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Leon was beyond furious. The memory of seeing Kieran pressed against the (h/c)-haired girl who could do nothing to push him away made his blood boil. Made the ugly thing inside of him rake its claws down his insides, ready to tear through skin and bone to get out and turn itself on the white-haired male.

It didn't matter if death was too good for Kieran, he told himself. The male was someone who'd done (Y/n) wrong, which surely meant she hated him, right? And Leon had promised to her get rid of everything she hated and anything that could do her harm.

That's why he had no trouble in setting that one brown-haired girl's death up as an accident.

He did less dirty work than he thought, and that bothered him. Tristan was the one who had personally killed off Charles Howards and Elijah Johnson—Leon wanted to be the one to do it. He wanted to be the one who got rid of everything that posed danger to the (h/c)-haired girl. He wanted to be the one who'd showed her just how dangerous the world really was outside the little bubble she's built around herself.

And then he wanted to be the one who took her hand and kept her safe. Forever.

Not someone like Tristan.

His steps grew hurried as he scaled the stairs to the third floor easily, leaving a trail of storms in his wake. He flung Kieran's library doors open, his angry eyes scanning the space for the said male.

But he wasn't there. The broken window and overturned furniture were just as he remembered when he left. It didn't look like anyone made an effort to clean it up. In fact, it looked even worse. Kieran's prized books, even the ones from his expensive collection from Medieval England, were ripped off their shelves and lied open on the floor. Pages were torn out like some animal had dragged its claws through the delicate pages. The white, ragged sheets were everywhere, decorating the floor like snowflakes.

Leon clenched his jaw and slammed the door shut. He had no business in the library if Kieran wasn't there. He went straight to the male's bedroom next and flung the door open. "Fujikawa!" He yelled into the dark room. "Where the f*ck are you?"

Kieran wasn't there. In fact, he wasn't in any of the rooms Leon checked. Not even in his dance studio that he's only recently started using. That had confused Leon for a second before he brushed it off. He didn't give a sh*t about what Kieran did unless it involved (Y/n) or Conan.

Speaking of his brother, the boy should be playing in Leon's room right now. Since his arrival was out of the blue, Leon didn't have the time to prepare a room for his brother so his own had to suffice for the time being. That was fine too; keeping him close meant he could keep a close eye on him. It was easier to protect someone when he knew where they were at all times.

"Where are you going?"

A voice from behind him made Leon stop in his tracks. It was Jaehyun. He was wearing a black and gray hoodie with his hands folded innocently behind his back. The boy tilted his head at the taller male. "Are you going somewhere?" He peered around him, disappointment clouding his face. "Oh. I thought (Y/n) was with you..."

Leon shoved his anger through an iron door and locked it up. Kim Jaehyun wasn't someone he was willing to provoke. Tristan? Maybe. But Jaehyun...

"Nowhere," he answered gruffly. He didn't want the boy anywhere near (Y/n), however. "What are you doing here?" It was unusual for the blond to be on Kieran's floor—the two usually stayed away from each other unless the white-haired male got bored and decided it would be funny to aggravate the boy. It never ended well. Leon had a scar down his neck and on his side to prove it.

Jaehyun merely hummed and looked around, his bangs shifting and casting moving shadows over the planes of his face as he did so. One particular angle made the alarm in Leon's head go off.

The blond wasn't in angel or devil mode today. It was more like a fallen angel. How could two smiles on the same face at different moments look so hauntingly different?

"I thought I could find our intruder if I went to where Kieran was," Jaehyun murmured. "I guess not. Tell me if you see him, okay?"

It wasn't a question. It was a threat.

But Leon was no pushover. "I can't guarantee he'd still be alive by then."

"Nooo, I want to do it myself!" Jaehyun scowled, glaring daggers at the black-haired male. "You can't touch him. He's mine to deal with."

Leon noticed a glint of silver by the boy's side. It was a knife. Jaehyun noticed his gaze and his glower flipped into a lopsided grin. "Oh, this?" He held up the knife by the tip of the blade, the handle pointing towards the taller male. "I picked it up when I was coming here. I lost my palette knife but I didn't have a spare, so I had to use another knife, you know?"

His excuse wasn't very convincing. Jaehyun hummed as he flipped the knife, the blade arching through the air and falling down. The sharp end headed straight for his hand and for a split second, Leon was sure it would impale through the boy's hand.

