#Yandere Deuce Spade

[mellowwillowy]

TWST x Self-aware Yan Cannibal AU Ft: Unhinged GN Reader

𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐲𝐮𝐥

Unbirthday party has always been a merry occasion for 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐲𝐮𝐥. Not only does he get to eat the strawberry tarts, but he also gets to have Trey's meat pie specialty.

Pigs who dared to enrage the tyrant by upsetting you, the law, are sent to the kitchen for the butcher and baker to process into something edible.

The card soldiers cheer in joy and anxiety, pleased to be able to taste the main course yet sweating over the idea of screwing up and ending up on the silver platter.

Yet part of them does not really mind if it's meant that they will be devoured by you, the law, their grace. Ace and Deuce have always irked Riddle but the sight of you smiling along with their pranks and mischiefs save them from the trouble they are about to face.

Cater will always upload it on magicam, boasting the sight of you enjoying your stay in 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐲𝐮𝐥 as you nibble on the tart. Baked and minced to your favorite, as usual. Trey and Cater sure know their way around this, memorizing how you like it by heart.

--

"Looks like you two are having a hard time cleaning the guillotine huh?" You stopped in front of the guillotine, watching the other students along with the ADeuce duo wiping the blade that had severed yet another pig for you to feast on soon.

"Uh yeah, troublesome as always, I hate having this bloody mess all over my hands." Deuce furrowed his eyebrows, waving his hands for you to see. Ace immediately elbowed Deuce, "Dude, you are splattering the blood all over me!"

You chuckled at the duo before turning back your focus on Riddle and his chaperones, "I assure you, those blood does taste good too if you know your way around it."

Trey and Cater raised their eyebrows and glanced at each other, seemingly knowing what they would present for you at the next Unbirthday party.

"Is that so? Then I'll make sure to have your Grace have a taste of it at our next tea party."

𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐰

It's only natural to see the beasts ripping the guts out of the prey with their bare fangs. 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐰 surely offers an entirely different vibe when it comes to banquets.

Until Leona signals them, the beasts are nothing but starving predators, ready to shred the prey into minced meat. But Leona is nothing but a calm and obedient beast when it comes to you, eagerly waiting for you to give him the accord.

One tilt of your head and a nod is all it takes for Leona to snap his fingers, the chosen beasts leaping toward the prey eagerly as their claws and fangs tore them apart.

Jack was the fiercest among the others, even more than his seniors. For someone who held an upright moral integrity, he had it revolved around you and all sense of justice had been laid onto the tip of your tongue.

Ruggie on the other hand only watched in amusement next to Leona, waiting for the next batch of captured prey to be feasted by him. He would not cut line and steal a bite of what's not given to him from you, oh nooo, he was a patient hyena.

Leona cocked his head to you, eyes focused on you while waiting for you to lock your eyes with his, "Should I grab one for you to eat too, your Grace?"

𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞

Mostro Lounge has always offered the best dining experience. It is not to be doubted again that 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞 is most definitely going to serve you the finest meal, personally handled and cooked by the Tweels.

And of course, those who fail to fulfill the terms of Azul's contract have to feel how the merfolks gut them, spilling their whole innards all over as they choose which part is considered the most delectable for you.

From the sophisticated look of the beverage, tinted dark red yet a hue of purple could be seen, giving it a pleasingly aesthetic look for you to fawn over before you drink it down.

On the silver platter was a heart, decorated with things you had no idea about but you had seen back in your world. Fancy diners always do that, you thought to yourself.

"Only the best part for your Grace." Jade bowed down as he adjusted the plate and utensils. Floyd was grinning from ear to ear as he dusted the sugar cube into your drink, "And something refreshingly sweet for ya' highness!"

You gave them a curt nod before slicing it, Floyd kneeling down next to you while his face rested on your chair's armrest, eyes glimmering in excitement as he waited for your feedback. Jade might not show it in his face but even you could notice how his feet tapped against the carpeted tile, something you'd never see from someone who could stand still for hours without moving like an inanimate object.

You gave them an approving nod and smile as you took a sip from the drink Floyd personally went over length to make for you, "Satisfactory as usual."

A pair of hands clasped on your shoulders from behind, Azul cooed right into your ear "But your Grace, surely it can go beyond that no? We'll make sure of that the next time you choose to feast here."

𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐚

Banquet has always been something that is always happening due to Kalim's nature and Jamil has never really found any joy from it.

But all that changes if the banquet is thrown for you. Oh, how the viper ensures himself to go beyond length in preparing the dishes. With Kalim's endless riches, he can use all sorts of ingredients one would never be able to obtain without spending a fortune for their rarity. Only the freshest and best ingredients are allowed to be used for your meal and so are the living meat of the students.

Everything must be set to a T. Kalim may not be a tyrant but when it comes to you? He's unconsciously pointing his fingers and brows scrunched at anything that is not abided by perfection. The lamps are not hung at the right angle, the pillows have not been changed into new pillows and the animals must be paraded in order and not roam like wild beasts. Anyone who just ever makes the slightest mistake will be sent straight to the kitchen as an ingredient. Had it not been for Jamil's suggestion to send them all bruiseless, they would have been beaten until they were nothing but pulp.

You were taking in the sight of the parade, everything was as amusing as you had always remembered. But the true highlight lay in Jamil's cooking, if you have to pinpoint the best cook in this twisted wonderland then it had to be Jamil. Unlike the finery of Mostro Longue, Jamil's cooking had a different feel to it. It was not as aesthetic yet it did not change the fact that it still looked pleasantly delicious. If Mostro Lounge accounted for the positioning of the food in a numerical and angle way, Jamil offered everything in a neat bulk. Curry, prata, shawarma, and all. Its display screamed for people to grab one yet no one dared to unless you ordered them to do so.

You cocked your head toward Kalim who was sitting right next to you, eyes glimmering in adoration as he drunk in your expression. Oh, would you finally like to have a bite? He held one of the shawarma out toward you with an empty plate in his other hand.

Jamil had ensured that there were 2 different platters, one for you which was made from the best ingredients and seasonings, while the other was less if compared to yours but still delicious nonetheless. One was made from meat and blood that had been considered the best while the other was made from those that failed to pass through the requirements.

You took a bite from his hand, savoring the taste of Jamil's hard work while enjoying the show of Kalim's tyranny. Truly, you love being able to taint your beloved sunshine.

"Say say, are you enjoying it all, your Grace? Not even a beat of music missed and all the food that sprawled across the room is ensured to be of the best quality." Kalim brought a goblet onto you and you held it in your hand. He gave you another grin that was just as blinding as the sun, his finger beckoned Jamil to pour you the carmine drink, squeezed from their cries of agony and pain before they were minced.

"But of course, your Grace has no need to hesitate to point something out if it's not to your liking," Jamil chimed in as he watched you swirl your goblet. The two of them stared right into your eyes, eyes enchanted by you despite one being an enchanter, "Because we seek only perfection for your Grace's taste."

𝐏𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐞

𝐏𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐞 prides themselves in their pitch-perfect diet. So what if their Grace has a different taste in the feast? All they have to do is readjust and tailor the whole dorm's diet to yours.

The fairest one of all, wearing a tiara that shines even brighter than any tiaras Vil has ever seen, truly living up to the radiance you emit just from sitting on the very throne with him standing right next to you.

It appeared that preparing a banquet was a huge feat for 𝐏𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐞 as they were divided into 2 teams. Team One prepared the whole occasion while Team Two flocked toward you, amusing you with a theatric show as you watched them from your throne.

It appeared that Rook's fascination with the world of theatrics and you worked really well as he 'acted' out the role of a lover professing his love toward the protagonist really well. Strings of bizarre praises and wishes rolled from the tip of his tongue smoothly as though it was by nature for him to act so already.

Epel on the other hand was all energized to drag the qualified livestock into the kitchen after Vil had inspected them all personally. The livestock was to be of a healthy diet, bruiseless and ailment-free before it was allowed to be cooked and feasted by the Grace.

The moment Rook was notified that the whole banquet was ready, a trumpet was blown and you were led to the dining hall which had been decorated to match your attire. Were you wearing something cute, pure, sexy, cool, or pop? Either way, 𝐏𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐞 never missed a beat in losing its elegance no matter what the theme was.

"Allow me," Rook pulled the chair for you to sit on before he readjusted the platter asymmetrically. Right next to your seat on the right was Vil sitting while the rest of the body stood, not daring to sit unless you allowed them to.

Seeing Epel all giddy observing you, you beckoned him to come to you and he whispered into your ear, "I seasoned it!"

You cocked a questioning eyebrow toward Vil and he could only sigh with a chuckle, "Oh what will I do with your Grace's taste bud?"

Rook poured a carmine red fluid into your glass, its smell told you that it was not made just from a fine wine but rather, a fine blood.

"A fine cocktail of white wine, dyed with a carmine golden drop, hand-picked and squeezed personally by me. Truly, your favorite, your Grace."

𝐈𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐡𝐲𝐝𝐞

Honestly, what do you even expect from all these anti-socials? They are nothing but a bunch of hikikomori yet the Shroud Brothers just know how to surprise you!

Unlike the impractical methods that the others use to earn just a golden drop of blood from the livestock, the dorm has created countless practical devices that help them to create something quickly.

Compressors that grind down the gutless livestock into a fine drink. Shredders that allow them to save time from having to shred from chunk by chunk. And a practical inspection device that helps Idia sort out the best for you to feast on.

Ortho had to be the most eager one of all, singing non-stop as he ensured all were to be finished quickly when you informed him that you would be choosing 𝐈𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐡𝐲𝐝𝐞 for your next banquet.

They specialized in efficiency and speed but that did not mean they lacked the skill of cooking a delicious dish. While it may be pale when compared to other dorms, 𝐈𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐡𝐲𝐝𝐞 is a great option for when you are craving for something and want it to be on your plate in a short moment. They might not score 12/10 but they were able to at the very least score 8/10. Surprised much? Ortho had been practicing how to cook and all from the data Idia inputted into him.

"Uurgh.. uhh... y-your Grace... so what is the verdict? A level up? Or an increase in the ranking board? O-Ortho is really expecting your answer..."

You raised your eyebrows at his stuttering, "Getting better," you stopped for a moment to chew again, "and delicious."

Ortho immediately leaped toward you from Idia's back, causing him to squeak, his metal arms wrapped around your neck, "I'm glad! Please keep on coming here and I'll make sure to be the best cook you'll ever have!"

Idia brought a napkin over to your face, "Yes... should your Grace ever need for a quick meal, please come by... Me and Ortho... and Ortho... will always be ready at your disposal."

But who were you but the all-knowing God, you knew there was a slight taint of blot in your meal, Ortho, you assumed.

𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐧𝐢𝐚

Lilia has to stay away from the kitchen. But don't worry, the bat is entrusted with hunting down livestock for the youngsters to process into something edible.

Malleus on the other hand is ready to strike anyone down with lightning should they make the slightest mistake in the banquet preparation.

Sebek is in charge of inspecting the livestock while Silver is in charge of the most gruesome part of the job (which was appointed by you for fun.) which is gutting. Surely tainting someone so pure like him has to be your favorite feast.

The candles on the table were all lit in emerald hue, fireflies surrounded you as Lilia levitated around you, joyously guiding you toward the dining table.

There you could see Malleus sitting on the second host seat, his hand prompts you to take a seat across from him. Lilia pulled the chair for you to sit before Silver walked out of nowhere, holding a plate of dishes for you to feast on.

Sebek on the other hand had been arranged to stand right next to Malleus, part of him was happy yet part of him envied Silver. Nonetheless, no barks had ever slipped past through his sealed lip.

"Kukuku, the boys went through great details and length in preparing this whole banquet, well, me included. It was fun hunting down these livestock for you," His index finger felt your platter, "it makes me feel like I must pick the ripest for you... feeding you... aa~"

Soon, he brought a forkful of meat sliced by SIlver earlier while you were distracted by Lilia. Malleus smiled at your dazed-out face and the way realization washed over you.

"May your Grace enjoy the blessing that you have graced us tonight." Malleus raised his goblet, urging you to do just the same.

"Cheers!" Lilia wiped your mouth with the napkin, Silver's hand holding out your filled goblet.

𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐲 ???

"My words! Did you have fun, hm?" Crowley immediately lunged toward you the moment you entered his office. He gave you the cutest pout you could ever see from him, his cheek rubbed against yours repeatedly.

"Are you jealous, Dire?"

"Of course not! How can someone as magnanimous as I, be jealous of my own fledglings?" And as though to prove to you his seriousness, he even posed ridiculously with his staff.

You cackled at him before giving him a kiss on his cheek, "I'm home, Dire."

Crowley stopped acting up and turned serene, giving you a smile that didn't seem to reach his eyes.

"Welcome home, Master. Dinner's ready as usual."

Oh old times... ???

[dotster001]

When You Escape Him...

Summary: Yandere Heartslaybul boys x gn!reader. He adopts a child that looks like the two of you. You run to give you both a chance at life. You never expected him to find you years later.

CW: Yandere, baby trapping through adoption, kidnapping, allusions to past abuse, drugging, injury to reader (Cater's part), manipulation

Savanaclaw Octavinelle Scarabia Pomefiore Ignihyde Diasomnia Non NRC Staff

Three years into your relationship, he had come home and placed a baby in your arms.

"They were left in a box, all alone. And, well, he looks like if the two of us had a child," he sheepishly stared at the ground. "I just, I just figured it must be a gift from the seven."

You knew what he was trying to do. He was trying to tie himself to you through this boy. He looked just like him, and you were disgusted and scared.

Until he opened his eyes for the first time, and you found yourself staring into your own. 

And you knew. You had to give this child the opportunity for a better life. A life without him.

In the end, your son did the opposite of what he had intended. And the first moment you could, the two of you had escaped.

Your son's hair was as red as his "father's". He was the spitting image of him. He was only five,  yet the resemblance was so strong, there were moments where you would be filled with terror. But then you'd see your eyes staring back at you, and you'd calm down.

Despite the resemblance, he was a sweet, innocent thing. You didn't even think he was capable of anger. So easy going. So mellow. Sevens, you loved your boy.

But that sweet nature could cause trouble sometimes.

You were scrolling through your phone, trying to find an odd job so that you could pay the rent. Sunset Savannah rent was low, but still. When you were trying to stay off the grid, and moved every couple months, money was hard to come by.

Your son entered the room, smiling brightly.

"There's a man at the door who wants to talk to you. He says it's important."

"Baby, I told you not to open the door without me. It's dangerous." And also inconvenient. You'd rather your landlord not know you were home.

"I'm sorry," his lower lip quivered, and you quickly wrapped him in a hug.

"It's alright, love, just don't do it again. Stay here, I'll go talk to him."

You left him on the sofa. And went to the door that your son had left open. You put on a strained smile, and prepared to greet your landlord.

"Sorry for the wait-" you cut yourself off as icy terror filled your veins. Your eyes met Riddles, and you prepared for the worst. The shouting. The beheading. And if he was in his worst mood, his staff would come into play. Which, considering you'd escaped him for five years, he was definitely in a worse mood.

You'd been so careful! Had you gotten sloppy? Complacent? You didn't think you had. You knew Riddle had the money to pursue you, but you had hoped that since you had escaped the country, you would be past his sphere of influence.

You continued to stare, gritting your teeth for what was to come, but you were immediately shocked as he released a sob, and wrapped his arms around you, his tears soaking your shirt.

"I thought I'd lost you forever," he whispered, his grip tightening so much that you thought he was trying to break your ribs.

"Please don't cry, it's okay!" 

Oh, your sweet boy. Your poor sweet baby boy.

Riddle pulled away, and crouched to your son's level.

"I'm your father."

Your son's eyes widened. You'd tried to make the idea of two parents a foreign concept, but children had a way of talking. So the idea that he had a second parent, who came for him, made his eyes sparkle in delight.

Riddle scooped him up in his arms, and turned to go.

"Let's go home," he whispered, and the final piece of hope you'd been sustaining finally died.

You'd gotten forgetful. 

A large family like the Clover's, all of whom had chocolate centers, would have a large network of acquaintance's.

Even out here, in the middle of the countryside, it wasn't outside the realm of possibility.

As you were realizing now. All it would take was one person to recognize the "oldest Clover's missing spouse" and then it would be over. 

And your son…he looked like a Clover, even if he wasn't one biologically. One peek at him, it would be over, again.

As you realized now that you'd clearly fallen into a trap.

Your new neighbor had invited you and your son for tea. And you were so tired. So tired of running, of not having roots, that you had agreed. What could go wrong with a tea party?

Everything.

You entered the room, and there he was, already seated at the table. Giving you a very disappointed look.

"Thank you, Meredith. Can we have a moment alone?"

Your son wasn't old. But a ten year old like him was smart enough to see the resemblance between himself and the man before him. Even if it was a coincidence.

You had intended to tell him the truth about his "father" in a year or two.

But now he'd never believe you. With the warm smile on Trey's face as he opened his arms, your son would never believe the relationship was built on manipulation and perfectly hidden drugs. Someone with a smile as warm as Trey's would never do anything like that.

Your son ran into his arms, happily explaining about how happy he was to finally meet "daddy".

Meanwhile, Trey stared at you, his eyes cold as he held your son tighter. 

"Y/N," he finally said, his voice firm in the way that told you he was out of patience. "Drink your tea."

You stared at the pretty porcelain cup that sat waiting on the table. You had guesses of what would happen if you drank it. It would all be over. Ten years of hiding for nothing. But he had your son. It wasn't like you could go anywhere.

Your feet felt like they were weighed down with concrete blocks as you walked over to the cup, sat, and brought it to your lips with trembling fingers.

The black invading your vision was almost immediate, and you heard Trey explaining to your son, "An evil man stole you both from me. Their medicine will make them sleepy, but when they wake up we can finally be a family."

You didn't even have a phone. You changed your hair every few months. You wore a mask in public. Because you knew the second a photo of you made its way onto the internet, it would be over.

Your son had wanted a phone when he was about ten. And you'd been able to push it off until he reached thirteen, when you'd say him down and told him about the man who wanted to be his father. 

He was young, but when he heard how this man hurt you, and took you away from the people you loved, he understood quickly. 

Your boy was smart. And he was a responsible kid. So he never asked for a phone again.

He was fifteen  now. He was a smart boy, and very protective over you. He always joked that if he and Cater were ever in the same room, he'd punch him in the stomach. 

The two of you were at the store, getting groceries. You saw a flash of ginger hair out of the corner of your eye, but told yourself it was just your son's hair. The second and third ginger flashes were harder to ignore.

You shared a look with your son, and made a rush to the exit.

...Unfortunately, running straight into a crowd of ginger hair. Multiple Caters pinned you both down, pressing rags to your mouths, making you sleep.

When you woke up, you found yourself tied to a chair in a dark room.

"You're up."

His voice was far more bitter than you were used to, but you'd recognize it anywhere.

Cater stood from the corner he was seated in, and made his way over to you. A loud crack filled the room, and you didn't quite realize what had happened until your cheek began to sting, and you met his furious eyes as he shook with rage.

No matter what was wrong with your relationship, he had never laid a hand on you.  

"You promised me!" He screamed. "You promised I wouldn't have to be alone anymore!"

Another crack filled the room, and your cheek began to feel numb.

"We were supposed to be a family, Y/N!  The three of us, together! And you turned him against me!"

He raised his hand to slap you again, but froze with a sob. He collapsed burying his face in your lap as he sobbed. 

"Why? Why do you both hate me? Am I not good enough?" He cried, his voice cracking and choking as he spoke. "I'll be better! I'll be whoever you need me to be!"

You could only imagine how the reunion with your son had gone if he was like this already. You hoped he was behaving, so the both of you could reunite and figure out how to escape.

But if the multiple pairs of emerald eyes watching Cater sob in your lap were anything to go by, you were never going to be alone ever again.

