to was quite loud so I couldn’t hear a thing!” Handing him the box of the baked tart, you put his hand in yours. “Either way, why would I ever be mad at you? In any case, I wish I noticed sooner so we could’ve baked the tart together!” 

“So you aren’t disappointed that I ruined the surprise of your gift?”

“Of course not! Well, now that I know..maybe a little bit. But what matters most is if you enjoy it. Now, if you want to make it up to me…”

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.