Instead, he snatched it out of the air with a professional's ease. He spun it around his fingers and grinned at Leon.

"Don't mind me," he said with a faux harmless smile. "You can keep on going."

Sometimes Leon had doubts about who the real snake was. People often nicknamed Tristan "silver snake" for his ruthlessness and lack of empathy. But perhaps it was truly Jaehyun they were referring to, a serpent whose every bite was a lethal one. At least with a snake, Leon could tell when it would strike.

Spidey senses or not, something in him told him it was very soon.

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Getting up in the mornings these days always reminded (Y/n) of Isla and the girls. Lucinda could take up to two hours to get ready—three if it was a special occasion. Isla was a little better in that she only took one hour max. Still, the time the two girls spent in the bathroom doing there makeup and whatever other girls did was borderline insanity.

She remembered that one time she and Carmen were waiting for the two girls to get ready for their hangout at the bowling alley. Why they needed to put a full face of makeup on and dress in nice clothes for that, she'd never know. She recalled the brunette shaking her head and saying to the (h/c)-haired girl, "Why am I friends with these crazies again?"

Lucinda promptly threw a shoe at her but (Y/n) had to admit, she'd silently echoed the tall girl's question in her head too. All (Y/n) did every morning was brush her teeth, slap some water onto her face, pull on her trash bag, and then waltz out the door in all her nonexistent glory.

They weren't here anymore. They never will be. Ever.

She dragged a brush through her tangled hair in a half-a**ed attempt to untangle it. When was the last time I used this thing? It was a painful and inefficient process so she gave up, opting to leave the brush tangled in her hair instead. Who's going to judge me anyway?

Now it was time for the most important decision. And no, it was not what to wear today. She'd obviously just wear a potato sack but that was beyond the point. It was whether or not she should tell June to work her magic so she can sneak down to Reese bright and early in the morning. Was it too soon? Would she get caught?

Nah, the boy probably still snoring right now, she nodded to herself. I would be too but yesterday's turn of events kept me awake.

Speaking of yesterday, one glance in the mirror showed that the concealer had washed off in the shower and the bruises, though not as dark as yesterday, now stood out clearly against her skin. Well, crap. At least she had half a brain to take the whole tube with her.

She applied it onto the bruises sloppily and blended it in with her hands. I'm probably not doing this right but at least it's working. She checked one last time in the mirror. Yep, I look like a monster. Just like usual. Great!

(A/N: You can be a pretty monster)

Satisfied, (Y/n) walked straight into the door before she remembered Leon had locked it. She tried it just in case; it was still locked. Who would've expected anything else? Parkour it is then. Gotta message June first. The girl responded quickly with a thumbs-up, saying she could turn the cameras off for her.

When she had caught Jasper outside her balcony that one night, he'd scaled the walls without breaking a sweat. He made it look so easy. But when she tried it for herself, she was already falling. Falling onto her face when she tripped over the little raised spot on the ground that separated her room and the terrace.

Fun. She wasn't going to be parkouring anywhere anytime in the foreseeable future now, was she? Unless she was a masochist like K—I mean, what?

I don't think he likes pain, she thought as she lung onto the beautiful, wrought iron bars of the balcony for dear life. He probably just wants the idea of it. He wants it to feel normal. Kinda like me, I guess.

Instead of feeling angry at the white-haired male, (Y/n) honestly only felt pity for him. From what little he's revealed to her, his condition put him on bad terms with his parents. As a child who's grown up with her foster father's love her whole life, she couldn't relate. It must be really lonely to be him. Fooling around with all those different girls was probably his way of coping.

A world divorced from reality is truly more comfortable.

I'm not here to understand them. She mentally slapped herself as she climbed over the bars and stepped gingerly onto the ledge. I'm no therapist.

A strong wind blew through the clearing and battered against her sides. Her feet nearly slipped off the little ledge she was on but her deathly tight grip on the bars kept her steady. Why am I doing this again...She eyed the dangerously far distance she'd have to cross to get to that tall tree in front of her. If she was some kind of gymnast or acrobat, it might've been a piece of cake. But guess what. She wasn't. Surprise, surprise.