Once you'd crossed the border of the country, you hadn't expected to ever run into Ace again. It wasn't that he was poor, per say, it was just that he wouldn't have the means to search for you forever. Private investigators were expensive. And it wasn't like he actually cared. 

At least that's how it felt. After one day of having your son, he admitted he was already bored, he just wanted to tie you to him. And he had told you every day of your relationship that he you were only together because he felt bad that you would never have anyone else who cares about you.

The longer you were away from him, the more your brain cleared, the more you realized that he probably did care. Quite a lot. But it was the tactic he used to make you dependent on him.

You were embarrassed by how well it had worked….

Your son was college aged now. He had received an invitation to NRC, but had turned it down in favor of protecting you. You were so grateful, and had worked with a friend who knew your situation to get him into a university without being able to tie it back to you.

You currently lived alone in your apartment. This evening, you were reading a book that your son had recommended, as you ate a basic dinner. There was a knock on the door, and you gently put your bookmark in.

You opened the door to three officers…one of them you unfortunately recognized.

"Deuce," you pleaded, and he looked everywhere but you.

"I'm sorry Y/N, I really am," he cleared his throat, and in his official voice. "Y/N Trappola. You have been missing for nineteen years. You must come with me for questioning."

There would be no questioning. He'd take you back, and drop you off with Ace. The wording was just in case one of your neighbors came to see what was going on.

The trip was long. And Deuce had tried to get you to tell him where your boy was. A sign that Ace actually cares, despite his cruel words. 

He'd eventually dug through your phone, and figured out who he was based on your messages back and forth. He'd called him, and given him an address to come meet you at.

"Remember when you were my friend too?" You spat at Deuce. It hurt him, you could tell, but you wanted it to hurt as much as you would inevitably hurt once you were back with Ace.

You happened to both arrive at the house at the same time. Your son looked between you and, at least to him, the unknown officer, but kept his mouth shut. 

The three of you walked up to the door together in silence. Deuce knocked on the door, and it was only a moment before he opened it.

He laughed hysterically. "Oh seven, you really found them! I can't believe you actually did it!"

He grinned at your son.

"Hah! You look just like your old man."

Your son growled. "You're not my old man."

"Hee hee, you're feisty like me too!" Ace grinned. Then he turned to you, affecting a look that was saying 'I'm not mad just disappointed'.

"Y/N," he said, his tone a threat in itself. "I'm sure you know how upset I am with you. How are you gonna make it up to me?"

Your son pulled his pen, but Ace was faster, throwing a painless stun spell at him.

He shook his head in mock disappointment.

"You really raised him all wrong, didn't you Y/N? Oh well, I guess I don't mind fixing both of you."

You'd thought once you crossed the border, you'd be safe. You hadn't realized that Deuce would have made friends in his time as an officer, and could use those connections to find you.

To your credit, you'd made it awhile before his investigator colleague had found the two of you.

But you'd hoped you could hide forever. Five years felt like nothing.

You'd paid your neighbor to watch your son while you went out for groceries, and were startled to see her not with him.

"Hm? Oh, his father relieved me of duty," she laughed, until she saw the distress on your face.

"Y/N?" 

You ran to your apartment, practically busting the door down. You found Deuce sitting with your sleeping son, staring at him as though he would disappear if he looked away.

"Hey Y/N," he hummed, still not looking at you. "What did I do wrong?"

The question floored you. It was on brand. He never knew what he was doing wrong with your relationship. Which made it easy for you to forgive him early on. But you couldn't ignore how he was hurting you forever.

"Deuce. Give him to me."

You slowly approached him like you'd approach a wild dog.

"Was it something I said?" He looked up at you with heartbroken eyes. "I didn't mean to. I promise I'll be better."

He stood up, and approached you.

"Come home, Y/N. We can start over."

You couldn't risk triggering his delinquent mode while he was holding your sleeping son. And it wasn't like you could hide again, not without leaving the sleeping angel behind.

And you didn't doubt that this time he'd do whatever was in his power to catch you if you ran.

"Give me my son," you whispered.

"Our son," he said firmly, and you froze, breathing deeply to try and calm him down.

"Our son," you repeated softly. You held out your hands, and he scrutinized you with a cold look.

"No. I'll hold on to him," he said, shifting away from you. "I just can't trust you anymore."

Normally, you'd have snapped at him that you could never trust him. But he had the advantage.

"Please, Deucey," you simpered, hoping his affection for you could still cloud his judgment.

"I'll think about it when we get home," he said with a soft smile. He stood up, and walked over to you, nuzzling your noses together. 

"C'mon,Y/N, let's go home," he calmly walked out with your son in his arms. What else could you do but follow?

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Hiii love ur writing could you do reader with bad eye sight handing them things and saying "read this for me" but like the boys not knowing that the reader has bad eyesight so there just confused with the first years

Thanks! 🖤🖤🖤🖤

Bad Eyesight | Yandere Twisted Wonderland

Being in a world without your glasses or contacts is hard. But being in a world where you’re incredibly poor and unable to actually ask for help without being a burden. When it becomes known that you’re struggling it will be up to your admirers to help you or take advantage of you:

Deuce Spade

“Hey Deuce will you read this for me, real fast?”

“Uhm sure.”

“Thanks I really appreciate it!”

The first few times he doesn’t mind

Its a task he can do easily

Receiving praise from you is so easily won

But he starts noticing after a few people correct what you’re seeing or rereading instructions for you

At this revelation he more than likely will valiantly try to read everything and point things out for you

He doesn’t usually try taking advantage of you

“Hey Deuce will you-?”

“No problem! What a cute envelope! It’s almost like it’s a love-”

“So what does it say?”

“AH! UHM! It’s….a….uh DEATH THREAT! Let’s go!”

He doesn’t like deceiving you but your also relying on his protection so…

“As far as I’m concerned. I’m their protector, so I have to make the hard decisions.”

Jack Howl

“(Y/n)?”

“Yes?”

“Can you read this?”

“Uhm…sure. It says: Warning!”

“Now the actual warning.”

“Uh…don’t…uh….consume?”

“That’s what I thought.”

Since he’s become your friend future mate

Monitoring your odd behaviors is what he’s all about

Acting immediately when it’s harmful for you

You’re bumping into things and misrecognizing people

This is getting bad….he’ll have to talk to Crowley

“Hey Jack?”

“Yes?”

 “Could you uhm guide me a little? I don’t want to trip up in front of everyone.”

“Sure you can hold my…arm.”

Maybe he’ll wait just a little bit longer to tell him

After all you have him to help so its not that urgent

“You’ll have to wait to go with me, (Y/n). It just isn’t safe not to. You understand don’t you (Y/n)?”

[writingforatwistedworld]

oooo ok ok ok

so what bout a platonic deuce, epel, and lilia with a gn reader that kinda talks out loud to themselves when they play?

like they say how much they want to be this character's brother, or how they bet this character would be a good parental figure, etc. or even when another character says/does something they don't like they kinda just, voice their opinion on it?

just their reaction to reader talking out loud/voicing their thoughts lmao srry if this doesn't make sense

Self-aware au

I do not take any responsibility for you reading this no matter which age group you are from!

WARNINGS: Yandere themes, violence, description of violence, obsessive themes, religion, war (if you squint)

Deuce Spade/Epel Felmier/Lilia Vanrouge-Player voicing their thoughts whilst playing (PLATONIC!)

Deuce is a calm guy, they said. Deuce is a chill guy, they said

Well whoever they are haven't seen him when you are around, behind the screen or not

This guy is just happy that you confide in him enough that you voice your thoughts to him

Don't mention that you are just on venting-you-thoughts mode when you play… Like seriously, don't.

He is always more than happy to listen whenever you are talking.

Could be about how much you like his newest card design but could also be about what you want for dinner. Idk? I would recommend something light like banana muffins with blueberries. It's very tasty. Trust me.

If you could see through the coding he would be like “Oh really.” and “You don't say.” or “What? Really?”

What I am trying to say is that he is probably more engaged in this “conversation than most would be

If some poor NPC “interrupts” (aka not heating what he is hearing and starting to talk) he will show them how fragile the ordinary human nose is. In other words, fist meet face. Nose make crack. NPC is screaming.

But on another note, should you voice wishing to be a family member of his, say for example his sibling, he would be over the moon

He is in lalaland, imagining how he and his younger siblings would enjoy their free time together. Heck, probably taking care of some chicks

Oh, and what if you were his older sibling? Like, wow, you would be such a cool role model! You probably wouldn't be a thug like him so that makes you even… cooler (?) in his eyes

Dude over here is having such a great time imagining being your sibling he is low-key looking like he ascended

But then he starts to imagine the darker sides of life

Like how his younger sibling could be bullied in school whilst he is stuck on this island

Or even worse if you are the older one of you two, you might start dating!

I don't know if it is funny or sad that he is feeling a sensation of loss over a sibling he never had

Like bro, chill. Don't beat up that student that looks similar to the imaginary partner you just made up in your mind. They can't be held accountable for your min-OH NO DON… Didn't he want to stop with this?

Epel is literally frothing at his mouth when he hears your innermost thoughts

Now now, I know this is creepy (like wtf get yourself together man) but I promise he is totally normal (who am I kidding he looks like he has rabies) and is also a totally chill guy (is it obvious that I am lying?)

Religious indoctrination or whatnot

Imagine, you are already isolated in a village filled with religious zealots, always hearing how great that person (you) is

And then they spill everything on their mind to you

Give him a day or two and he will be back to normal… if we ignore that poor student in the corner

Like man, you noted one single time how much you liked this NPCs design and the next thing he knows he is seeing red

It's kinda like seeing your favorite family member favoring that one annoying cousin who is related to you over five corners

Has a notebook and writes everything he deems important down… which is a lot to be fair (but let the guy have his weird hobby, ok?)

But then you mention how you wish you were a family member of his and oh my god I think he is this close to breaking the fourth wall for real this time

This hits home to him

Remember how I told you about his village's eight lines higher than this one? Yeah.

There had been others his age but they were little to none and his village is in the middle of nowhere so…

But we also know how much he loves his grandma so it is a given that he would cherish you as well

Also, his god saying that they would want to be related to him. Ugh. He is honored so much that it is disgusting

But I could see this isolation and certain closeness you only get with a sibling also being not so good for you

What if you like the other villagers your age more than him? What if his girly appearance drives you away from him? (Bro u probably more dangerous with those looks than without them bc no one expects you to be able to throw hands but go on)

This leads to more and more self-doubts until he more or less bursts and just turns into someone no one wants to be around because of how aggressive he is

Thank god for the fourth wall or else you wouldn't see him like his old, not-so-destructive self anymore

Lilia is… something

His interest in you isn't purely romantic. It started out as something more like him holding onto something so he wouldn't go mad during “those days” *add fire noises and screaming in the background*

So it's more of a “I BETTER BELIEVE IN SOMETHING OR ELSE I MIGHT LOOSE MY MIND” than “Omg I am such a good follower te-he” situation

Little to no one has had access to the Overseer's thoughts and he is just randomly hearing them whilst thinking about what to make for dinner

Like Epel, he is pretty intense when it comes to you. Difference is that Epels “interest” in you stems from a place of… let's say religious views and Lilias from “those days” *fire noises and screaming in the background intensifies*

But unlike the guy who more or less shares his height and is a cotton candy version of himself concerning their hair he doesn't write down your thoughts

Oh no

This guy listens to it like he is hearing the world's greatest opera singer perform live in front of him

Thank goodness no one other than the other Diasomnia students mention your ramblings or else there would be heads flying

What? Can't a guy hope to have some special link to his deity? God, you all are so cold. Can't you even try to see his perspective? (I am joking please don't do what he does your reaction is totally valid)

But then you once mentioned how much you want to be part of his little family and whoops- there went his sanity

What if he had adopted you and Silver at the same time?

Wouldn't that be the cutest?

Sebek is almost screaming when he suddenly hears *ahem* LILIA-SAMA cooing at nothing out of nowhere

You two would be so cute growing up together and he would be the one honored to be this close to some kind of reincarnation of his God

But- but what if he was the only one knowing who you truly were? The other Faes (Malleus and Sebek being the exceptions) can't hear you so what if… what if you were also seen as some sort of weird outsider like Silver?

Don't get him wrong, the Faes have never shown hostility to his son but there was always that certain distance, Sebek and his family being one of the few accepting the young silver-haired knight as he was

Suddenly Lilia feels a certain kind of rage bubbling up to the surface like he hadn't felt in a long time

Silver… uh… you better hide that meatclea- *coughcough* I mean, legendary sword from your father

[del-thetiredwriter]

Mafia au/ Good Luck while running away from the mafia part 1

Intro , part 0.5 , part 2 , part 3

Notes: Guess what I’m back . To be honest I didn’t quite like it but anyway I’m posting it and I can’t write fight scenes (￣▽￣;). It’s so exhausting.

Tags: @loivre , @randomlyappearingartist , @serenity-loves-red , @hasty-desert , @moonlight-nightwing , @hrhqueenfox , @oceanside-pixie

Warning: cursing, fighting, blood, shooting, Yandere stuff…

“Riddle-san, what are you doing, sir?”

At the question, Riddle briefly lifted his eyes from the documents and looked at you.

“I was just wondering about a thing.” He replied.

You looked around at the files arranged in order. All of them had one thing in common: betrayal, crime, wrong, etc. against the organizations punishments .

“I was really curious about what caught Riddle-san's attention. What could possibly make you go through even the files from the old manager Trein-sensei's time?"

Riddle smiled.

"Don't worry, you'll find out soon." said Riddle.

You were suddenly startled by the sound of footsteps. Apparently you fell asleep. You're not normally someone who sleeps a lot, but for the past two weeks you haven't been able to sleep properly.

After leaving the organization or rather escaping, you temporarily settled in a remote coastal city where you hoped they'd find you a little late. With a little help, you changed your identity, your phone line, everything. You've removed everything that indicates Y/n L/n.

Life here was calmer compared to your old life. You wished you could stay here forever. But you knew they would find you eventually. You lived ,one night in your sleep afraid that they would find you at your most vulnerable moment.

You were currently working in a cafe. Although it may seem a little illogical, working at the cafe, which was open until midnight, was actually a little better for you. The more people around you, the easier it is to avoid them.

"Yo!" You turned the way you came. Your colleague Alex was glaring at you with his arms folded.

“Yuu, what are you doing in the camera room again, are you skipping work again?”

'Yuu' is your new identity that you created to make it harder for them to find you while running away. You still had a hard time getting used to the name.

“No, Alex. I just- "

"Anyway, I'm going downstairs. You have the upstairs okay?"

You nodded and Alex left the room. You looked at the clock, it was 10:00 pm. You stretched yourself and yawned. Two more hours until the end of the shift.

As you were about to get up, your eyes were caught by the cameras. Your eyes widened in panic at what you saw. You watched three people enter the cafe. You'll recognize those red hair, those grins, those faces wherever you see them. Heartslabyul found you. No, they all found you. You clenched your teeth, your time was limited.

The reason you spent most of your time in the camera room was because you could see everything from here. You quickly grabbed your gun from the locked drawer and loaded it. Deuce and Cater took a table downstairs near the front exit. Ace was walking up the stairs.

You took a deep breath. You should have thought fast. You should have gotten out of here . But for that you had to go down the stairs first.

You went behind the door and waited. You waited for Ace to find you.

Look at the cameras. It was approaching. You gripped your gun tightly. And the door opened. You punched the poor boy in the face as the door opened.

“Agh-“ A bitter moan broke out from Ace.

Before he could draw his gun, you kicked him in the stomach and dropped it to the ground.

“Agh- it's been a long time and the first thing you do when you see me is attack me? Really Y/n.” Ace grinned . Clutching his nose, which was bleeding from your punch.

You muttered, "Bastard."

“Come on Y/n didn't you miss me? I missed you so much." He tried to punch you, but you avoided him. You both started to struggle. Ace might have been strong, but you were more experienced and stronger than him. You grabbed him by the head and knocked him to the ground. Before he could regain his balance, you took his tie and tied him with it.

“What am I going to miss about you, you sadistic bastard!”

You picked up the gun on the ground.

“What? Are you going to shoot me ?” Ace said in a tone you didn't like.

“You have to stop asking questions you know the answer to.”

At 11:00 pm, screams broke out in a cafe with the sound of 'bang' gunfire. Everyone in the cafe began to flee desperately, except for two people. The two men, one with red hair and the other with black hair, started to make their way to the upper floor of the cafe.

“Do you think who shot whom, hmm~” Cater asked the younger one.

As the two of them went upstairs, the power went out suddenly and the whole cafe was plunged into darkness.

“Looks like Y/n-chan won.” said Cater to himself.

“Let's separate . You stay here, Y/n has to use the stairs before they can get out of the cafe.” Cater instructed.

“Okay, sir.” said Deuce.

You held your breath under the table. You waited for Cater's footsteps to go away. You were the one who cut the electricity. Five minutes later the generator would start working . You should have gotten out of here by then. Finally, making sure that Cater was far enough away, you slowly came out from under the table. No matter how hard you tried not to make a sound, Deuce heard you.

“Y/n? Is this you ?"

Now that his eyes were accustomed to the dark, he could barely make out your silhouette. Everything happened so abruptly. You took a chair and hit Deuce with it. While he was stunned by the blow, you ran downstairs with your names and the electricity came back. Your five minutes were up.

When the lights were turned on, an unexpected sight was in front of you.

Riddle was sitting at a table eating strawberry pie as if nothing had happened.

“Ah, Y/n you finally came down. I was getting really bored waiting for you.” He said while taking a slice of the pie.

You pointed your gun at him. "Get out of my way if you don't-"

"It's been a long time since we've seen each other, Y/n, but will you put that gun down?" A familiar voice said as you turned around and saw Trey pointing his gun at you. As always, even in this state, he was smiling gently at you.

“Tch. What do you want ? Why are you here?" You asked questions that you know very well the answer to.

Riddle smiled.

“Y/n L/n you are posing a great danger to the organization right now. You also have cases of injuring my men. You understand what I'm trying to say, right?"

"Get out of my way or I'll shoot you."

Riddle laughed.

“You won’t t kill me, you can't. Just like we can't do to you. Now if you drop that gun, I'll do my best to mitigate your sentence."

This was clearly a lie. You grit your teeth. You smiled calmly and did as he said. You slowly put your gun down and raised your hands in the air.

“Well done, here it is. I wish you would always listen to my words like this. Now let's go back." said Riddle.

“Sorry Riddle but I won't be back!” You said and detonated the smoke bomb you were hiding. The area was suddenly covered with fog. You quickly walked out the front door through that mess and got into your car.

“Get them quick!” Riddle shouted.

You quickly drove away. There was no turning back anymore. The Game has started.

[yanderes-galore]

platonic yandere deuce spade for a yuu reader? he knows he's caused you more than his fair share of trouble, and he regrets that, but he also knows just how little you have to your name- both in terms of actual possessions and power. you always seem to end up in danger. i'm imagining a sort of tug of war between his old delinquent behavior and his desire to be a better person.

Sure! This could be fun :) Been a bit since I've seen Twisted Wonderland so things may be OOC? Not sure, you be the judge.

Yandere! Platonic! Deuce Spade with Yuu! Darling

Pairing: Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Overprotective behavior, Manipulation, Violence, Dubious companionship.

I do have a feeling Deuce ends up having to fight with himself when it comes to his obsession.

He's so used to using violence to solve his problems that he struggles a bit.

I personally feel Deuce and Ace aid each other in their obsessions when it comes to a Darling who replaces Yuu.

However, while Ace may try to ease Deuce's worries in this, even he may get concerned about Deuce snapping at times.

Deuce tries to be his usual self around you, a nice kid who wants to turn things around.

He does indeed know that he, Ace, and Grim tend to drag you into trouble... and he does hate that it keeps happening.

Deuce also pities the fact that you get dragged into everyone's problems in NRC.

You have nothing to your name here due to coming from another dimension.

You also don't have a good grip on magic.

All of which makes Deuce an overprotective friend.

After all... everyone can take advantage of you here.

Even he at times feels he is.

You can imagine he snaps at Ace and Grim when they do, too.

Deuce tries to ease his concerns in a calm way.

He works hard to check in on you and not be a burden.

But when he sees others get too close to you... he finds his eye twitching while he tries to distract himself.

He can be trigger happy at times due to his past.

Despite this, he tries his best to be a good friend to you.

Deuce tries to hide his more aggressive delinquent side around you.

Although he'd probably beat someone up out of your sight just to make sure no one causes you any trouble.

It's like having a secret bodyguard (two if Ace is included).

Deuce may originally fight with himself on if he should give into darker desires or not.

However, with time he just opts for hiding it away from you.

While he smiles towards you with such sweet intentions, he's getting his hands bloody just to look after you.

Deuce isn't cruel, he is caring.

Yet his instincts tell him that sometimes he has to be a bit of a bully to protect you.

You're vulnerable without his help!

You take notice of his change in behavior at times.

He appears annoyed when you're pestered for things and seems to mask how he really feels a lot.

Deuce with a Yuu! Darling is protective and willing to do anything to keep you happy in such an unknown world.

He knows beating others up away from your view isn't the best way to do it...

Yet he knows you need him... so he'll do anything for you and your well-being... it's what friends are for, no?

[4e7her]

october writing prompt #24 - "they keep looking at you.”

-

character: deuce spade, twst

contains: yandere themes, gn reader, established relationship, overprotective deuce + he's kinda pathetic ngl

"They keep looking at you. Should I go do something about it? I should go... talk to them, right?"

You hardly get a chance to glance over at Deuce before he's moving, stalking towards a group hanging around a nearby classroom door. To you, it looked more like they were waiting for their next class to start, but only the Seven could know what was going through your boyfriend's head.

"Deuce, no."

He pauses in his steps as soon as he hears your voice, head snapping back to look at you with puppy-dog eyes. Like he wasn't about to go rough up a group of your classmates simply because they glanced your way.

"But... they were definitely looking at you. I should at least figure out why. They don't deserve it."

"What, to look at me? It's a free world, Deuce. You can't just blind them." You sigh, and send him a glare when he starts to look at you hopefully. "That was not a suggestion. Calm down."

"But..."

"No. But nothing. Leave them alone, love."

He looks placated by the pet name, but he's still pouting as he drags himself back to your side, clingily attaching himself to your side and draping himself over you as best he can like it'll hide you from sight. You pinch his cheek when you see him start glaring over at the group again, clicking your tongue in disappointment.

"Fine. Fine, I'm stopping." Deuce mumbles, sticking his head into the crook of your neck, huffing. He still only calms back down once you start running your hands through his hair, silently reassuring him that you were there.

[forgwater]

Bleeding Hearts

~Bleeding Hearts Masterlist~

Deuce x (gn)Reader

Warnings: This story contains yandere themes and behaviors.

a/n: the randomizer said Deuce gets the first fic so here it is!

….Is there someone in your house?....

Saliva builds thickly in your mouth and throat, only made worse by your slow, yet at the same time fast breathing; ragged and shallow. The fog in your racing mind does not alleviate any of your dark thoughts.

‘No, it’s fine.’ You try to calm yourself.

Maybe… you just left the door unlocked?

‘Why is it open then?!-’

No.

Calm.

There has to be a simple, inoffensive explanation for this.

Maybe there’s no one in there and you’re just worried for no reason!

Right?!... right.

Willing your uncooperative legs in the direction of your residence, you approach the old wooden entrance.

Steeling your nerves and shaking hand, you attempt to push open the creaking door. Only for it to be grabbed and strongly swung open by the intruder.

The air leaves you and you don’t know if you just screamed out loud or if your vocal cords have failed you. Either way, your eyes are suspended in shock and terror.

Luckily for you, though, you are met with a pair of blue eyes.

Eyes that you recognize. Eyes that look just as shocked as yours.

“Deuce!” you scold the poor guy, relief and anger both evident on your face.

“Oh! Hey!” he looks far too nervous to give you proper answer.

“Don’t ‘hey’ me! What are you doing in my house?!” you cross your arms at him and he swears you’ve never looked cuter.

“I- um- I was just returning your key!” he explains.

“My… key?...” Confusion.

“Yeah! You… you left it at my dorm the last time you visited!” You don’t know why, but the smile on his face seems a little strained.

“I… did?” suspicion rises within you.

“Yes, you did. Aaand I… returned it.”

“You… returned it. By letting yourself into Ramshackle just like that?”

That’s a weird way of returning a key.

Should… should you really press him on this?

What if he actually has bad intentions- No! It’s Deuce we’re talking about! He wouldn’t do anything of the sort! It’s nonsense! He wouldn’t hurt you. He’s your friend! One of your closest friends too! You’re just thinking too much. Maybe he just made a mistake, didn’t consider you’d freak out.

He does have a tendency to rush into things without thinking first.

It’s fine. Mistakes happen.

“I just…” he’s avoiding looking at you, opting to pay attention to his shoes instead.

“Just…” you prompt for him to continue and he does.

“Y’know… today is- I just wanted to leave you a gift for- for… uh…” a panicked look crosses his eyes “For being such a good friend!” he finishes quickly.

“Really?” you eye him with suspicion and he bites his lip.

“Really.” there’s confidence in his voice this time. “Could we…Could we go inside? Since you’re here and all!”

“Hmmmm…” you contemplate for a minute. “All right, fine. Lead the way.” you’ll trust him on this one.

“Thank you!” there’s this look of relief that he gives you followed by barely contained nervousness and excitement that quells all of your worries. And you finally step inside the building, with Deuce guiding you towards the living room.

The squeaking of the wooden floor matches the beating of your heart as you anticipate just what the hell did Deuce come up with. The two of you share a few glances and Deuce seems like he wants to say something, only to opt for silence in the end.

The moment you pass the archway, your vision quickly spots the roses and chocolates on the coffee table.

….

Roses.

And chocolates.

So much for a friendly gift.

You can make out a small piece of paper there as well.

“Oh.” is all you can manage to get out. The regret is instantaneous the moment your gaze lands on Deuce. He knows.

You hesitated. He knows.

“One chance!” he scrambles.

“Deuce-“

“I can make you happy!” your hand is roughly grabbed and you lock eyes “I care so much about you!” His eyes are wide, frantic; he looks desperate to fix this. This… what is he trying to fix exactly? Your friendship or his chances of getting with you?

You try to pull your hand away, to rip it from him, but his grip only tightens. You wince and then scream at him to let go.

“Why don’t you love me?!” he screams back. “I love you! I’d anything for you! Is that not enough?!”

“No- Deuce-“ de-escalate the situation. You need to de-escalate the situation…”How… how about we talk things out?” you try.

“Talk things out…”

“Yes! We’re gonna find a solution to this!” doing your best to smile reassuringly, you try to free your wrist by massaging his hand away.

“Yeah, we are.” he smiles. A smile that you miss, an almost bitter one.

You’re close to freeing yourself, of course Deuce will listen to what you have to say! You’ve known each other for a while now, it’ll work out! It’ll be fine.

“Can’t wait for you to meet my mom!”

….. What….?.....

“Wait-!“ you panic.

“Do you think you’re getting out of this?”

Cold.

This is the coldest you’ve ever felt Deuce be. Your breath hitches and your heart sinks.

No, nononononono- this is worse!

You try to come up with something to say- to do- to get him to come to his senses- but… nothing. You’re frozen on the spot as you once again gaze into his blue eyes.

He gives your pained hand a little squeeze.

“The only things we’re gonna talk about is how good of a relationship we’re gonna have.” And then he smiles.

“Right, babe?”

[collegeishardbutwritingisharder]

Male Yuu! Reader (Platonic Yandere) Part 1

@asillylitteseabunnyay More ideas! Warning: Really OOC characters (Even for yandere standards. This is a major reason as to why I write headcanons before writing a separate piece for them), I really did try to make this into one post but I really wanted to post something. Sorry for taking so long to post something.

For those who want a word count: 14,203 words. Once again, sorry for being really slow.

"(Y/N)! Wait up!"

I turned around to see Ace running up to me with Deuce trailing after him. A grin broke on my face at the sight of them. Those two always bring trouble with them and while it can be tiring, I could never imagine a different life that I could lead. Or at least, my life in Twisted Wonderland.

"Heya, guys! What's going on? Riddle chasing after you for breaking another rule or Azul wanting to capture you in a contract again?"

"Do you really think that whenever we want to see you we're in trouble? I'm kind of wounded."

Ace put on a fake pout before pulling a mock hurt pose.

"Because whenever you ARE in trouble, you come find me to get you out of it."

"Fair."

Deuce walked around Ace before greeting me.

"Good morning, (Y/N)!"

"Good morning, Deucey! How's your morning been so far?"

"It was quite uneventful which is a nice change of pace from how mornings normally are for us."

Deuce was pushed by Ace, who started laughing at Deuce who lost his footing.

Ace and Deuce started a stare off before I just lightly tapped both of their foreheads to snap them out of it.

"Yo, troublemakers! If you keep fighting like this, we're gonna have trouble coming our way. Let's move!"

Ace and Deuce nodded at me before we all started to sprint to get to P.E. Vargas was no joke when it came to being late. I would prefer not having to do twenty extra laps around the field, thank you very much.

Thankfully, we made it with only a minute left to spare. Jack and Epel were there ahead of us and claimed brooms for Ace and Deuce.

"If you three keep sleeping in, you're going to end up missing class."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's get this class done and over with."

Jack tossed the brooms to Ace and Deuce who caught them before turning towards me.

"(Y/N), do you want to ride with me on my broom today?"

I thought about the offer before another student butted into the conversation.

"I already offered the Human a ride on my broom last class!"

Sebek appeared out of nowhere, being loud like always. Although his words did remind me of yesterday. I was riding on Floyd's broom for class (Mainly because he wouldn't let me ride on anyone else's broom) and I nearly fell off many times. Sebek came to me after class and offered his broom instead. This did surprise me considering that Sebek has been a recent friend that I've made but I wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Anything to not ride with Floyd again.

"Yep, he's right, Jack. I promised Sebek that I would join him for this flight class. Although if you're offering for tomorrow, I wouldn't be opposed to that."

Jack gave me a nod before getting himself ready for flight. Looks like I have my flight partner for tomorrow! I walked with Sebek to the spot that he picked which was quite a bit away from the other first years but I didn't care that much about it. This class is a mix between all of the years so I wouldn't be surprised if Lilia or Silver was in this class as well.

"Child of Man."

Or I should have guessed that Malleus would be in this class.

"Hello, Hornton. I hope that this morning is treating you nicely."

I still can't really wrap my head around the fact that my night friend is really the Malleus Draconia. It's still something that I must get used to.

"Young Master!"

Sebek's face lit up with the biggest smile that I think I've ever seen which made a smile appear on my face. Even thought the half fae carries a huge amount of aggression towards humans, whenever he's happy, it's near impossible to not be happy along with him.

"ALRIGHT! Let's start working out those muscles!"

Coach Vargas appeared out of nowhere like he normally does and got everybody into line. Sebek positioned his broom safely between his legs while I tried to position myself carefully as well. The take off is always the hardest for whoever I'm flying with considering that we have to time the launch perfectly with each other.

Sebek was staring at me to make sure that I was ready and I gave him a quick nod to signal that I was ready for take off. We did a short run before jumping and taking off. I held onto Sebek for dear life when we started to get some serious altitude. I've learned that if I grab the broom while in flight, that I accidently cause some mild steering interference.

"Khee hee hee. Careful, (Y/N). You might end up causing a tear into Sebek's uniform."

I turned my head to my right to see Lilia flying there. Him being there made me recount all of the people in this class. Everyone was in this class today! I'm particularly amazed that Azul was able to get his broom up this high and the fact that Idia was riding the broom correctly. That might be because we're actually going for a flight around the island for class today.

"I'll loosen my grip in a bit. I'm still not a big fan of heights."

A shudder went up my spine when I looked down. I don't understand how people are able to fly this high up without being terrified.

"WOOOOO!"

I tilted my head up to see Cater riding his broom like a skateboard and doing tricks on it. I wish that I had a fraction of his courage to do something like that.

"Don't worry, Human! I will not be doing ridiculous stunts like that with you on the broom with me."

"Thanks, Sebek. I greatly appreciate it."

The class continued like normal. Many people were flying by Sebek and I to have a pleasant conversation. Riddle and the rest of Heartslabyul were checking in with me to make sure I didn't need a quick emergency landing. Sebek took mild offense to that saying 'If the Human needed to go down, I would be more than capable to take him down myself!'

"Are you sure that you would be taking the utmost of care that he is protected when flying down?"

"Of course, I would!"

"I don't know, Sebek. You don't always seem to be the perfect fit for protecting (Y/N)."

"Why you-!"

Ace and Sebek started a screaming match mid air, making me roll my eyes. Those two are like oil and water. Never to be mixed.

"Good morning, Prefect."

"Good morning, Dorm Leader Rosehearts!"

"(Y/N)..."

I let out a laugh at Riddle's warning tone. I love to tease him about his proper title.

"Sorry, sorry. Has your morning been calm?"

"Not in the slightest! There were nearly five rule breakers this morning! I don't know what they were thinking about having strawberry tea on a Thursday!"

"The lunacy!"

"I know!"

"Hehe, it did make for a magicamable morning though!"

Cater flew next to us, still in skateboard position.

"I bet it did!"

"I'll send you all of the pics after class! Kay-kay?"

"Kay-Kay!"

I like indulging in his vocabulary from time to time. It's interesting and different from my own!

"Ace. Stop fighting with Sebek before Riddle decides that it's off with your head."

Trey was ahead of all of us, flying backwards which was pretty impressive, mediating the fight between Sebek and Ace.

"But-!"

"YOU HEARD THE OTHER HUMAN, ACE! ADMIT YOUR DEFEAT!"

Don't fight Sebek, it isn't pretty.

Ace let out a scoff before flying towards Deuce. Riddle and Trey followed quickly after them to make sure that those two would stay out of trouble for the morning while Cater saw Idia and wanted a picture of him before he hid away for the rest of the day.

"*Yawn* Doesn't it get exhausting with all of those other noisy herbivores chatting your ear off?"

Leona and Ruggie came on the left and the right of us.

"I don't see it as tiring. In fact, it's actually quite fun to talk with your friends in the morning!"

Leona gave a smirk at me with a glint in his eyes. Oh no.

"That's just like you, Herbivore. Taking pity on other herbivores, especially those who follow that Lizard."

I felt Sebek tense at Leona's words. He turned his head to glare at Leona.

"How dare you insult the YOUNG MASTER?! YOU LAZY LION!"

Leona and Sebek started to have a shouting match over my head. Why does Sebek feel the need to fight with so many people this morning? Where does this energy come from?

"Psst, (Y/N)!"

I turned my head to see Ruggie. He gave me a slight wave before holding out an apple for me.

"Here! I decided to be kind today and got you an apple!"

"Thank you, Ruggie! Now. What do you want?"

Ruggie's kind smile turned into a slight smirk.

"Glad you asked! I have to do laundry later today and considering I did something nice for you, you could do something nice for me?"

"Sure, I'll come by noon to help you out."

"Thank you, (Y/N)! Shye hee hee!"

"Alright, leave (Y/N) and Sebek alone you guys."

Jack and Epel came out of nowhere and separated Leona and Ruggie from our broom.

"Hmph, self righteous fresh babies."

Leona flew off and motioned for Ruggie to follow him. Ruggie gave me a nod before flying after Leona. Sebek looked at Jack with anger.

"HOW DARE YOU INTERRUPT US, JACK!"

"Your yelling was giving (Y/N) a headache. Besides, you should be paying attention to flying and not crashing."

Epel then flew closer to me and took the apple from me.

"Hey!"

"Ya don't wanna ta eat this one. There's mealworms in it. Make yer stomach upset."

I looked at the apple with disgust. I can't believe that Ruggie would try to feed me something that like.

"Thanks, Epel. It looked like such a good apple too."

"It takes a trained eye ta tell. Seems like Ruggie needs a better eye."

Jack and Epel flew away after making sure that Sebek and I would be safe with flying.

"These useless creatures. Thinking that I'm incapable of taking care of a singular magicless human."

"Calm down, Sebek. I'm certain that they are just worried about me being up this high. It's not everyday that a magicless human goes off the ground. If it makes you feel better, I feel completely safe with you flying the broom."

Sebek gave a proud smirk before straightening his back and picking up the pace to continue flying with the group. I started to scan the sky for other people that I knew.

Azul didn't really come near us or anybody for that matter. I think that he was a tad scared of accidentally crashing into anybody which I think is a valid fear. I quickly shouted some encouragement to him. Jade and Floyd on the other hand had no problem with coming up to us. Jade mostly left us alone, saying that he was there to keep an eye on his brother. Floyd though...

"Awwww, Shrimpyyyy. Why are you flying with Crocodile instead of me todayyyy? Are you trying to get squeeeezed?"

"No Floyd. I'm riding Sebek because he offered."

"Hmph. That's no fun. Come here on my broom."

Floyd grabbed my arm and started trying to pull me onto his broom. Because of my near death grip on Sebek, it started to also mess with Sebek's flying as well.

"ARGH! STOP THIS INSTANT, YOU INSOLENT CREATURE!"

"Floyd! Stop that! This isn't funny!"

"Hehehehe~ I think that it's pretty funny. Come on, Shrimpy. It'll be safe."

"FLOYD!"

"Floyd. That's enough. You're causing (Y/N) to be uncomfortable."

Jade intervened by prying Floyd's hand off of my arm. Sebek was able to stabilize the broom and we were flying smoothly again.

"Booooo, you're no fun, Jade."

Jade let out a chuckle.

"Sorry, Floyd. Normally, I'd let you have your fun but there is a tad too much risk here."

My breathing normalized just in time for Kalim and Jamil to visit us on the left side.

"Hiya, (Y/N)! Good morning, Sebek!"

"Morning, Kalim! How's today treating you so far?"

"Today has been the best so far! Jamil made a delicious breakfast for the whole dorm! We also discussed planning a party for later this evening! Would you two like to join us?"

I noticed Jamil tense a bit at the mention of more people coming to the party. That man was under so much pressure that it's not even funny.

"Sorry! But I must keep watch over the Young Master at all times! I don't have time to partake in silly human activities!"

"Yeah, I have to decline as well, Kalim. Ramshackle has been in need of a clean up and I'll most likely have a bunch of homework to do tonight anyway. I hope that you have a pleasant party though!"

Kalim had a slight pout on his face before his normal smile reappeared.

"That's quite fine! Although the party won't be the same without you, (Y/N)!"

Kalim then flew ahead of us. Jamil looked at me and I gave him a wink and a smile. I wasn't really too busy tonight but I decided to do him a solid. Jamil gave a small quirk of his lips before flying after Kalim.

"First Potato."

I turned my head to the right to stare at Vil. Boy, was he as intimidating as ever?

"Sit up straight. If you keep curling into Cucumber here, your posture will be horrendous."

I nodded at Vil before trying to sit up straight. The wind decided to pick up then and there, wobbling the broom. I immediately curled back into Sebek.

"Thanks for the advice Vil but I think that I'm going to stay curled until the end of the flight."

Vil narrowed his eyes slightly before directing his attention to the front.

"Oh, le pauvre escroc! Although, I must admit that the sight of your fear brings out a completely new side of your beauty to light!"