She scooted a few more inches over, as much as she dared until she reached the limit of her arm span. There was no way in the name of all things holy she'd ever let go of the bars, especially with the wind that kept taunting her. It whipped across her face and raked icy claws over her skin. And when she thought it was gone and decided it was safe to move, it came back at full blast. Stupid weather.

Either I make a jump for it or I hope a flying carpet will magically appear. She chewed on her lip as she examined the distance between her and the closest tree branch. It wasn't too far and the branch looked sturdy enough. But the fall was a long way down. She didn't have enough brain cells left to afford to lose.

She made up her mind. Reese, you owe me a hell ton of pillows for this.

The (e/c)-eyed girl sucked in a deep breath and clearing her mind of all her doubts, she jumped.

Well, more like stumbled across the rest of the ledge, her arms windmilling around her until somehow she managed to snag onto the branch and cling onto it like a koala. Or a sloth. No, more like a turtle. I'm alive! She loosened her vise-like grip on the branch and crawled closer to the trunk of the tree, where it was safer and put her mind at ease. Okay, now what? I can't just go in through the front door.

Or...could I?

The front door it was. Why waste the time and effort in trying to sneak back in when (Y/n) knew she'd mess the whole thing up eventually? The front door was the most obvious choice. That's what it was built for, after all. To grant people entry into the manor. And besides, she was technically a "guest" by Tristan's standards, was she not?

This guest decided to take a stroll in the garden, she mused as she slowly felt around with her feet for the nest branch to step on in her climb down. They can't get mad at me for that, can they?

She wrapped her arms around the trunk and slid the rest of her way down when there were no more branches to climb down on. I probably have a whole lot of splinters now but it's all for a greater cause, she sighed. (Y/n) patted down her clothes to get the twigs and branches out.

"Okay, so where's the front entrance?" She said out loud, spinning around in search of one. Well, if I circle around the manor and hope I chose the shortest path, I'll eventually find it.

And find it she did. But her chronic unluckiness made her choose the longest path and circle around more than half of the dormitory until she found the front door. Fortunately, however, the lobby was empty and she was able to safely sneak back inside. Unfortunately, however, there was no staircase that led down to the basement. She had to use the elevator.

At least the elevator doesn't require a keycard or something. She pressed the elevator button and hid behind a large potted plant just in case one of the P4 came out. When the doors opened with a chime of a bell, they were empty. (Y/n) quickly boarded the elevator, pressed the basement, and spammed the close button.

No one saw her do the deed, she was sure. If someone did, it would be messy.

Too bad I don't have my phone, she thought with a sigh. It had been missing ever since she arrived here. She was willing to bet the P4 took it. It means I can't stay in contact with June...let's just hope she did her thing.

The cameras down in the basement were off; she could tell by the absence of the blue light used to be on under the lenses. Honestly, I should've come up with a better plan, (Y/n) grumbled as she went down the crimson hallways to where she remembered Reese's room was. I'm not good at making plans and I couldn't find where popsicle's key was—I even snuck into his room and it wasn't there!

She stopped before a wooden door that looked vaguely familiar. She knocked on it and without waiting for a response, she said, "Delivery from Papa John's pizza! Your order of a full pepperoni pizza topped with extra cheese, extra mushrooms, and extra green peppers has arrived!"

"I don't even like mushrooms!" Came a familiar wail. "And ew, green peppers? Make that red peppers! I demand a refund!" Then his voice broke off. He paused as if he was just noticing her voice. Her very much not masculine voice.

He gasped. "(N/n)! You came to see me! Wait—before you say anything, do you really have pizza?"

"I see you'd be happier to see a pizza delivery guy than me," she drawled dryly. "Good to know, best friend."

"Anything for you, best friend."

She heard some scuffling in the room and footsteps as the redhead walked closer to her voice, even though she couldn't see him. "Are you here to break me out, best friend?" He said. "Damn, never thought you could be so cool! And here I thought I was the only cool one in this world."

(Y/n) scoffed, snaking her head. "I thought we established the fact that I was the man in this friendship?"

"Hey, that was a mistake! You can't twist my words that way!"

"But I can and I did, best friend."

"You're lucky I like you more than Levi, best friend."

"Wow, thanks." She rolled her eyes even though she knew he couldn't see him and placed a hand on her chest. "I'm flattered. You like me more than a 2D character."