I saw Rook upside down which made me jolt a bit. Sebek let out a grunt.

"Human! Be careful!"

"Sorry, Sebek!"

Rook only let out a laugh before going to Vil to fawn over him. The duo flew off which made me let out a sigh of relief. I'm glad that I was able to befriend those two at VDC but I won't lie that I'm terrified of what those two can do together.

"(Y/N)-San!"

Ortho's voice traveled into my ears which made me look behind myself to see him there.

"Ortho! It's nice to see you and your brother this morning!"

"Yes! Niisan prefers to skip this class but he was more than willing to go when he heard about it being a mixed class. I'm still not too certain as to why though."

"Maybe he misheard. I have no idea either though."

"Oh yeah! Niisan wanted me to ask you if you were down for playing with him tonight over voice chat! He has recently been really involved with a new MMORPG that he wants to play with you."

I thought about it before realizing that Kalim was still nearby. I couldn't just brush off one friend and not the other. Sorry, Idia.

"Sorry, Ortho but I have to clean up Ramshackle tonight. With Grim being trapped inside all day, he's sure to make a mess. Or more of a mess."

I wasn't lying about Grim being stuck inside all day. Two days ago, a freak accident happened in the cafeteria which ended up with Grim's tail being broken. I prescribed him bed rest and plenty of bandages for healing. He made a mild fit about it before realizing that I wasn't about to forfeit my ground.

"Oh."

Ortho looked a bit disheartened but I had to stay strong. It doesn't help that I see Ortho as a brother. I want the robo kid happy!

"Yeah, really sorry, Ortho. Maybe tomorrow, I can play games with Idia."

Ortho seemed to perk up at that before zooming past us to talk with Idia. Sebek was quick to fix his course with the new air ripples.

"CAREFUL OF WHERE YOU'RE FLYING!!"

"Calm down, Sebek, he's just a kid."

"Ah, youth. I hope that you young ones won't mind me joining your flight?"

Lilia made his reappearance and started to fly with us.

"Master Lilia!"

"Welcome back, Lilia! Where did you come from?"

"Khee hee hee. I was just trying to arrange something. Don't worry too much about it."

Two more people came up to fly next to us. It was Malleus and Silver! I gave both of them a wave which they returned.

"See! I thought that it would be nice for our dorm to fly together! Even if you're not part of our dorm, you're still quite a treasured friend to us all!"

"I'm honored that you won't kick me out of your dorm flying session."

We all just flew in peace for a bit but that peace didn't last for long.

"Freak wind!"

A huge gust of wind came out of nowhere causing me to lose my grip on Sebek and fall off the broom.

"(Y/N)!"

Sebek tried to grab me but sadly, he was much too slow. I kept falling before I finally hit the ground. It was so painful. A huge pain seared through my leg, back, head and arm. Oh, the times when you wish that you had magic to make all of your problems go away. Sadly, my wishes won't be answered anytime soon.

I heard a bunch of calls of my name. I tried to keep my eyes open but the pain in my head was making it insanely hard.

"(Y/N)! I found him!"

Deuce came into my line of sight and I tried to give him a smile but the look on his face made me think that my smile wasn't exactly a smile.

"Don't worry, (Y/N). You'll be fine. I know that you'll be fine. You have to be fine!"

I tried to get some words of comfort out for Deuce but the pain got too much for my brain to handle. I let out a groan and passed out. My dreams were really weird. There were a bunch of different clouds who were talking over each other. It was near impossible to make out what they were trying to say. It started to hurt my head mildly.

I was thankful when I started to wake from the dream. The voices of the clouds went quiet, giving my head the needed break from noise that it wanted. I started to open my eyes but they were really sensitive to light and there was plenty of it in the room.

"Urrrr, that's really bright."

"He's up!"

"Now that was loud."

My eyes adjusted to the light and I saw Sebek kneeling next to me. I started to look around the room more and everybody was there watching me, concern and relief were reflective in their eyes.

"Ugh, what's going on, guys?"

I tried to sit up from my lying down position but I let out a scream. It was much too painful to even sit up. Next thing that I knew everybody was surrounding me and trying to make sure that I was okay.

"(Y/N)!"

"Don't strain yourself."

"Stay down, Shrimpy!"

Everyone's face held such amounts of concern. Even Leona! I didn't even really think that he even tolerated me in the slightest! The more that the situation processed in my brain, the more funny that I found it. I even started laughing which shocked everyone around me.

"This is no laughing matter, (Y/N)! You were severely injured!"

"Sorry, Riddle, but you must admit the way that you all are acting is quite bizarre!"

Everyone looked at each other confused before returning their gazes back to me as if they wanted a further explanation.

"I mean, c'mon guys! You're treating me as if I'm a fragile glass doll that will break if someone so much as breathed on me! You've seen me fight at least five different overblots! I think that I'm strong enough to handle a bad crash."

Everyone stayed silent at what I said. Apparently, they have forgotten how much that I've been through ever since I arrived at Twisted Wonderland.

My stomach interrupted the silence with a warning that I was hungry. Leona was actually the first to react.

"Ruggie, take this and go get (Y/N) something good to eat. Don't skimp out."

"You got it."

Ruggie rushed out of the room, most likely going to the cafeteria. He really doesn't have to get me food, more importantly expensive food. I would just be happy with a bag of chips and a bottle of water to tide me over for now.

"You really didn't have to send Ruggie out to do that. I think that I could have just gotten a ghost from Ramshackle to get me the leftovers from last night."

Vil snapped his head towards me when I mentioned leftovers.

"Do you mean those unhealthy, instant foods that I've heard from Epel that you order from Sam so much?"

A mild blush appeared on my face. It's true that I haven't really gotten the chance to really have a decent meal in a few months but hey! Life on a budget was never easy!

"Yes, those foods. I didn't finish the oven pizza that I got yesterday. There should be more than enough food unless Grim ate most of it today."

Vil then turned his head to Leona.

"Tell Ruggie to order two of whatever he is getting for the prefect. He obviously needs better food choices than what he is supplying himself with."

Leona only nodded his head before pulling out his phone to text Ruggie his new order.

"At least, I'm keeping Sam in business."

Crowley then entered the nurse's office, making me slightly jump and hurt myself more.

"GOODNESS GRACIOUS! Broken bones are no joke!"

"(Y/N)! I've heard about your condition!"

Crowley also looked around at all of the students who were already there.

"Appears that the rest of our student body has enough concern for our dear magicless student."

Crowley then made his way to the bedside and looked down at me.

"Now then, we must figure out a way to make sure that you can heal quickly and safely! I am not able to handle all of your needs everyday.

Hmmmm, I'm wondering if you would be fine if a ghost just brought you meals and Grim could give you your homework that you've missed."

"Grim is out of school on injury as well, Headmage."

"Hmmm, maybe your professors would be kind enough to bring your homework to you."

"Headmage."

Crowley and I turned our heads to look at Riddle. He had a straight face but I could tell that he had a plan.

"We Heartslabyul students will be more than willing to take care of (Y/N). He has helped us out more than times than we can count, either with overblots or if someone was going to break one of our rules."

"Yeah! Besides, (Y/N) and I are like, best friends! I'd be more than happy to try and teach him the lessons that he missed! Also I'd be cursed if I didn't help him out when he really needs it."

"Since I'm also one of (Y/N)'s close friends, I can help keep him company between classes! So that he isn't too lonely during the day!"

"I can help him during meal times and create a small dessert for him everyday. It wouldn't be too much a hassle."

"And I can keep him updated on current events! #KeepingThePrefectInTheLoop!"

Ace, Deuce, Trey and Cater all seemed super excited to help me with my recovery. Although a scoff from Leona and Vil resounded in the room.

Riddle was immediately on the defense and sent one of his strongest glares their way.

"Do you two have a problem with our plan?"

Leona gave an eye roll before saying his part.

"You're really going to entrust that idiotic herbivore to catch the prefect up on the lessons that he missed? Even if you taught that herbivore by himself, I'm still certain that he still would fail his classes."

Ace got visibly angry at Leona words but was held back by Deuce. Probably because the Headmage was still in the room.

Vil put in his thoughts next.

"None of you will actually take care of the prefect in the way that he deserves. I doubt anybody would be willing to make sure the prefect stays presentable even in casts."

Trey and Cater looked between themselves before returning Vil's glare. But soon enough, something else caused an uproar amongst the group.

"But I want to help (Y/N) to get better as well!"

Kalim looked very determined to be useful to me before looking over to Jamil with pleading eyes.

"Right, Jamil? We want to make sure that (Y/N) gets the utmost of care!"

"Kalim's right. I doubt that any of you had to take care of someone who was sick. I've been in the caretaker role so I think that we are most likely the best to assure (Y/N)'s quick recovery. Kalim has also had experience with taking care of his younger siblings as well."

A loud thud was heard from behind Jamil which got everyone's attention drawn to Sebek.

"NONE OF YOU SHALL HELP THE HUMAN! IT WAS MY OWN SHORTCOMINGS THAT CAUSED THE HUMAN TO BE INJURED IN THE FIRST PLACE! THUS I SHALL TAKE UP EACH AND EVERY DUTY MYSELF!"

Soon enough, there was a whole yelling match between all of the dorms on who would be able to take care of me. Soon enough, Crowley had enough of the fighting and silenced them all.

"ALRIGHT!

While I'm moved to tears by seeing all of my students work together for a common goal, we still must come up with a schedule to make sure that Mr. (Y/N) gets the care that he needs.

Thankfully, my quick thinking has come up with the perfect solution!

Mr. (Y/N) will stay here in the nurse's office and each day a different dorm will take care of him. Heartslabyul on Monday, Savanaclaw on Tuesday, etc, etc."

Everyone reluctantly nodded to the plan. It sounded like a good plan considering that everybody would get what they want in the end. There was some mild awkward silence before Ruggie kicked open the doors with his hands full of food.

"Okay, so I bought twenty meals because that was all that I could have afforded with Leona's money plus haggling."

Leona facepalmed before letting out a groan.

"You useless hyena, I wanted you to get at least fifty meals with that money."

Thus started the crazy recovery scheme between all of the dorms.

Heartslabyul's day was probably one of the most relaxing days that a person like me could have. At the start of every day, Trey would come in and bring me a homemade breakfast. It always was some sort of pastry like pancakes, waffles or croissants. For the first two weeks, mainly because of the pain that I would acquire if I moved too much, Trey spoon fed me my breakfasts. I promised him that I would pay him back for meals but he always told me that it wouldn't be necessary.

"There's no reason to repay me, (Y/N). I'm used to taking care of my younger siblings."

Then throughout the day, Cater and Deuce would visit at random times. I'm ninety percent certain that Cater skipped a good portion of his classes and clubs to hang out with me. He would stay late into the night as well, taking pictures or showing me random memes that he found funny. Though per my demand, he would put his phone away and ignore it while we played a board game that he 'borrowed' from the board game club.

"Time for a new pic for the cam! I'm going to title this one 'Brothers Night In!'"

Deuce would come during the breaks between our classes to either lightly talk about what happened during class or tell me how much that he missed me during classes.

"I've never truly realized how boring classes are without you there."

Lunch is always spent with Riddle. He brings personally brewed tea for both of us to enjoy! He also makes sure that I'm properly taken care of and that none of his dorm members were slacking on their jobs.

"You're happy with how my dorm members are doing? Good. I'm glad that they are upholding your expectations. If they ever let you down, let me know. I'll make sure that they know better than to disappoint my family."

Finally, Ace is probably the person that I see the least of but considering what I know about him, it's quite believable that he wouldn't be there as often as the others. He does get me my homework and brings me dinner though.

"Yo, little bro! Sorry for being late with your stuff today! Basketball club started straight after school today. Let's eat before we start getting work done!"

Savanaclaw is next. To be honest, with only three of them throughout the day, it is quite hectic. Especially with Leona as one of the caretakers. Since Leona normally skips classes, he now sleeps in the nurse's office with me all day. Sometimes, if he doesn't fall asleep, we end up having a pleasant talk. He also makes sure that I'm comfortable with extra blankets if I'm cold or more pillows if the bed isn't soft enough. He does get mad if I try to situate the blankets myself.

"Stop squirming. Let your pride watch over you for a while."

Ruggie was the most hardworking out of the three. He had to get meals for me and Leona. Not to mention that a good majority of time he was trying to convince Leona to go at least to one of his classes on Tuesday. I told him that if he was too busy with Leona, he doesn't have to take care of me.

"Don't worry about me, (Y/N)! I always take care of the younger ones at home, you're no different!"

Jack was quite useful with teaching me all that I missed. He takes everything slowly which I appreciate! Alchemy has been really hard for me ever since I've arrived in Twisted Wonderland. It's like chemistry and I nearly failed when I took that.

"Did you understand that? Good. The last time that I had to teach like this was with my younger siblings when they wanted to learn how to snowboard."

Wednesday is one of those days that I can't wait for it to end. Floyd doesn't care what hurts me exactly. He sometimes just picks me up from my bed and carries me around campus.

"Why are you crying, Shrimpy? Elvers like you need all of the fresh air that they can get~!"

Normally after many tears and a majority of my day, Jade arrives and relieves Floyd of his job. Floyd always puts up a fight telling Jade that he isn't done playing with me but Jade reminds him of whatever Azul needed him to do now. Floyd becomes quiet before trudging off, a scowl on his face. Jade then normally takes me back to the nurse's office with an apology.

"I must apologize for my brother. He doesn't understand that you need your rest, (Y/N). He called you an 'elver'? Well, I won't disagree with him but don't worry. It's not an insult."

All of the meals on Wednesday are supplied by the Mostro Lounge per demand of Azul. Floyd packed breakfast and lunch for us to prevent me having to be stuck in the office all day. Dinner is the only meal that I can enjoy in a comfortable position. Azul personally delivers it to me and provides a small bit of entertainment for me.

"I do hope that the food is to your liking! I would hate for a fry to go hungry during the time that they need to heal!"

When it comes to Scarabia's turn, it's probably the most organized day. That might be because Jamil is in charge of most of the things when it comes to taking care of me. He always comes with handmade meals, extra pillows in case the ones that I've been laying on have lost their fluff, etc, etc. He always seems to know what I want.

"Here you go. A light novel for you to read to make sure that you aren't bored in bed all day. How did I know that you wanted something to read? Call it 'Caretaker's intuition'."

Kalim didn't really have anything to help me get better but his charismatic personality always made my day! After school, we would just talk about the most random things to pass the time. Kalim's most favorite subject to talk about though is his home. He talks as if I've been there before though.

"And then we all went swimming! Where did we go swimming? (Y/N)! You know that we have a pool back at home!"

Pomefiore's day is quite restless for me. Before the sun is even up, Vil is there, doing a two hour long skincare routine for me. There have been times where I've almost fallen back asleep while he was taking care of my skin. Normally, if that does happen, he flicks my forehead which wakes me up immediately.

"The others may have let you become lazy but I won't let that continue on any longer. I'll make sure that you're properly taken care of. I refuse to let my junior deteriorate anymore."

Rook likes to randomly surprise me during the day and give me plenty of compliments about my strength. His weirdness was fully on display but to be honest, I always loved when Rook was true to himself. It was also fun to look at his Neige scrapbook!

"Magnifique! I'm so overjoyed that my Jeune Chercheur de Beauté is being inspired by my collection! Don't worry mon protégé, Je ferai un album à votre beauté bien assez tôt!"

Epel comes to visit to give me my homework before setting up his own work to do with me. Surprisingly, we don't talk that much during the time that we do hang out, preferring to enjoy each other's presence in silence. When we do decide to talk, it's always short but I enjoy having them.

"Rook and Vil did what? Ah can never understand those two. But I'm glad ya can put up with them."

Saturday is when the Shroud brothers come to visit, it's the only time that Idia will actually leave his room to visit me or maybe another reason gets him out and about. I'm not too certain anymore mainly because I don't know how Idia functions half the time.

"u-u-um! hiya, (Y/N)-San! ugh, this is so embarrassing. i-i-i-i brought my portable gaming set up so that we can beat all of the other normies online! if there were people in classes today, i would totally have dreaded this more."

To balance Idia's nerves, Ortho was nearly sparking with excitement! He was in his alchemy outfit and running constant tests on me. Although he would make sure to cheer Idia and I on whenever we were either having a hard time or won a hard match!

"Niisan and Ani are so awesome! Everyone else will see how cool the two of you are together!"

Then comes Sunday. The second most hectic day of any week. I at least don't get hurt. All that I get is mild deafness in one of my ears. Sebek doesn't leave my side while begging for my forgiveness for letting this happen.

"PLEASE FORGIVE ME, (Y/N)! I'M SORRY THAT I FAILED YOU AS YOUR OLDER! I WILL NEVER LET SOMETHING HAPPEN LIKE THIS AGAIN TO YOU! I PROMISE THAT I WILL PROTECT YOU WITH EVERYTHING THAT I CAN!"

Silver was thankfully calmer than most of the others. Although he did have his own overprotective tendencies but was amazingly more organized than anybody else's! Especially for a sleepy guy.

"Sebek, you should think about getting (Y/N) some food if you want him to forgive you."

Lilia would actually prevent Silver's plan from working by bringing in his own food for me to eat. Fun fact: I can amazingly stomach his food. Considering that I'm ninety five percent certain that I should have food poisoning, his food doesn't even taste all that bad.

"Here you go, my little bat! A nice, warm meal that will fill you up! Don't be shy about engorging yourself! There's more than enough."

Malleus is probably the person who was the most affected by my injuries. He wouldn't really talk with me but just look over my casts with what could best be described as melancholy.

"I'm so sorry, my dear Child of Man. I should have never let this happen to you in the first place. I've failed you as a friend. Trust me, I promise you this as the Prince of Briar Valley, I will never let anything hurt you again."

This cycle continued on for a little over ten weeks. What was supposed to be a seven week recovery was heavily deterred by a reckless Floyd Leech. But I was so excited to be able to move on my own for the first time in a little over two months! When the nurse gave me the okay to move, I tried to stand on my feet right away. I didn't even wait for anybody to appear. I am so relieved that I can take care of myself again and no longer be a burden to everybody.

"Okay, I've got this! One, two, and up we go!"

I got up onto my feet and while I did wobble for a bit, I was pretty sturdy for someone who hasn't used their legs in a while. I didn't try anything risky like jumping or running but I was walking little laps around the nurse's office. The nurse gave me plenty of encouragement to try bigger strides or other things to improve my movement.

It was all fun and games until it was time for my guests to come in. Since it was a Wednesday, Floyd was the person who came in first to see me walking around on my feet.

"SHRIMPY! You're supposed to stay in bed!"

"I don't have to stay in bed anymore, Floyd! The nurse gave me the okay this morning! Besides, even if I was in bed, you would have just picked me up and carried me halfway across campus."

"That's not the point, Shrimpy! Elvers can't really take care of themselves without their swarm protecting them!"

"Floyd, this is a good thing! Besides, what is an elver anyway? You've been calling me one ever since I was injured. And I don't have a swarm!"

"Yes, you do! Jade and I are your swarm! We can't be having our little brother putting himself at risk!"

I went silent at what Floyd said. Little brother? I'm not their little brother. Floyd is known for going off in his own world from time to time but... I'm actually starting to worry that something happened to him.

"Floyd? Are you feeling alright?"

"Of course I am, Shrimpy! Although, you walking around as if you're some stingray, did give me a bit of a fright~"

"I wanted to make sure, Floyd, you do realize that I'm not your little brother right?"

"What are you talking about, Shrimpy? You've always been our little brother! Shrimpy can be soooooo forgetful sometimes~"

"No, Floyd. I'm not your brother."

Floyd's lazed/relaxed facial expression turned into a scowl when I tried to press the fact that we're not related. He wrapped his arms around me and gave me a light, warning squeeze.

"Shrimpy, I'm not in the mood to hear lies from you. You ARE my little brother, an elver, and you are not ready to walk around the school by yourself."

If Floyd squeezes me now, there's a good chance that something will break again and I will have to be bed ridden again. I can deal with Floyd acting as if I was a baby eel for a little while. He'll get bored after a short while with this.

"Okay, okay, sorry Floyd. I think hitting my head from my fall must have caused me to forget some things."

"It's okay, Shrimpy~ You can be stupid from time to time but that's because you're still growing~ Soon enough, you're going to be as long as Jade and I! Now back to bed you go!"

Floyd picked me up and plopped me back down on the bed. The nurse tried to explain to Floyd that I was fine to walk on my own. He didn't take it kindly.

"Are you trying to tell me how to take care of my younger brother? Sounds like a nurse shark wants to be squeezed today~"

The nurse backed down after that. I don't blame him though. I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of Floyd's aggressions. Floyd didn't look away from the nurse and looked like he was going to attack the nurse anyway. I had to do something before Floyd acted on his impulses.

"So, Floyd, what do you have planned for us today? I really want to bond with my big brother some more!"

I've never seen Floyd's head turn so fast or his expression change more than it did right then. For a second there, Floyd's smile could actually challenge Kalim's smile for the brightest smile in the world.

"Oh, I'm so glad that you asked, Shrimpy~! I originally planned on taking us to the Mostro Lounge so that we can swim for a bit, then we could go find Goldfishie and bother him for a bit and finally, end the day with some basketball! Buuuutttttt I think that we should just take it easy today and just talk. You've already had enough action today with that scary walking stunt that you had this morning. Right, Shrimpy?"

Floyd's expression changed once again. His eyes held a dangerous glint that threatened me to agree with him. I only nodded my head because I don't trust my voice to stay strong.

"Gooooooddd~"

Floyd and I talked and ate together in the nurse's office for a majority of the day. I was quite shocked by the fact that Floyd fought his mood swings away. He mentioned multiple times how bored he was and how he wanted to go bother someone or go do something but what he said afterwards is the reason why I really need to talk with Jade.

"But... I need to protect Shrimpy~ So many predators here would love to sink their teeth into a yummy elver~"

I don't think I've ever been more happy to see Jade walk into the nurse's office. Nor do I think I've ever seen Jade so shocked before.

"Oh, you were actually telling the truth."

"What~? Why would I lie to you?"

"Apologies but I truly thought that you would have ran off by now."

"Yeeeeeessshhh. Nice to know how much you trust me, Jade. But we need to have a talk."

I raised an eyebrow at Floyd. What did they need to talk about? Probably some Mostro Lounge business that I can't know about.

"Shrimpy here was walking around on his own two legs this morning!"

Jade looked even more shocked at Floyd's words. He was quick to rush to my bedside and pulled out his pen. It started glowing but I was just confused as to what he was doing exactly.

"There's no life threatening damage but that doesn't mean that there is no damage at all. What were you thinking, (Y/N)? You shouldn't be putting your body under strain."

"The nurse said that I was okay to move around again. I'm no longer in pain whenever I move, Jade!"

"Oi, Shrimpy, watch your tone. There's no reason to talk to your older brother like that."

Floyd grabbed my hand and started to squeeze it. It got so harsh that I started to writhe from the pain.

"Easy on him, Floyd. Remember what we've learned about children. When they act up, it's because they don't think that they're getting enough attention. (Y/N) here probably just feels very neglected."

"What?!"

"Riigghhtt! Shrimpy must be acting up because I didn't take him on adventures like I normally do! Shrimpy, if you were feeling suffocated in this room, you could have just told me! I wouldn't be mad~!"

Floyd then let go of my hand and pressed a light kiss to my palm. As if that would take away the pain. Jade only nodded his head before picking me up bridal style.

"Jade?! Put me down now!"

"Now, now, I know that elvers like you want to move on their own but Floyd and I cannot have you risk your health and safety anymore. Come along, Floyd. Let's go see Azul."

"Yippee! Let's go on an adventure!"

Floyd busted the doors down to the ground and made sure that Jade had a clear path of walking. Jade took his time walking with me in his arms. Eventually, we made it to the main area of the school where there were many more students. I swallowed very harshly. One misstep and I was going to be hurt once again. Thankfully, it turns out that the tweels had a plan before I did.

"MOVE OUT OF THE WAY! SHRIMPY COMING THROUGH!"

Floyd ran throughout the hallway full force, either scaring or pushing students out of the way, giving Jade a safe pathway to walk and carry me through. I still had a bunch of bandages on me and when Floyd would drag me around normally, students would be in classes. Now, it was passing time for certain classes. Everybody was staring at me and I felt my face burn with embarrassment. I buried my face into Jade's blazer and heard him chuckle.

"Don't laugh at me."

"Sorry, (Y/N). I just wished that I knew how cute my younger brother could be."

"I'm not your younger brother."

"Don't be silly, (Y/N). Of course, you are! If you weren't, why would Floyd and I be taking care of you?"

"Because we're friends?"

"Nonsense. If Azul was in your situation, I assure you..."

Jade shifted my head so that I could see his very sharp teeth.

"He would not be getting the same treatment that you are."

I shut up after that. It's times like these when I question which Leech twin is worse to deal with. Floyd is loud and destructive but Jade is always unassuming which results in me forgetting why I should be wary of him as well. As soon as either Floyd, Jade or Azul is done and bring me back to the nurse's office, I'm heading straight for Ramshackle. Don't care if I have to sit on my butt to go down the stairs, I'm sleeping in Ramshackle tonight.

"Phew! I think I cleared the way enough. See, Shrimpy! Now you're getting plenty of fresh air and we're having a fun adventure like a family! Ahhh~ I can't wait for the day that we can terrify all of these boring guppies together!"

I looked at Floyd and gave him a meek smile. I already tried both of the tweels to get out of this situation to no avail. Last thing that I needed was to upset both of them.

"Good job, Floyd. Would you like to hold our younger elver for a while?"

"Yes!"

I was passed to Floyd's arms. He gave me a light squeeze before starting to skip through the hallways. I've never felt so much like a doll before.

"Mr. (Y/N)!"

Professor Trein! My savior!

"Why were you not in class today? The nurse told all of the staff that you were healed enough to go to class this morning!"

"Ehh~ Red Squid sensei, Shrimpy her-"

"I do not care for what you have to say, Mr. Leech. Mr. (Y/N) now must get to class. Put him down and run off to your own classes."

Floyd glared at Trein before, reluctantly putting me down on my feet. I was slightly wobbly but thankfully, Trein let me lean on him. Jade and Floyd just continued to glare at Trein until we both were out of their line of sight.

"Thank you, Professor Trein. I really appreciate you helping me out there."

Trein gave me a perplexed look before pulling me off to the side.

"What do you mean 'helping', Mr. (Y/N)?"

I gave Trein the quick rundown of what happened this morning. He knew that I was injured but he didn't know about the tweels' behavior.

"That about sums it all up."

Trein had a look on his face as if I were a ghost. Or some rare creature considering we see ghosts all of the time.

"This is far more concerning than their normal behaviors. Mr. (Y/N), I recommend staying away from the Leech twins. It would be the best for your own safety."

My heart filled up with unease at Professor Trein's words. I hated the idea of just ghosting Floyd and Jade but I do think that some time away from them would do me some good and vice versa.

I nodded my head before following Trein to Alchemy class. Our entrance was really loud mainly because we had a test in class today. My normal first year crew was there but also a good portion of third years was also there. Turns out it was another mix class. I turned my attention to Professor Crewel, who was writing furiously at his desk.

"Ah. The mutt has finally arrived. Did you already give him detention, Trein?"

"No."

Professor Crewel's pen stops mid-motion before Crewel lifted his head, looking at Trein with disbelief.

"How come?"

"He wasn't ditching class on purpose. Floyd and Jade were preventing him from coming to class."

All of the writing pens went still and the room reached new levels of silent. Everybody was now looking at me with concern. All of them knew that if the Leech twins have any interest in you, you are in trouble.

Crewel and Trein seem to have a silent conversation before Crewel stands up.

"All of you puppies, continue your tests! Mutt, take your seat and don't cause a mess. Professor Trein and I have some things to discuss."

I only gave Crewel a quick bow when he was leaving the room with Trein before taking the only seat left in the class. Between a first year that I don't know very well and Trey.

Trey looked over at me. I gave him a quick smile to show that I was alright. He tapped the bandages on my arm, before putting a dramatic frown. I waved my hand before putting my fingers to the corner of my lips and lifted them into a smile.

Crewel walked back in and Trey and I stopped miming to each other. I just sat there staring at my blank desk while waiting for everyone to finish with their tests.

"Mutt."

I raised my gaze to meet Crewel's stare. I couldn't stop myself from flinching. It felt like he was staring into my soul slightly.

"Y-yes, Professor?"

"I want to talk with you after class. Don't try to escape with the crowd."

"Yes, Professor."

My voice could barely count as a whisper. I felt the pity radiating off of all the other students for me. First, I was stuck with Floyd and Jade and now, I'm going to be stuck with Professor Crewel. Oh why, oh why did the nurse have to give an okay to leave?! Why couldn't he have waited for tomorrow when Kalim and Jamil were going to visit?!

After about ten more minutes, people started to turn in their tests before leaving the classroom. I watched as Ace and Deuce left. I waved at them while they left. Ace sent me a heart symbol while Deuce gave two thumbs up. Malleus and Lilia were the next of my friends to leave. Lilia put a small bag on my desk while Malleus only stared at me. Soon enough, the only people in the classroom left were Trey, Crewel and myself. Trey already turned in his test but was just standing in front of my seat to talk with me.

"Are you sure that you'll be okay? I can stay behind if you're scared."

"I'll be okay, Trey. I do owe Professor Crewel anyway. I've been only a mutt to him for a while now. Maybe I can make it up to him."

Trey looked displeased when I said mutt but I pushed him slightly in the shoulder.

"Head on out. If you're so worried about me, you're allowed to wait for me outside. I wouldn't mind company for the trip back to Ramshackle."

Trey casted me one more sad look before leaving. After he left, Crewel stood up and took his place at my seat.

"Alright, mutt. Trein explained to me about your... situation with the Leech twins. Floyd and Jade acted highly inappropriate for it to just be written off as a casual misunderstanding. If you wish, as much as I despise taking care of the mutts of the litter, I am willing to make sure that you're safe from being torn apart by the purebreds."

I only shook my head at Crewel's offer. If Crewel did try to intervene like how Trein did, it would just cause more chaos for me. Last thing that anybody needs are angry human eels. Crewel gave me a disgusted look when I started to shake my head.

"I'm a bit offended that a mutt like you refused my services. But! I'm relieved that I don't have to protect filthy, impure mutts like you."

Crewel's words stung me a bit but in all honesty, I was used to them by now. He has always had a weird grudge against me since I first arrived at Twisted Wonderland.

"T-thank you for the offer, Sir. I'll be on my way now."

I got out of my seat and rushed out of the alchemy room with Lilia's tiny bag. Last thing that I need to do is upset Crewel even more and actually get detention for skipping. I let out a sigh of relief.

"(Y/N)!"

Deuce's voice flooded my ears before I felt him. He wrapped me in a tight hug. It caused a bit of discomfort but not as bad as Floyd's squeezes could be.

"Ouch. Hiya, Deucey!"

"Ouch? Am I hurting you?!"

"Only a tad but I know that you're doing it by accident."

"I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!"

"Calm down, Deuce. It's not a problem! What are you doing here exactly?"

"I asked them the same thing when I left the classroom."

Trey spoke up with Ace by his side.

"We're here because of the fact that you're our friend! Crewel can be so harsh to you sometimes! Really? MUTT?! At least Deuce and I get called puppies but you just get called a mutt!"

Ace continued to rant in his own world while we all just listened. Trey and Deuce agreed a lot with what Ace was saying, even as it went into dragging others.

"And who do those twins think they are?! The nurse said that you were okay to go back to classes and they prevented you from doing so?! They should be expelled for doing something like that!"

"You should really watch your mouth, Trappola."

"Yeah, Crabby. You never know who might be around to hear it."

Ace's face became paler even more than it normally is when he heard Floyd and Jade's voice come from around the corner. I totally thought that Ace was going to be a goner but amazingly, the tweels let it slide. Unfortunately, it was because their attention was laser focused on me.

"Shrimpy~~~! Let's go to the Mostro Lounge now! Elvers like you need all of the yummy food that they can get! I'm pretty certain that Crabby couldn't feed you the food that you need!"

Floyd grabbed my wrist and started pulling it, trying to drag me away from the Heartslabyul students. I started to put up some resistance against Floyd which surprisingly got his attention.

"Shrimpy, don't fight me! I only want what's best for you~"

"OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!"

"URK!"

A collar appeared around Floyd's neck and a wind spell sent him flying backwards into Jade. Riddle, basically coming out of nowhere and in his dorm uniform, looked really, really mad. His head was reaching new shades of dark red that I don't think that the art majors of my world would be able to identify.

"FLOYD! You're not allowed to bother any of my dorm members for your own entertainment! Trey, Deuce, Ace. Grab (Y/N) and come along. We have important plans to take care of!"

"Yes, Dorm Leader Rosehearts!"

Ace and Deuce linked their arms with one of my own on each side while Trey went behind all of us to prevent either Floyd or Jade grabbing me from behind.

"YOU CAN'T JUST STEAL OUR ELVER! BRING HIM BACK!"

Floyd was screaming and throwing a fit while Jade was silent. I tried to turn my head to see if I could get a glance at either of them but Trey only put his hand on the back of my neck.

"Don't look back at them. I don't want you to be influenced by their terrible behavior."

I gulped when I heard the disdain in Trey's voice. It's so weird to hear such a negative tone from a person who is normally so chill. Ace and Deuce appeared to have agreed with what Trey said.

"It's bad enough that you had to spend every Wednesday with those three. Who knows what damage they did to you?"

"Yeah! We're going to make sure that you're far away from bad influences!"

I thought about what Ace said before I started laughing.

"What are you laughing about?"

"Ace. You are the king of bad influences. Before my fall, you wanted me to join you in putting five bath bombs into each toilet that is in the main building. I had to restrain you from doing that."

"Shhhhhh, we don't need to talk about that."

"Ace, I'll be having a talk with you later."

Riddle turned his head to glare at Ace. Deuce and Trey started snickering at the interaction between Ace and Riddle. They started to bicker about whether or not Ace deserves to be punished.

"I DIDN'T DO IT!"

"Your thoughts will soon become your actions! If (Y/N) wasn't there, you would have done it!"

"okay, that might have some truth BUT I STILL DIDN'T DO IT!"

After about five minutes of walking, we reached the Pop Music Club room. Cater, Kalim and Lilia were rocking out and they appeared to be having a blast. Ace and Deuce let go of my arms and I got closer to their makeshift stage. Sometimes I wish that I was better at playing an instrument so that I could join them but... I think that I would only bring down their performances.

After about two minutes of them not realizing that we were there, Cater took notice and appeared to have gone through a mental pause. Because he stopped singing and playing, Lilia and Kalim stopped playing their instruments as well.

"(Y/N)!!!"

Kalim lunged at me from behind his drums to enwrap me in a hug. I was mildly prepared but it still ended up hurting me.

"Ow, hiya, Kalim!"

Kalim didn't react to me saying ow like how Deuce did before.

"You're walking! Oh, that's amazing news! I'll get Jamil to host a huge celebration for the fact that you can move around again! I'm thinking fifty purple peacocks and plenty of golden camels will be a good start for your parade!"

Kalim went off into a planning scheme. I tried to get him to stop for Jamil's sake. There's no telling what Jamil might do if Kalim does something like this.

"I don't need all of that. Promise."

"Dorm leader Rosehearts, what brings you here? Did Ace-chan and Deuce-chan mess things up again?"

Cater's teasing tone triggered Ace and Deuce's need to defend themselves from the teasing.

"Kidding, kidding~!"

"I was tasked by the Headmage to deliver these papers to you. He made it very clear that you need to have these papers filled out by tomorrow morning."

Cater took the papers before turning his attention to me.

"Yo, (Y/N)-chan's out of bed! I need a photo of this!"

Cater was quick to get to my side and put his arm around my shoulders. Kalim and Lilia were quick to get in the picture as well before Cater took many photos.

"Perfect!"

"Ah, my little bat! Did you like what I made for you~?"

Oh, right! I forgot about the bag that Lilia gave me. I quickly grabbed it from my pocket and opened it. Inside were little black things that I think were supposed to be cookies.

"Cookies?"

"Correct! I was trying out a healthier recipe that would be able to heal you faster! But it seems that my hard work wasn't needed after all. Makes me a bit sad."

"Don't feel bad! I'm not a hundred percent better yet. Just good enough to walk around by myself."

Lilia's face fell while I grabbed one of the 'cookies'. I popped one into my mouth. The taste exploded in my mouth and I had to shake my head to try and get used to the taste. Lilia's cooking can send your soul into the next five dimensions sometimes.

"He let you walk without a complete bill of health?!"

"No, he did. The fact that he said that I was good enough to walk is a clean bill of health."

"Is that true? Humans have such a lazy way of taking care of the injured."

I only nodded, mainly because trying to convince Lilia that this was the better way for humans to recover would be near impossible. Although I had to admit, even though Lilia's cooking blasted my taste buds to new dimensions, Kalim's tight hug around my waist stopped aching.

"(Y/N). We must be on our way."

Riddle came up to me with Ace, Deuce, Trey and Cater behind him. I guess that Pop Music Club was done for the evening. I start to move forward but Kalim's grip tightened. I couldn't move an inch away.

"Why does he have to go with you? Jamil and I are going to be watching him tomorrow!"

"W-w-wait a-"

"Because he needs someone who can actually watch over him during the last stages of his recovery."

"Jamil and I are plenty responsible!"

Kalim was showing a completely different side of him. He seemed really possessive.

"Are you denying an order from me, Kalim?"

"Maybe I am!"

"Kalim."

Everybody then turned their heads to Jamil, who I believe was there to pick up Kalim.

"Yeah, Jamil?"

"We need to get going."

"Got it!"

Jamil started to walk, leaving Kalim still in the club room. Kalim seemed conflicted on whether or not to let go of me before settling on picking me up by my waist before running after Jamil.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow!"

"Wait a minute!!"

Kalim was much too fast for the other guys and caught up to Jamil with no problem.

"Jamil! (Y/N)'s feeling better! He can walk now!"

"I heard."

"He's also spending the night in the dorm!"

Jamil stopped before turning around to see me in Kalim's arms.

"H-hi... Jamil..."

Jamil had a mild wide eyed look while he was staring at me. I saw him take a deep inhale before closing his eyes and exhaling. He schooled his expression before continuing on with walking.

"Hello, (Y/N). Kalim. You know that I don't appreciate it when you bring in random guests without notifying me."

"Huh? But I thought you were the one who wanted (Y/N) to visit once he was feeling better?"

Jamil made a choked noise. That piece of news was interesting to hear from Kalim. I always thought that I was a further burden on Jamil's shoulders, not to mention the fact that I prevented his coup. Why would he want me to visit?

"Kalim. What have I told you about sharing private conversations?"

"It wasn't private! We had it in the kitchen. Many of the other Scarabia students agreed with having him over when you proposed the idea."

Jamil seemed to be getting more and more flustered at what he said. I felt bad.

"Kalim, maybe you shouldn't tease Jamil."

"I'm not teasing him!"

"You... kind of are."

"Oh. Sorry, Jamil!"

Jamil just decided to hide his face in his hoodie. I kept my eye on him. I made the mental note to try and apologize to Jamil later. I knew how Kalim got on his nerves very easily. We eventually made it to Scarabia and I was allowed to use my feet again.