Reese gasped again. This time it was louder and more drawn out as if his father had told him he was actually adopted. "Levi is not just a 2D character! He is a god! He's like a role model, my idol! He is everything we pitiful human beings aspire to be. 3D is the inferior dimension—2D is obviously superior! We must all work towards being 2D. Only then will we achieve true perfection! I mean, I'm already too awesome but, you know."

"You sound like Shoko Asahara," (Y/n) deadpanned. "I'm a good atheist child. I stay away from cults. You shall not corrupt this mind today, no sir."

"Hmph. You're just jealous you don't have moves like Levi and Mikasa."

"...Do I even want to ask?"

"I'll spoil the next episode of your favorite show for the rest of our lives."

"You're stuck in a room without a T.V. How are you going to pull that off?" (Y/n) bulldozed on before he could retort. "Nevermind that now. How have you been lately?"

Reese let out a tragic sigh. "My hair is starting to lose its luster," he sobbed. "I finally understand why Jason is so passionate about his hair. I am not Reese without my beautiful hair!"

"Look who's talking. You can't even braid it yourself."

"Shush, don't expose me," the redhead scowled. "My roots are crying enough as is. Look, you hurt their feelings."

"Great. Anyway, did anyone else visit you?" (Y/n) threw a look over her shoulder, half-expecting someone to suddenly show up. If she had been caught as she was distracted by Reese's antics and one of the P4 was just standing there, giving her a disapproving look, she probably would've screamed. "Or were you just a lonely bean the whole time?"

Reese made a half-hearted sound and slumped against the door. "Mostly just the annoying one. Tristan. He comes around when he remembers I'm still here to mock my amazingly gorgeous personality. Guess he wants to learn how to be a Reese—"

"For real, Reese."

"Okay, okay...you're no fun," the red-haired male grumbled. Then he sighed. "He doesn't say much. Just makes sure I'm still alive and here."

She waited for him to continue but he didn't. "Just p—Tristan?"

"I know right, just Tristan? They should all be down here to bask in my glory!"

His ego's almost larger than snowman's. But it didn't annoy her. Instead, she was grinning. Grinning at the familiar warmth in her friend's voice. Grinning at the way he always managed to make her feel better and chase away her troubles. She didn't have to prove anything around him. She didn't have to put up pretenses and use tactics in their friendship. She didn't have to hide anything, only what really mattered.

She wanted to go back to the old times, when she could do whatever she wanted—namely sleep—among the warmth of her friendship with the others. Living in the present, many would call it, without a care for the future. But wasn't it tiring to live thinking of the future all the time? (Y/n) never wanted to consider the past or future. Whatever happens, happens.

It was a naive dream but a dream nonetheless.

"Have they been treating you right?" Reese's tone turned worried. If he could open the door right now, (Y/n) was sure he'd be shaking her like a ragdoll in a panic right now. "If they did anything—just say the word and I'll find a way to deal with it, promise."

"Relax, you're overthinking it," she interrupted him with a dismissive wave of her hand. "You think I have the energy to provoke them into doing something?"

He seemed to consider her words. "I mean you did come down here when I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be isolated...but okay, I guess that makes sense. You sure you're okay though?"

When am I ever okay? "Peachy. Just fine. As soon as I find popsicle face's key and let you out of here, that is."

"You do realize there's a second door...right?"

"I'm offended that you even thought that but yes, I do. It's passcode-operated but I have a way to open that. I just need the key."

(Y/n) looked around her again warily. "Does p—Tristan come a lot? I don't want to be caught."

"You're leaving already?" There was a mix of sadness and irritation in his tone she couldn't quite place. One that caused the same chill down her spine the time Jaehyun saw Jasper strangling her. For a second, she almost didn't recognize her best friend. "I thought you'd want to crash this place with me," he continued with his usual voice. "Think of it as a resort, one you can stay in with no fees to pay. Free of charge."

"One where you're not allowed to leave your room," she added dryly. "I'm technically supposed to be locked up in my room too right now but I'm a bad child."

"I get it," Reese sighed. "Be careful when you go up, okay? Oh! And the next time you come to visit me, bring me a bottle of shampoo! The one they have in this bath sucks."

"Would you like a cup of tea to go with that, Your Majesty?" She drawled. "Because even if you did, sucks for you 'cause I ain't giving you any."