"(Y/N)!"

I was surrounded by all different Scarabia students. They all had things in their hands. Apparently, back when I first got hurt, Kalim was very upset and told everybody about the news. I didn't realize how much the Scarabia students liked me because they ended up either making or buying things for me!

"Here! A stuffed parrot! Don't worry! It's only cloth and stuffing!"

"I know that you're almost fully healed but here. This is a cream that I use on injuries to soothe them."

"(Y/N)! As a thanks, I made you one of my mom's recipes! I messed up a lot of times in the kitchen but I think that you'll enjoy the outcome!"

I was mildly overloaded with all of the gifts.

"Thank you so much but you really didn't need to do all of this for me!"

"Nonsense, (Y/N)! You deserve all of this and so much more! Come along! Let's sit down while you continue to get gifts!"

Kalim pulled me along and sat me down on a cushion. I nearly melted in it. Compared to the cushions at Ramshackle or the nurse bed, it felt as if I was sitting on a cloud. I set the few gifts that I was holding down and that's where the other gifts were being put down.

"Kalim."

Kalim turned towards me with a shining look in his eyes. I felt so bad.

"I don't feel right accepting all of these. I haven't done anything to deserve all of this! All that I did was get hurt!"

"Shhhhh, (Y/N)! You shouldn't worry about it! You're Scarabia's little brother! We just want to spoil you!"

"WHAT?!"

LITTLE BROTHER?! What is wrong with everyone today?!

"Awww, (Y/N), don't get fussy! I know! Jamil!"

Kalim grabbed me in a hug. My back was against his chest and we were so close that I could feel his heartbeat. I tried to get out of his grip but Lilia's cookies were starting to wear off. The aches and pains were starting to come back. Jamil came from the kitchen, no longer having his hoodie covering his face.

"Yes, Kalim?"

"(Y/N) here is working himself up! Do you think that you can get him to relax?"

"Of course, (Y/N). Just look into my eyes and your worries will melt away."

I closed my eyes so fast. Jamil's unique magic was something that I never wanted to experience again.

"No! Jamil, you promised that you wouldn't do this to me again!"

"Shhhh, I won't hurt you. Just open your eyes. You'll be just fine."

I felt hands on my face and they pried my eyelids open. I was forced to stare straight into Jamil's eyes. I felt my resolve melt in a few seconds.

"There we go. Just relax. You're the little brother of Scarabia and you love being here with us. Scarabia students are the only ones with your safety in mind. The other dorms will hurt you without hesitation."

I felt my head nod. I don't understand why I was trying to fight Kalim. He only wanted to protect me.

"If another dorm member tries to interact with you, run and try to find a Scarabia student. They'll keep you safe."

I nodded my head again. A smile broke out on my face. A feeling of security enveloped me. I was so happy that my big brothers were around me. They just want to keep me safe.

"Are you done, Jamil?"

Kalim spoke in a whisper. I didn't completely understand why.

"Yes. He'll no longer give us trouble."

"Yay! Now! (Y/N)! How about after everyone finishes giving you their presents, we can throw a huge celebration for your return home!"

A giggle left my mouth.

"I love that idea, Big Brother Kalim."

About five days passed by while I was in Scarabia. I raised my concerns about my classes but Kalim or Jamil told me that everything was fine. That I didn't need to go to classes anymore. For some reason, that caused a part of my mind to grow uncomfortable with that thought. Why was I so determined to go to class? The other dorms would be in those classes! They'll hurt me!

"Are you sure that you guys have to go? Won't the other dorms hurt you guys as well?!"

Fear coiled around my heart like a snake for my big brothers. They were all so brave for going out into the school.

"Don't worry about us, (Y/N)! We can handle ourselves!"

"Besides, don't you remember?"

I looked at Jamil straight in the eyes.

"You're too weak to defend yourself."

My mind got muddled but I nodded my head yes.

"Yeah, you're right. I keep forgetting for some reason."

"Hehehehe! Don't worry, (Y/N)! I forget important things too! I wouldn't worry too much about it! Just rest in Scarabia and you'll be just fine!"

"If you say so, big brother!"

I waved everyone off before taking my seat in the lounge room. I took deep breaths to calm my heart before closing my eyes. I don't know why I always feel so worried about them leaving. They're strong unlike me.

I dozed off for a while. My dreams felt so life-like. I could have sworn that I was lifted off the ground by a million butterflies and was flown around the outside of Scarabia to enjoy the sun and scenery. Although I was given the biggest heart attack when I awoke.

I opened my eyes to see, well, nothing! There was just darkness. I haven't seen such darkness in a while. Ramshackle used to be very dark when I pulled the blinds shut but... Wait a minute, what's Ramshackle?

I heard footsteps echoing outside of the room that I was in. Maybe it was Jamil or Kalim? But why would my brothers pull such an awful prank on me? I soon got my answer. It was neither Kalim or Jamil.

The man who looked at me was wearing a deep purple outfit. It was like a dress without it being a dress. His hair was done really fancy and there appeared to be a crown on his head. I was terrified. It wasn't a Scarabia uniform which meant that this was probably someone from a different dorm! He's going to hurt me!

I let out whimpers. If I actually had a shot of taking the guy down, I would have screamed but I'm not strong enough to defend myself from him. The blonde man glared down at me.

"First Potato. Don't whimper. It isn't a good look on you."

The nickname rang bells in my head but I don't recognize him at all.

"Wh-who are you?"

The man appeared shocked by my question.

"What do you mean 'Who are you'? You know me quite well, First Potato!"

I shrunk when he raised his voice. He quickly noticed and tried to remedy his mistake.

"I apologize for scaring you, (Y/N). But I just can't believe that you forgot about me."

I stared at him and my mind was itching. It was most uncomfortable. Why did I feel like I knew him?

"Are you going to hurt me?"

The man looked appalled at the words that I said.

"Hurt you? Why would I hurt you? (Y/N). Nobody here wants to hurt you. It was bad enough that that Cucumber let you fall but I assure you that I will not cause you any harm. I owe you much better."

"Are you sure, Vil?"

"Hm? It appears that you do know me after all. I didn't tell you who I was."

I realized what I said. I do know this man! Vil Schoenheit! The famous model and actor! I helped him during VDC! My memories quickly came back! I had friends in other dorms! They wouldn't hurt me!

"Vil! It's a relief to see you again!"

I grabbed him in a hug and had the biggest smile on my face. A smile broke out on Vil's face as well. I felt his arms wrap around my body.

"It's a joy to see you as well, First Potato."

"But wait. Why am I in Pomefiore in the first place? I was in Scarabia for so long. I didn't think that anybody was searching for me."

"You're in Pomefiore, First Potato, because I heard from Epel that you weren't in class. I instructed Rook to go looking for you. The nurse told me and a few of the other dorm leaders that you should be back in classes last Thursday. It took Rook close to six days. Scarabia had you hidden well but thankfully, Rook overheard something from the potatoes from Heartslabyul. I can't believe what those spuds from Scarabia kept you captive!"

"Yeah, they all were acting really weird! Floyd and Jade were acting in a similar way."

Vil tilted his head slightly.

"How exactly were they acting?"

A sigh escaped my lips.

"They keep acting as if I'm their younger brother and that I can't do a single thing for myself! For crying out loud! I took care of overblots, I fought ghosts and students who decided to pick a fight, I took care of Ramshackle nearly by myself! I'm not a little boy!"

I clenched my hands into fists. What has been happening really has taken a huge toll on my mental state. Tears of frustration started to pool in the corners of my eyes.

"Calm down, First Potato. You're working yourself into dismay. You wouldn't want your eyes puffy, now do you? Follow my actions."

Vil coached me through a breathing exercise. I felt my panic ebb away and the tears no longer forming.

"Thank you again, Vil. I'm just really tired right now."

Vil gave me a pat on my head, which made me smile.

"It's not a problem for me, First Potato. But you shouldn't sleep any more. Naps can be useful in case of a bad night's sleep but I'm certain that you got plenty of sleep in Scarabia."

I nodded my head. Last night was the only night that there wasn't a huge party if my memory is correct. Although, I really wouldn't trust it for the fact that I was under a lot of mind control during that time.

"So, instead of taking a nap, we're going to do some other relaxing activity. You're lacking a certain glow that you normally have."

Vil grabbed one of my hands before pulling me out of the room. He led me through the hallways of Pomefiore before stopping in front of a different room. He knocked on the door pretty loudly.

"Rook! Come out please!"

The door opened swiftly and there was Rook in all of his glory.

"Roi du Poison! Oh, and my Jeune Chercheur de Beauté! It's wonderful to see you awake from your slumber although..."

Rook's smile turned into a scary smirk.

"Your sleeping face gave me the most euphoria that I've ever experienced! There was nothing more that I wanted than to split your head open and crawl inside to see what made you so calm and happy in your dreams."

Rook went on a tangent and I was starting to get uncomfortable. Rook can really go into the smallest details that even a person who spends a whole day in front of a mirror wouldn't notice.

"Rook."

Rook stopped mid sentence before clasping his hands together.

"Right! Forgive me, Roi du Poison! I got lost in my Trickster's beauty. Now, what may I do for you, my Lovely Queen?"

"I want you to take (Y/N) and get him some proper clothing. Those rags that Kalim and Jamil made him wear are quite insulting."

I looked down at my clothes. I didn't even realize that I was wearing a Scarabia uniform! When did I get changed?!

"Oui, oui, Beautiful Vil! I'll make sure that he is put into clothing that compliments your and his beauty perfectly! Now, come with me, Jeune Chercheur de Beauté. Let's get your beauty to shine above all others."

Rook left his room and started to guide me from behind. He kept a tight grip on my shoulders and started to push me towards somewhere else in Pomefiore.

"This way, this way, Trickster."

"Where are we going, Rook?"

"You'll see!"

I let out a light laugh. To be honest, this is probably the most fun that I've had ever since I was released from bed rest. Although Grim is probably freaking out by now.

"Here we are!"

I was jostled out of my thoughts when Rook opened a very large room. I was in awe of all of the clothes there. There were so many beautiful clothes. They all appeared to be of high quality as well.

"Now! Let's find the perfect outfit to compliment your beauty!"

I lost count of how many outfits that I had tried on. Rook complimented all of them but he would always end his compliments with the same ending statement.

"While your beauty is shining bright, I know that you could be shining brighter."

We finally chose a really beautiful outfit. I remember seeing it in a catalogue that Vil had a few months ago. I did want the outfit but there was no way that I could afford it. It compliments my skin and hair perfectly.

"TRÉS BIEN!! OH, MON JEUNE CHERCHEUR DE BEAUTÉ! Je n'ai jamais vu quelqu'un briller autant que toi en ce moment! Pomefiore a tellement de chance que tu fasses partie de notre dortoir comme tous les nôtres juniors! Bien que, je dois l'admettre, si vous êtes toujours proche de moi, j'aurai toute la beauté dont j'ai besoin dans ma vie pour durer éternellement!"

"Thank you?"

"Non, non, thank YOU, Trickster! For blessing me with a wonderful sight!"

I heard a vibration and Rook pulled out his phone. A smile broke out on his face.

"Perfect timing! Come along, Mon Jeune Chercheur! Roi du Poison requires your presence."

Rook grabbed my wrist and started to lead me somewhere else in Pomefiore. I saw Epel during the trip and gave him a wave. He looked shocked before rushing to catch up with Rook and me.

"(Y/N)! Where have you been?! Ace, Deuce, and Jack have been searching for you all over school! Sebek and I have been taking care of Grim and Ramshackle for ya! Even though Grim has been really upset without you recently."

"I was... mildly kidnapped by Scarabia for the past few days."

Epel's eyebrows went up before his face contorted into a scowl.

"Those gluttonous hogs... I'll make sure that they pay!"

"We're here, Roi du Poison!"

Rook opened some other doors and inside was what I would call a full photography studio. Cameras, lights, backdrops, makeup on the side, everything! Vil was there, wearing a beautiful outfit himself and had a full face of makeup on.

"Ah, it's about time, First Potato. Ah, Epel, you've come along as well."

"Well, I really wanted to see (Y/N) again."

I was mildly surprised at how quiet Epel was being. He actually appeared to be bashful.

"Well, if you're quick enough and actually listen to instructions, you can join the photo shoot."

Epel looked shocked before a huge smile appeared on his face.

"Really?!"

"Yes, but you have to clean up and get your makeup done!"

"Right!"

Epel ran off into one of the side rooms to most likely get ready. I've never seen him listen to Vil so enthusiastically before.

"Now, come here First Potato."

I returned my attention to Vil who had his arms open to me. I walked up to him, a bit confused on what he wanted me to do. He gestured to the camera and I got the hint. I moved to in front of the camera and stood there.

"Why am I doing this?"

"We're doing this to capture your natural beauty while putting you in a low stress environment. You mentioned how you were tired and creating beautiful works of art is a relaxing activity that we can do together."

"W-w-wait, these photos won't be p-posted anywhere? Right?"

"Of course not, First Potato. I know how much you get nervous about photos of you."

I felt the tension leaving my body. Knowing that I could just have fun pictures that don't need to be one hundred percent perfect was a joy to hear. Vil kept talking to the camera man when Epel came back with an outfit of his own. It was a bit cutesy but he didn't seem too annoyed by it.

"There! I even wore the outfit you picked, Vil!"

There's his annoyance.

"Hmmmm, you rushed your makeup, hair and the outfit looks thrown on. Ugh, maybe I'm feeling more lenient because of my junior being here or I must be going crazy, but go on."

Epel jumped slightly before running to me. He even captured me in a hug.

"(Y/N)! It's a wonder to see ya again! To be honest, the school is kind of falling apart with you out of action for so long."

"Oh! That's... really not good."

NRC falling apart is the nearly last thing that I want. I mean, sure. When I first got it here, I was highly uncomfortable but now. This place is like a second home to me.

"Alright! Roi Du Poison has placed me in charge of making sure everyone is in their correct positions! Alright, Mon Jeune Chercheur! Over here!"

Rook grabbed my hands and led me over to a plain white cube. He first sat on it before positioning me on top of him.

"Um, Rook?"

"It will be fine, Trickster! Now, Epel, please come over here!"

Epel rushed over, put his hands in a crisscross position, lay them in my lap before settling his head on top of them. His head facing the camera while he was kneeling. I stayed as still as possible before Vil came over and stood behind me and Rook. He put his hand on my shoulder. It kind of felt like a family portrait.

"We need at least one formal photo before we can do more. Now, everyone, give the camera your best smile."

I looked at the camera and gave it my best smile. I hope that it's enough to make the picture look well. The photographer took many pictures of us in the position and at different angles. My eyes were mildly blotchy after that.

"There we go. Now, time for other poses."

I don't know how many hours we spent there but I must admit. It was so much fun to just have a photo shoot with my Pomefiore friends. Some of the photos were just me and Epel or me and Rook or me and Vil. Each one had a different feel. Vil's photos were more serious while Epel's photos had a more fun vibe. Rook's photos were light hearted but at the same time, my heart raced because of the look in his eyes.

"Wow, I think that I really needed this. Thanks Vil for coming up with this."

"No problem, First Potato. Although you should probably rest now. It's gotten quite dark."

"Has it?!"

I moved to leave the room and took a look outside. Sure enough, the moon was in the sky at Pomefiore.

"Oh no! I need to get to Ramshackle. Thank you guys so much for hanging out with me but I really do need to leave!"

"Wait!"

"Non!"

"Hold on-!"

I didn't wait to hear their protests before running down the hallways.

"I'll return the outfit tomorrow! I promise!"

I didn't have the time to change. I had to get back to Ramshackle. Grim will never forgive me for taking this long to recover and see him again. It took me around six minutes to reach Ramshackle and I bursted through the doors. The ghosts there looked shocked before they became overjoyed.

"(Y/N)!"

"Welcome back!"

"We've missed you!"

"Thanks for the warm welcome guys! But where's Grim?"

"Upstairs in bed!"

"Thank you!"

I ran up the stairs and quietly opened the door to see Grim curled up in a ball on the bed. I shut the door before walking to him and gently started to pet his back. He leaned into my touch before opening his eyes.

"(Y/N)!"

Grim jumped onto me to smother my face.

"Hello, Grimmy! It's wonderful to see you as well!"

Grim had a big grin on his face before his expression turned into a dark one.

"You need to leave."

Saying that I was confused would have been an understatement.

"Wh-what do you mean? Grim, aren't you glad that I'm back?"

"I am! But all of those other guys are insane! They've been talking about kidnapping you to 'keep you safe'!"

"WHAT?!"

[rendy-a]

Could I request a self aware twst au with like the first years :D?

I want to thank all the people who interacted with that post earlier today. It gave me enough motivation to go out and finish this piece.

While trying to think up concepts for this work, it occured to me that all the first years (except Ortho) were in sports clubs. That means there is one event perfect for you to bond with your first year friends.

Ace kicks a pile of canvas laying in a heap at his feet, “This is ridiculous!  What if something happens while we’re gone!”  His mouth twists into an unpleasant grimace.  He looks to his basketball club members for backup, but no one will meet his eye.  So, he turns to where he knows he’ll find support.  “Oi, Sebek!”  The green haired fae is distractedly pounding away at a tent stake nearby but it is easy to see from his expression that his heart isn’t in it.  “What happens if someone tries to kidnap the Player when we aren’t there to protect them?  You know how famous they are!”  Sebek stops hammering and slowly looks up, tears forming in his eyes. 

“SILVER! SILVER!” he shouts to his clubmate, “What if I’m not there to protect the Player!  Forget this event, we must return to the school with ALL HASTE!”  He looks to his fellows for support but again, none of the senior students stop what they are doing.  Ace, however, is fast to abandon his own camping site and join Sebek.  “Right, right?” he eagerly urges Sebek on, “What does this even matter if our Player isn’t here to see it?” 

“Stop it,” the sturdy voice of Jack growls, “It doesn’t pay to get worked up over it.  This is in the story, so we have to do it.  That’s just how it is.”  Sebek stares at the wolf beastman silently, tears falling from his eyes.  “Maybe we can tell them about it later!” Deuce tries to cheer his fellow freshman up, “I’m sure they’d like to hear about it.  They always listened to my card stories before…well before it happened.  I think they’d like to hear about this too!”  At that Sebek seemed mightily cheered and returned to setting up his tent with gusto, muttering about what he’d tell the Player about later.  Ace scoffs, sensing his defeat and returns bitterly to his own site. 

Epel wanders over and observes Ace silently.  “You finished?” Ace asks in surprise.  “Yeah, Leona is a great leader and took charge of getting us set up right away!” Epel informs him, “I had time to put up my tent and help Ruggie set up one for Leona too!”  Then he looks down and kicks Ace’s sad abandoned tent as well, “I just wish the Player was here to see it.  I bet they’d have been really impressed with how fast I finished.”  Ace frowns and complains, “But they aren’t here.  They are back at school with the Arts Clubs.”  This causes Epel to scowl deeply, “Dagnabit!  I didn’t need a reminder of that!  I can just picture those frou-frou artsy types trying to suck up to the Player.  Trying to get them to talk different, eat different, just…” He doesn’t finish the thought but the way he grinds his teeth shows how he feels about the idea.

The sound of pounding tent stakes and shifting canvas is diminished when the booming voice of Coach Vargas booms out, “Listen up, young campers!  Now, I know you don’t need any additional motivation to showcase your strength and fortitude here after I’ve done an AMAZING job setting up this EXCITING AND ENTERTAINING EVENT!”  Here he pauses and casts a quick look over his shoulder before straightening up again.  “But if you do!”  Then he smiles a beaming smile and sets his hands on his hips.  That’s when you pop out from behind him, “Hey guys!  Guess who’s here to do their memory keeper duties!” 