"Whattt? But I told you my hair defines me! Without it, I am not Reese!"

"And I told you to behave, didn't I?"

Oh no. All the hair on (Y/n)'s arms stood up as she stiffened, dreading the instant she'd have to turn around. Reese quieted and she heard the agonous clicking sound of shoes approaching her from behind. It's okay, she told herself. He didn't say I couldn't come down here. He just said we couldn't leave.

Steeling her nerves, she turned around slowly with a blank look on her face as if she was just passing by. "Uh, surprised to see you here, sir."

"That makes one of us." His blue eyes flickered to the wooden door beside her and his eyebrows drew down in disapproval but he didn't express his anger. Clearing his throat, he said, "You best leave now for your own good, (Y/n). You've had enough sneaking around for the day."

"Only I'm the boss of that," she interjected. "What if I wanted to be a ninja when I grow up?"

"But you don't?" Confusion was written across the perfect planes of his face. "I was under the impression you wanted to go into the computer sciences."

"That was sarcasm, smart one."

"...Oh."

"Ha, dumba**!" Came Reese's very intelligent reply as he crowed loudly through the door. He was in another room but he still managed to be the loudest person. What a gift. "Okay, back to the real question now. Where's my pizza?"

He did not act or sound like a person kept in captivity. To be fair, (Y/n) didn't either.

Tristan, like the mature guy he was, chose not to fall for the redhead's barb and ignored him instead. "(Y/n)," he stressed again through gritted teeth. "We've been over this."

"We have?" She feigned confusion.

"I specifically told you not to get into any more trouble just yesterday. Yet the very next day I find you down here in an area that shouldn't be accessible to you." He frowned. "How did you get down here?"

She gave him her best are-you-for-real look. "I took the elevator, Einstein."

"Right..." He closed his eyes and sucked in a sharp breath. Whether to scold himself for his carelessness or to prevent himself from getting angry over Reese's snickering, that was up for grabs.

He reopened his eyes and shook his head. "Anyway, we must be going, (Y/n). And," he said quickly before she could argue. "It's not for the reasons you're thinking of."

(Y/n) highly doubted that.

"Matthews is"—she noticed him subtly wince—"Not exactly in the best mood right now. I'm afraid I'm unclear on the reason behind his rampage but he's tearing Fujikawa's rooms apart looking for him. I came to look for you in case you were caught in the fray. So it's best you come with me, (Y/n). One of the two will eventually come down here and I do not want you to be involved in that."

(Y/n) had a very good idea why Leon was so angry but she wasn't going to tell him that. "You know what would be a good idea? You can open this door and Reese and I can both be mushrooms growing in there."

"Can I be the cooler mushroom?" Reese called from behind the door. "I want to be a death cap!"

"Safety in numbers and they can't get in," (Y/n) plowed on. "It's a win-win for both of us—"

Tristan replied immediately. "Rejected."

"But why?! It's such a good idea!"

"Yeah!" Reese agreed. "I don't like eating mushrooms but I'd make a bloody fine one!"

"No, you a fungus," (Y/n) said.

"No, you."

The blue-haired male groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is exactly why I didn't want you two together."

"Well, sucks to suck, mister perfume ad," Reese chortled. "This wouldn't have happened if you brought me my pizza and strawberry ramune last time."

Tristan had reached his breaking point as (Y/n) cackled uncontrollably instead of stepping in to calm things down. He slammed a hand onto the door and leaned forward, a dark shadow falling across his face as his eye twitched.

"Speak of pizza one more time and I will render you biologically unable to retain life."

That was the closest thing to "go f*ck yourself" the two had heard from the stoic male, and it only made them laugh harder.

"And you!" He turned his furious gaze to the (h/c)-haired girl. There was a pink stain on his cheeks when he realized neither of the two was taking him seriously. "We're going to the top floor!"

"Are you going to make me biologically unable to retain life if I don't?" She sniggered.

"Fancy boy can't even say 'go die' like us plebeians," Reese smirked. "What an elitist."

"Bloody hell, you two!"

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A/N: I ran out of ideas for this chapter :v

7 more chapters until the endings I think. That's unreal :0 It also means this is the time to ask any questions, anything you're confused about. In the meantime, you should pray for Reese's roots by hitting that star over there and leaving some very inspirational and motivational comments ;))