Ace jumps over his canvas pile in a rush to get to your side and stumbles over it.  “Woah, calm down,” you admonish him cheerily, “I’ll be here all weekend.”  Epel asks in an innocent sounding voice, “You will?  You really will?”  You pat the two boys on the shoulder and search out your other first year friends in the crowd.  Sebek is sobbing quietly in front of his tent and Deuce is waving excitedly from the distant track club area.  Jack gives you a small nod before turning back to his area as though he is unaffected by your appearance, but the cloud of dust kicked up by his wagging tail says otherwise. 

You turn toward Vargas and look expectantly.  He looks blankly back at you until you awkwardly say, “Go on.”  He looks at you a moment before clearing his throat, “Ah yes, yes.  Harumph!  Anyway, tents are up!  Get over here and listen up for your next task!”  Then he looks at you as though seeking your approval to hand out the task.  You shrug and then nod as though to say, ‘Sure, go for it.’  Vargas gives you a toothy smile and then proceeds to hand out a familiar sounding explanation about the tasks to be assigned to the clubs.  You wave lightly before heading back to the cabin to get your own things sorted out.  The eagerness of the students fades as fast as your departure.

“So…,” Deuce begins carefully, “We are going to try now?  Right?”  He looks at Ace for confirmation.  Jack snorts behind him, “I was always going to try.”  Then he makes a fist and puts on an eager smile, “I’m going to knock this challenge out so fast that the Player can’t help but notice me!”  Deuce turns away from Ace to join Jack instead.  The two Track Club members fire each other up over their plans to dominate the camp tasks and stand out to the Player.  Deuce quickly becomes so distracted by this that he forgets Ace entirely.  This is just the chance Ace has been waiting for to quietly slip away.

“So, Prefect,” Ace begins as he appears at your side.  You yelp and drop your backpack, catching it before it hits the ground and damages your precious ghost camera.  “Ace!” you shout, “What are you doing here?  This isn’t in the event!”  He looks at you quietly and you quickly backtrack, “I…I mean, shouldn’t you be with the Basketball Club doing…something?”  Ace smiles, happy to have avoided an awkward situation.  “Nah, I’m not going to mess around in the woods.  It’s a team effort, so as long as those other guys do the grunt work, I’ll be fine.”  You roll your eyes at his attitude.  “Plus, why would I want to be anywhere but with my best buddy, eh Prefect?” 

You consider this carefully before slyly narrowing your eyes and gesturing to your unbuilt tent.  “Sure, thing, Pal.  Why don’t you hang out and help me build my tent.”  Ace grimaces, not wanting to do the work but mostly afraid you’ll pick up on his lack of tent-building expertise.  The odd standoff is concluded when you hear Coach Vargus bellow, “Nonsense!  That won’t do for either of you!  I can hardly deprive the Prefect of the chance to enjoy this stimulating muscle-building activity and as for you Ace, well, you are just slacking off.”  Ace starts to stammer as you just stand there cringing.  Coach Vargus calmly approaches Ace and lifts him up by his collar.  It reminds you of how you lift a misbehaving Grim by the scruff of his neck.  You wave awkwardly at the departing Ace as he looks imploringly at you from the Coach’s grasp.  ‘Oh well, you reap what you sow,’ you think.

A tiring amount of time later, you brush your hands off on your thighs and declare, “There, done!”  Then you slowly head over to grab your pack holding the Ghost Camera, among other supplies.  The sun is barely at its peak, but you are already sweating with exertion from putting up the tent.  You wonder how your more athletic friends among the first-year students are handling it.  You know they are more used to the effort, but you hope they are taking necessary precautions.  Perhaps you’d just remind them and see if they need to borrow some sunscreen.

You know realize that sunscreen was the least of your safety concerns.  You watch in disbelief as Sebek continues to scale a sheer cliff in search of a lantern blossom flower.  The reaction of the nearby students was mixed.  Silver seemed remarkably unconcerned as he spoke to Riddle nearby.  Meanwhile, you and several NPC characters were more nervous.  “He is going to fall, isn’t he?” you ask the nearby Scarabia A.  He looks at you for a long moment and then shrugs his shoulders.  You are not reassured at all. 

You turn instead to Ignihyde C and gesture, “This game doesn’t have a mature rating, so he can’t die.  Right? Right?”  The surprised student looks at you with his mouth falling open before he stammers, “R.right.”  Then he looks up at the precarious position of the green haired fae and mumbles, “But maybe you should cheer him on anyway.”  You look more intently at the NPC and demand, “Do you think that would help?”  He answers you in a fluster, “W..well, if my oshi…I mean friend…if my friend cheered me on, I think it would really help me do my best!” 

Right.  That is just the sort of thing friends do.  “HEY SEBEK!” you shout.  The fae somehow hears you shout and looks arrogantly over his shoulder at the spectators but when his eye catches your form, he shakes, and you fear he will tumble from the cliff.  “HOLD ON SEBEK, YOU CAN DO IT!  I BELIEVE IN YOU!”  From even the great distance between you, the image of determination that crosses his expression can be seen.  He sets off with a renewed vigor, making daring transitions and finding ways to make speedy progress.  With several movements that make you gasp and hold your breath; he reaches the lantern blossom and plucks it from the ground. 

Much faster than the ascent, Sebek’s return to the ground was accomplished quite shortly.  He was still a considerable distance up when he leaps from the cliff edge to race to your side and show off his prize.  He eagerly holds out the glowing lantern blossom for you to view.  “Its so pretty,” you comment politely, “I wish I had one.”  He gasps and grabs hold of your hand, forcing the poor battered flower into it.  “THEN YOU MUST HAVE THIS ONE!”  You give him a shocked look, “No really, that is unnecessary.  I’ll get one some other day.”  He smiles at you smugly, “No need Prefect.  Any time you need a lantern blossom, I will fetch one for you.”  You guiltily hold out the flower to one student after another, but no member of the Horseback Riding Club will take it from you.  “Prefect,” Riddle finally says in a commanding voice, “Its rude to return a gift.  We are more than capable of retrieving another lantern blossom.”  Sebek and Silver nod in agreement, backing up the Dorm Leader.  You think it’s time to go before you cause this club any more trouble.  You make your excuses and dash off to the lake.

As you part a pair of branches and emerge from the forest at the lake’s edge, you catch sight of some members of the Spelldrive Club nearby.  Ruggie seems to be fishing up a storm while your first-year friend Epel watches from nearby with his own pole.  “See,” Ruggie tells his underclassman, “That’s how its done.  Now in return for that free lesson, how about you show me what you learned by catching enough fish for the rest of the club! Shishishi!”  You roll your eyes at the obvious attempt to foist the work off onto Epel but are surprised with your friend shouts “YES SIR!” with enthusiasm.  You catch Ruggie’s eye and give him a quiet tsk tsk which only earns you a mischievous wink before the hyena beastman set’s off toward camp.

You slowly saunter over to Epel, who is fully engaged in his fishing.  “So, got a plan?” you asked over his shoulder.  “Eh!?” he gasps and drops his pole, “Player!  I..I mean Prefect!  It’s you! Ya’ had me surprised outta my skin there!”  You give him an apologetic smile.  Epel stoops down to retrieve his pole and shyly replies, “My plan is just to catch the fish.  I’m not going to give up until I’ve caught at least a dozen!”  Then he holds up his arm and bends it at the elbow, giving you a little flex to show off his determination.  You hold in a laugh, “Well, if you are that fired up, why stop at only one dozen?” 

Epel’s eyes go wide for a moment and then he gets a maniacal grin.  “Yeah! You’re right!  I’m going to catch you at least two dozen fish!  Or maybe three or four!”  You know Epel is not the type to break his word, so you quickly interrupt to calm down his ambitions, “One dozen is enough!  I was just joking.”  You wave your hands toward the ground as though to say, let’s lower our expectations.  Epel frowns and mutters under his breath, “That isn’t going to impress anyone.” Then he looks at you determined, “Just wait and see!  I’ll catch plenty of fish so don’t go eat’n with any other club!  When tha fish are in tha bag, I’ll make ya Gram’s special fish stew!” 

As Epel gets to work, casting his line and reeling in the lure, you sit beside him on a rock.  When the time seems right, you snap a picture of him eagerly lifting a small fish from the lake on his line.  “There you go!  One down!” you say as you transfer the ghost camera to your elbow and give him a small clap of encouragement.  He preens a short second before frowning down at the small fish.  “Tha’ next ‘un will be twice as big!” he shouts in determination before casting his line again. 

True to his prediction, soon Epel gets a tremendous tug on his pole.  You both shout and leap to your feet at the strength of the fish that appears to be on the line.  “WOAH!” Epel shouts.  You lean over the edge of the lake, trying to see the monster fish Epel has snagged.  Epel too seems interested in his opponent and plans one foot firmly while leaning forward to stare intently where his line entered the lake.  With a sudden flash, a scaled hand emerges from the lake to grab the tip of Epel’s rod and tugs Epel, pole and all, into the lake.  You quickly slide back as far more of Floyd emerges from the lake.  He gives you a toothy smile before his trademark laugh emerges and he returns to the lake.  Epel does not immediately surface, and you are concerned for a moment before you spot him further down the shore.  Though he has concealed himself behind a log, you can tell his ears are flushed with embarrassment.  You kindly decide to give him his space.

Halfway to camp, your stomach begins to growl.  You thought sadly about Gran’s special fish stew, now beyond your reach.  You hoped that you’d manage to sweet talk some fish off someone.  They were your friends, so someone is bound to share, right? 

The size of Deuce’s eyes when you asked him sweetly if he’d share his food with you rivaled that of the empty plate you held out to him.  “Please?” you finish your plea for lunch.  Deuce flushes and quickly removes his pack from his shoulder, pulling out a fairly large fish.  “No problem, Prefect, I’ve got enough for two here!”  You make a little gesture to celebrate your victory and compliment him, “Yeah!  Great job catching such a big fish.  It looks so huge, I bet its even enough for three people!”  Immediately Deuce denies this, “NO!  NO, IT’S NOT!”  When you pull back in surprise, Deuce continues in a softer voice, “I…I mean this one is just perfect for two.  It…its just meant for us.  To share.  Together.” 

You hold up your hands and agree, “Sure, sure.  Just you and me.  I get you.”  Deuce seems so very pleased by your response that you decide to just let his strange response slide.  Plus, you need him to cook that fish.  “So…what are you making?  You know, just for us to share?” you ask as you saddle up to his side?  Deuce looks back and forth between you and the fish, “I sure know how to cook this.  Yup, I really do.”  Your mouth falls into a little O and then you glare at him suspiciously, “Deuce, do you know how to cook fish?”  He doesn’t meet your eye but assures you that Trey taught him some recipes.  You still have your suspicious but figure if it was a Trey recipe, it would be alright.

“So, what do we do?” you ask Deuce.  He looks at you with a dreamy expression, “We?  You’re going to cook with me?”  You shrug your shoulders, “I mean yeah, that’s how Trey’s recipes are, right?”  Then you lean in close and whisper, “Like…Like in the game when we made that chestnut tart together.  Right?”  Deuce quickly agrees, “Right!  Together!  You and me!  Just…you and me… Ahem!”  He finishes with a cough and then, to your relief, sends you to the forest to collect some herbs. 

You had a handful of samples and a general area to search for more.  Apparently, Jack had scented some out while setting up camp and taken cuttings so his clubmates could retrieve more later.  You smiled at the foresight of the first-year student.  You weren’t sure exactly what Deuce needed, so you gathered a few handfuls of each type.  You walk back to the camp and set your bounty on the table next to the fish Deuce has prepared.  It looks like he’s used the time you were away to fillet the fish and make a simple dough.  Seeing the dough gives you confidence that this really is a Trey recipe. 

“So, what now?” you ask him.  “Chop up the herbs and mix them into a paste with water,” Deuce directs.  “Sure,” you say while gesturing to the pile, “but which ones?”  Deuce pauses and looks at the large pile of greens you have sitting there.  “Oh…um…All of them!”  Now your doubts are back.  “Are you sure about that?” you ask him carefully.  “Yeah!” Deuce replies confidently, “Just like Trey says, the more the merrier!”  You carefully take two sprigs of herbs and chop them up and then, while Deuce is preoccupied with the dough, give them a taste.  Honestly, the combination of the two isn’t bad.  ‘Well,’ you think, ‘what to I know about cooking in a magical world anyway?’  So, you chop the entire pile of greens and mix it all into a thick paste.  Deuce combines your herb paste with the fish and puts it into a small pie shell he has formed with the dough.  Then, you pack the ‘pie’ into the hot rocks of the fire to roast. 

While the pie bakes, you sit side by side on a log and chat about normal things.  Or maybe it was more like you chatted and Deuce listened.  You didn’t mind, he was good company even if he seemed preoccupied.  You were telling him about Grim’s latest antics when you felt something on your hand.  You give a small yelp and tug your hand into your lap.  “Ah!” you examine your hand as you brush it off, “Was that a bug?”  Deuce, who you suddenly realize had gotten far closer to you than you’d noticed, nervously remarked, “Oh yeah, that…was probably it.  Ha ha.”  Finally, you ask, “Are you cold?  I bet we could find you a seat closer to the fire if you are.  You can be as cozy as our pie.”  Deuce seems embarrassed for a moment before suddenly becoming alarmed, “THE PIE!”  He jumps up and fishes the pie from the fire. 

He brings it to you nervously, “I think it is fine…”  The pie has a small amount of char around the edge that was directly in the fire.  If it hadn’t been made by your good friend, you’d probably have refused it but, since it was made by Deuce, you don’t have the heart to refuse.  “Oh yeah, looks fine.  I guess…lets try it?” you say trying to convince both yourself and Deuce of the pie’s editability.  Deuce lets out a happy sigh and breaks the pie in half, handing you the slice with fewer burnt edges.  He makes no move to eat the pie himself but seems to hold his breath, waiting for you to try it.  “Well, here it goes?” you say in a worried tone.  You take a bite; it’s terrible.  You force your mouth into a wide smile, “mmm…” you mutter for him in pity.  You decide to use the same method for the pie as you used the last time you were forced to eat Lilia’s cooking.  You cram the pie down in three huge bites, trying to finish it off while tasting it as little as possible. 

For a moment, Deuce seems greatly pleased with the gusto in which you eat before the look of alarm sets on his face and he tilts his head to the side.  Or maybe he is tilting his whole body?  Oh, no.  It’s you that is falling.  Then the blackness takes you as Deuce’s frightened shouts fade out, “HELP, I think…I’ve poisoned…the player…”

You wake up groggy.  If that was all, you’d have considered yourself lucky, but it also appears you’ve been tied to a tree.  You are confused for a moment until you recall the storyline of the Camp Vargus event.  Right, Coach is probably out tormenting students right now while anyone captured is tied up.  Great, just great.  You look up when you hear a long howl echoing through the forest.  ‘Is that Jack?’ you think to yourself.  If Jack is already in his wolf form, then this camp is nearly over.  You sigh and lean back into the tree, waiting for someone to come along and release you.

It isn’t longer than an hour before a very tired but eager Jack arrives to untie you.  “Guess you are the hero of the day, huh?” you jibe at him.  He flushes as he rubs the back of his head, “Oh, you heard about that.”  He tries to pretend indifference but moments later he is asking for more details, “So what did you hear?”  Well, this is a challenge to answer since you hadn’t actually heard anything about it.  You just remembered it from when it was a game plot.  “Well…didn’t Floyd change into his mer form?  That was probably cool to see.” 

A look of incredulousness passes over his face, “Yeah well, other guys probably looked cool too.”  You nod knowingly, “Yeah, I heard you got to Sebek use his training to lure the monster into the bog.  Who knew there would be a chance for him to show off his skills out here.”  Jack huffs, “Yeah but he wasn’t the only one using his skills out there.”  Now you smile, feeling a bit mischievous yourself, “Oh, for sure.  I mean what would we have done without our MVP from Savanahclaw.”  Jack lets out a relieved sigh and smiles.  “Yes, Ruggie sure did pull though.  I don’t normally approve of his sneaky habits, but you have to admit he really came through today.” 

Jack’s eyes widen and he stands there in a silent shock.  “Well, let’s get going.  Are you hungry?  I could sure go for something right about now.”  Then you dust off your knees and start heading toward camp.  After a moment, you decide you’ve tortured him enough and pause, waiving your hand to signal him to join you.  When he reaches your side, you give his uniform sleeve a tug.  He bends down and you use this opportunity to give him a pat on the head and then rub his soft ears.  “You did good, Jack,” you praise him softly.  Then you thread your arm through his own and tug him along to camp.  “Now, let’s go get some grub.  Just don’t take anything Deuce gives you, ok?”  Jack smiles and follows you along, tail wagging all the way.

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Can I please request the Heartslabyul boys reacting to Fem!reader getting splashed with water during an unbirthday party, making her white shirt see-through and revealing her bra?

Splashed | Yandere Heartslaybul

Whether you’re wearing a bra or wearing nothing at all the idea and the sight alone is enough to set their pants hearts aflame. Of course they’d love nothing more than to indulge in such a sight but in front of the whole dorm no less. Now that’s a punishable offense by death beheading:

*Click*

“Oh my-”

“All of you, turn your heads this instant! If I see one pair of eyes I’m beheading you!”

“But Riddle.”

“What!?” 

“You’re…looking…”

“Ee-!”

Whether you have boobs to hide or pecks you keep covered or just your nipples in general

Of course Cater has a pic that he definitely will delete never

Ace and Deuce are sad to not have gotten a single they had to hide their drooling smiles they got a great look

And Riddle will promise he didn’t but the blush on his face says otherwise

But no worries he’ll keep his word beheading and burying all who dare brag about what they’ve seen

[wishluc]

Hello! May I request yandere Adeuce duo who knows reader trust them the most among the other students and will believe everything they say.

Because why would they lie to you? They’ve been through life and death together with all of this overblot. So of course you trust them!

Adeuce manipulating reader into rejecting all of the dorm leaders after finding out their romantic feelings for the prefect.

They don’t want to lose their best friend. But hey! If you want to date so badly, you have two candidate right in front of you!

Thank you and have a great day!<3

I have a soft spot for Adeuce haha. Sticking to only Malleus instead of all the dorm leaders ♡

✧ CW: yandere characters, manipulation, jealousy

An awkward silence has been hanging over your head since bumping into Malleus earlier, with Ace and Deuce being uncharacteristically pensive. The two of them have been sharing unreadable looks, but haven't said a single word to you. You want to break the growing tension with a clumsy joke to snap them out of their thoughts or change the subject into something lighthearted, but deep down you really don't want to face their line of questions about Malleus.

But when the three of you finally find some space to yourself, the dam breaks and the questions come gushing out.

"You're seriously friends with that guy? Malleus Draconia, of all people?!"

You stare at the scuffed tip of your shoe, pretending like Ace's intense reaction hardly bothered you.

"Yes?" You lift your head, eyes flitting between Ace's prominent scowl and Deuce's startled gaze, "Why's that so surprising?"

"He's known for being pretty unapproachable, right?" Deuce awkwardly chimes in, "It's just strange that you managed to get close to him."

"I didn't really know who he was when we first met," you admit, and you have to force yourself not to shrink away under Ace's sharp glare, "and it doesn't change anything for me, anyway. He's a really nice person to be around, even if he does take some getting used to."

"How'd you even meet him? I don't think I've ever caught a glimpse of him around all this time," Ace asks, his voice a little calmer now, "do you see him often?"

"He was walking around Ramshackle one night, and we just started talking about magic and some other things. He didn't even tell me his name," you explain, "I really had no clue that it was him. Besides, he doesn't come by very regularly, maybe about once a month...? I'm not sure."

"So he loiters around Ramshackle at night, and didn't tell you his name at all, right? That just sounds really creepy," Ace says, suspicion clear in his tone, "And, I mean, if you two are friends, or close enough for him to be using all sorts of weird names for you, why didn't he ever try to help you out with the overblots anyway? He knew it was all happening, and he obviously heard you were involved, and it's clearly in his ability to help you, so..."

"Ace," Deuce hisses, nudging him harshly, "we can't expect the upperclassmen to meddle in things that aren’t their responsibilities."

Ace rolls his eyes, "I'm just saying," he mutters, "it's not like it was any of our issues to deal with either. We did everything we could, right? It wouldn't be so difficult for him to make sure we didn't go through hell and back tryin' to defeat all those crazy guys. Honestly, with how things are going, I won't be surprised if the guy's next to overblot."

Deuce opens his mouth to protest, but your sigh stops him, "I don't think he cares all that much.”

Ace freezes for a moment, the frown slipping off his face as his eyes dart towards Deuce. But just as quickly as he's caught off guard, he quickly regains his composure, looking at you with just a hint of sympathy, "well, that figures. You can't expect all those arrogant—" Deuce's protests go unheard "—seniors to actually want to be around us. They all probably think they're too good for us, 'cause we aren't as powerful."

You like Malleus, but you know better than to expect his help in any of the troubles you face in NRC. Maybe he would help, if you pleaded with him, but the likeliness of that is so close to non-existent that you’d rather not ask at all. You would rather keep your friendship how it’s always been, pretending to be unaware of the other’s troubles outside of the current conversation, never delving too deep with the questions. You’ve always known that it's a possibility Malleus was only coming to see you out of boredom, and not because of genuine interest, but hearing your innermost doubts be declared so boldly as an obvious fact makes your heart shatter. Deuce catches onto your crestfallen expression first, always far too observant, and places a tentative hand on your arm.

"It's alright," you've always liked the way Deuce says your name, in a low, soft voice. It sounds like he's gentle with the letters, stringing them together in a deliberate manner that fits you. You've also noticed, internally filled with pride, that it's only your name he says with such care, "I'm sure he cares about you too..."

He meets Ace's sharp glare and stumbles over his next words, sounding more and more unsure by the end of it, "...even if his...way of showing it is a little…unusual. He’s probably just got a strange idea of how friends are."

"Friends?" Ace scoffs, "he's treating them like a pet. Did you even see how he looked at them? All amused like he didn't expect to see them still doing alright. He probably thought it was funny that they hadn't figured out who he was!"

A pet. What a miserable label, but how fitting. Suddenly the insightful discussions and meaningful moments feel painfully one-sided. He must have thought your wonder and awe to be cute, in an awfully condescending way. And perhaps the thing that hurts the most is knowing that despite how much you look forward to seeing him and how much you think of him, soon, you would only be a small moment from his past, likely forgotten.

“I can’t believe I fell for him, too,” you groan, unaware of how Ace and Deuce immediately go still, “I feel so stupid.”

“You like him?!” Ace’s head whips back to stare at your crouched figure with wide eyes, “like…that?”

A hesitant nod is the only answer you can spare.

“But you barely knew anything about him! How—”

“Are you sure?” At your bewildered look, Deuce scrambles to elaborate, “I thought I—we—would be able to tell when you liked someone, since we’ve been around you for so long. But there was nothing to give it away.”

“I’m sure,” you sigh, but when you think of telling them how Malleus makes you forget all the things you wanted to say or how you find yourself thinking of him all the time, you decide it’s too embarrassing to say out loud, “listen, it’s not something I can explain. But I really do like him—or did, I guess.”

“Huh,” Ace slumps down beside you, “never would’a thought you’d have such terrible taste. I mean, seriously? He’s boring and a total creep.” He manages to dodge your incoming elbow jab just in time, “What? It’s the truth!”

“It’s not your fault that he turned out to be a jerk,” Deuce consoles you, “don’t worry about it. You can’t help how you feel.”

“It doesn’t matter now,” you grumble, “I’ll get over it, eventually.”

“You will,” You can’t help the smile that appears on your face after seeing Deuce’s reassuring one, “we’ll make sure of it.”

all works © wishluc. do not copy, steal or repost my works on other platforms. (including translations)

[dark-side-blog3]

Ignore that this Home Alone inspired poly adeuce fic is a month late. Or choose to read it for 2024 Christmas, up to you.

I had a lot of fun writing this! Put it into a word counter just for fun, and I'm surprised to see that my first real WIP I finished in 2024 is 3k long! It was just so fun to imagine a twist one of my favourite Christmas movies, and I got so caught up in the fun of it I didn't make my deadline ^^; It was originally meant to be a short little crackfic, but it was just too fun! There are some cracky, campy elements, but that's just in the spirit of the movie I based it off!

Anyways: MDNI, warnings for standard yandere things, and creepy crawlies.

++++++++++++++++++++++

"Shouldn't we be pouring salt on the pathway?"

"Nah," you smile, splashing another bucket of water on the front steps. "This is so we can have a nice slip-and-slide for tobogganing tomorrow, Grim! Same reason I'm filling up a little ice rink in the back-- I wanna do some skating. I can't wait for it to freeze over and teach you how!"

Grims' head shakes fervently as he beams; "Just you wait! I'll show you the grace and speed of a master figure skater! I'm gonna be teaching YOU how to skate by the time we're done!"

"Well if you wanna do that, you're gonna need to be well rested. Can you grab us some cookies for before-bed snacks?" you encourage, the monster agreeing and scampering off inside the dorm house to pilfer the cupboard.

You continue pouring water on the steps and trudge around the house's perimeter to check on the steps leading outside to make sure they're freezing over like you intended. You have several other home security measures to check over...

Most of the staff, and students for that matter, went home for the holidays. Family to see, vacations to take... A life to live outside of the school and other people in it. Should anything happen, Crowley was unfortunately unavailable (what else is new, the old bastard), nor was Vargas, Trein, or Crewl. Normally they'd be spattered throughout the holiday to watch over the students. But there are other teachers on the premises, and hardly any students who can't return home for whatever reason, and they let it slip by... One night during the whole winter break when none of your trusted faculty members nor any of your more powerful friends like Malleus or Idia could help if you got into trouble.

And maybe, maybe your brain has been rotted by movies and defending yourself from overblotted students.

But it's better safe than sorry.

With everything seemingly in order, and the sun setting quickly behind the treeline of school woods, you rush over to the front gate to hang a large sign:

NO SOLICITORS

Hopefully, this will deter anyone planning to intrude on you tonight.

You trudge your way back to the front door, carefully avoiding the steps. You spend the next few hours snacking with Grim while watching movies together, playing card games, and chattering about what ifs and would you rather... Before too long, it's time for bed, and Grim is out like a light, thanks to several pounds of turkey stuffing, potatoes, and cookies you still had after the holiday party days ago.

The party was fun... It did leave you with more leftovers you knew what to do with, which is always great. You got to wish Rook Joyeuses Fête, decorate cookies with Jack and Jade (the merman being much better at decorating, likely due to working in the lounge), and say goodbye to everyone dear to you before they left for their own plans... But it also had Ace and Deuce.

Which, on the one hand, they're harmless. You know they are. They're just jerks sometimes.

They should be focusing on their studies, and you had to devote your time to keeping Ramshakle clean, and Grim on task to graduate... The little monster became somewhat of a family member. Surrogate son or little brother you're not entirely sure, but you want him to succeed.

And even if the pair of heartslabyul boys were gifted students that excelled at every course with time to spare, Grim wasn't-- Grim needed your help to study, to get to class, to handle some of his projects for him when his paws would cause accidents in the potion lab. Grim needs your help to get through college, and it keeps you way too busy for a relationship with either guy.

And even though they soured the mood of the party right after you told them as such, it's the truth, and that's what it is. You're not going to jeopardize Grim's future just to date college students.

They acted like jerks for the rest of the winter break.

When everyone was opening presents, they bitched at everyone for the gifts they exchanged, teased relentlessly, knocked over decor, and told each classmate going through the magic mirror over the week to 'take their time coming back, if at all'. Poor Idia had an anxiety attack when they started teasing him; it took you half an hour to calm him down enough to stop puking and stick to just dry heaving. Grim scampered off after Idia fainted a second time... It took another hour after that to help him through the magic mirror, with his robot escorts. You would have walked through with him, but he insisted holding your hand as he left would be enough, only dragging you somewhat through the portal.

It was rubbing you the wrong way how they were picking fights with everyone, and snubbing Grim anytime they saw you and the monster around campus.

Suddenly, the front gates screech open, drawing you out of your thoughts. You peek out the sliver of the window from behind the thick curtain in the bedroom to see two figures shuffle through the snow.

It can't be them. Even if you were just thinking of them, that would be too... Convenient. Like some movie logic. Thinking of people doesn't summon them.

Whoever it is will be getting a nasty surprise in three, two, one--

A muffled thud and string of curses can be heard from the other side of the glass. You sneak your way down the stairs so you can at least see who's at the door.

"Son of a--! Grim!" Deuce shouts. So much for not summoning them.

"Open the door, little buddy! We know that you're in there and that you're all alone... Your precious prefect is spending the last night of the winter break with someone else, right?" Ace yells, quickly being joined by a snickering and rapping at the door.

A shadow presses itself against the window, trying to peer through sheer curtains. You duck behind one of the striped couches on the outside of the room, close to the walls. Through the reflection of the glass cabinet, you can see the figure stay and linger at the window, tapping against the glass with a small can.

"Come on Grim. We've got tuna for ya if you just open the door and have a chat..." Deuce says, cupping his hands around his mouth as he yells through the glass.

His shadow straightens up, before pounding back on the glass, rattling the old pane against the tight frame, the narrow strips of wood being tight enough together that neither of them could just force their way through the window; Even if they shattered all the glass.

Which Deuce just might, slamming himself into the frame as hard as he could.

"I saw you move in there! Don't ignore us!" He shatters a pane, shoving his hand through to grab at the sheer curtains and tug, ripping them.

You duck back behind the couch, scanning for tools to protect yourself. Shut up. Don't be stupid, just think. Think quick, and smart.

The banging stops for a second. Before becoming far louder-- powerful enough to feel the floor shake. Metal creaks against its hinges, and the lock crashes into the strike plate of the door.

Ignore that, focus. Cleaning supplies. Always nearby, the dorm is filthy. Dish soap and mop bucket.

You dart out from behind the couch to grab the bottle of dish soap, grabbing it and rolling up against the wall just in time as the banging stops, the door knob jiggles and a thin wire pokes itself out from the cracks between the door frame. It makes quick work of the locks on the door, before opening, and Ace proudly struts into the room. The second he does, you pop the cap and squeeze the bottle, squirting bright blue goop into his eyes and smarmy mouth! And you splurt the floor for good measure!

You sprint back to behind the couch he pulls back, sputtering, and wiping it from his eyes in thick globs. You watch through the reflection of the cabinet as Deuce shoves his way past Ace as he splatters fistfuls of goop onto the floor, next to the bottle of leaking dish soap. Ace shoves Deuce for the push, and the resulting shove has both of them slipping on the puddle of dish soap you left in your hurry.

"Ahg-- Ace?! Why are you on the floor?"

A visibly wet smack as dish soap arches off Ace's gloves, slapping damply right into Deuce's face as he grunts from under his classmate: "Get off me, you buffoon! Go find the cat-- Grim, I'm gonna skin you for this, you little creep!"

"Don't make threats until after we have the little rat, runt. If he goes tattling we're screwed--"

"There's no one to tattle to! He's all alone in this big house! Even the ghosts aren't here! If we stick his claws in an electrical socket or force-feed him motor oil, no one would think anything of it! He's just a dumb animal that killed himself without supervision!"

Something glints from under the couch. You grasp at it, finding a spare ornament, and an unused ziptie, threaded through the top. There's got to be something you can use to create a bigger distraction and get you and Grim out of here.

There has to be something in reach-- going back to the bucket in plain sight of them is too risky. Shoving your hand under the couch, your clutch the first thing that your grasp: An aerosol room freshener. Score.

Wrapping the ziptie around the spray trigger, you tighten it and roll it over to the boys, still scrambling about on the floor. You watch from the reflection in the cabinet as Deuce gets a heavy spray right in the eyes, hollering in pain!

"AUGH-- Fucker! You think you're so smart, punk?! Your little bomb just gave away your position!" Deuce shouts, whipping out his magic pen, covering his eyes.

You feel a sense of dread. Primal instinct. You leap out from behind the couch just as he summons a caldron to crash into the couch, narrowly missing you as it smashes the solid oak to splinters. Splinters stick to your socks, embedding in your feet as you scamper off to another room, streams of water and gusts of wind being shot after you.

Just as you turn the corner to climb up the stairs and rush to Grim's room, you hear Ace curse exasperatedly, stumbling his way to the end of the hall to stare at you, still wiping his eyes on his sleeves. Another string of sighed curses leaves his lips as he watches you scramble up the stairs, making accidental eye-contact.

They know their plans are botched now.

Gotta climb faster.

On all fours, you claw up the stairs, just as a tug on your ankle forces your jaw to slam into them. Casting a glance backwards, Ace has gripped your ankle with his sticky gloves, grinning madly as you struggle to tug your ankle away from him, and try to dodge the other one of his hands trying to grasp for your other leg, only to end up sloppily groping your ass before trying again. You try to shake and kick him off, getting a hits to the side of his head, but not as effective as if you had room to wind up. He's gripping so hard it feels like he's going to break something. You scramble, shifting your weight side to side to get him off, prying yourself off the stairs and scratching your nails into the old wood. Your nails cling to the baseboard, prying the edge as much as you can, the wood creaking and snapping off with each desperate tug to pull yourself up.

The baseboard snaps, and you find yourself with a small wooden shiv, thinking to whip around and stab it into Ace's hand, leading him to retract for a second long enough for you to scramble up a step again-- before being slammed back down into the wood as you're grabbed again.

A girthy, irrate red centipede wiggles its way out from the hole in the baseboard, defensive of the now-ruined home.

You snatch it up, close to the head and the snapping mandibles as it wriggled and writhed, as you slowly reached back around to Ace, still clinging to your legs as you tried to shake him off. The teen was so focused on keeping you still as he pulled some ducttape off the roll with his teeth, that he didn't see the massive, snakelike body of the centipede until it was too late; And you stick it right on his face.

He seemed to freeze, giving you enough time to tug your leg again, just as he screamed an ear-piecing shriek!

Ace pawed at his face squirming violently on the stairs, thumping loudly on each step back to the bottom as you sprinted your way upstairs, into Grims room, slamming and locking the door behind you!

"What the hell is wrong--"

"PSYCHO PREFECT IS WHAT! Is it in my hair? Fucking thing was thick as a finger, and they put it right on my face! Is it in my hair?!"

"The prefect is home?! Dude! We're so screwed!"

"So go up there and get them, dipshit! Why are you standing still when they're up there getting a fucking bear trap or something ready?! Are you having an aneurysm or something?! Why are you just staring at me like that?!"

"...Ace... Don't... Move."

"Deuce... What are you talking about? Go get them-"

"Don't. Move."

"Deuce..?"

The telltale crash of a cast iron cauldron smashing through your rotten wood floors makes you nearly shit yourself, glancing back at a sleep-stirring Grim.

"DID I GET IT?"

"YOU ALMOST CRUSHED MY SKULL YOU NUTCASE!"

"DID I GET IT?!"

"You fucking moron!"

You snatch Grim up, using the blanket he was sleeping with like a hobo bag to hold him in, and open the window, edging your way carefully onto the roof. If you can just make safely to the other side of Ramshackle, you can try scaling down the ivy. And it will at least give you a head start-- Maybe hiding out in Sams is the best idea. A store owner must have a CCTV, right? And if Ace and Deuce try and kill either of you, then even if something happens to you, they'll get caught...

You wrap the corners of Grims blanket around your shoulders, like a makeshift baby pouch. You can definitely feel him squirming on your back, starting to wake up. You let go of the window, slipping down the rough roof tile. Laying on your stomach, you side-shuffle over, staying as low to the roof as you can to get the most traction. The edge nearly takes you by surprise when your foot doesn't connect with length that's not there. Slowly, you shuffle even closer to the edge, swaying your arm around the edge to find the vines of Ivy.

"I FOUND 'EM, ACE!"

Your head whips around to see Deuce leaning as far as he can out of the window before he scrambles to get onto the roof.

Whipping your head back to focus, you grab a fistful of vines and pull the rest of your body off the roof! You snatch another fistful with your other hand as you fall.

And fall all the way down, watching in horror as the ivy peels itself from the brick walls.

You feel Grim claw his way out of the pouch and onto your face just in time, as you land on your back with a sickening crunch.

"Oh shit," Ace comments, seemingly having been waiting for you at the bottom of the wall. You see Grim flee across the yard out of the corner of your eye, unable to lift your head.

The sound of snow crunching underfoot, and Deuce panting like crazy soon joins Ace in staring at you as you lay helpless on the ground. As soon as he arrives he gets asked: "Are we gonna get Grim?"

"No point, really..." Comes the huffed response; "We were gonna get him to fuck off, and he's fucked right off. Tonight didn't really go to plan anyway."

A boot gently kicks at your side as Ace turns his attention back to you: "Are you paralyzed or something? That was quite the fall."

You open your mouth to speak, but only a cracked whine makes it out. You cringe and try again, but nothing intelligible comes out.

"Holy shit, they're brain-damaged!" Ace grins, laughing as he backs away from you.

You feel Deuce tugging at your legs in the snow, dragging you from your shallow ditch in the snow. He begins tugging you closer to the dorm, before he drops your legs, moving to grab you under your arms and haul you that way, up against a wall. Breaking a window, he shoves you in, head first. The cold floors of Ramshackle are still warmer than the ice and snow.

"Alright. Hey, real quick, can you feel this?" Deuce begins poking you with a wire from an ornament, starting with your legs, and making his way up on both sides. You nod, wincing at some particularly sharp pricks, to which Deuce responds by rubbing the area to dull the pain.

"Can you say where you are right now? Do you know who I am? Who you are?" You nod again, voice stumbling through a pained response.

"Awesome. You're not brain-damaged! You're probably just winded from the fall. Is anything broken? Can you wiggle your fingers and toes? Try twisting side to side. If you can't it means your spine might be broken, and you need a doctor."

You comply, weirded out by the sudden care, but the doctor comment means they will call someone. And that someone will keep you safe, and them away. The pain's already fading, and likely nothing serious, but you could trick them... Deuce particularly seems like a soft touch. You wince as you try to twist, feigning inability.

Deuce makes a worried expression, like he's about to piss himself from fear.

He backs off slightly, giving you a bit more breathing room: "Try crossing your arms and lifting them as far away from your ribs as you can".

You comply again, feigning difficulty,

And duct tape wraps around your wrists instantly. Deuce presses his knee down into your chest to pin you down as he wraps as tightly as he can, while Ace ties your legs from outside.

"This really, really isn't my style. But we've got to get you somewhere that is not here when the teachers come back tomorrow, and we can't have Grim knowing where to find you." Deuce rambles, soaking his glove in a bottle of something, before pressing it to your face. He continues rambling, leaning in closer to whisper: "And I know how this looks! But I promise we won't do anything to you while you sleep. Or when you wake up! I swear! It's all more normal than it seems tonight-- or it can be anyways. And... And if you give me some time, give me a chance, we can even ditch Ace and forget this night ever happened! You just need some time somewhere else..."

The room spins with dark spots as Deuce presses his soaked glove further into your face. He continues rambling at you, while you feel Ace begin dragging you back out the window again. The snow doesn't feel cold this time as you fall into it. It just feels soft.

[kurimiaki]

Without a name, things tend to get lost. [III]

Heartslabyul’s terms of endearment

Octavinelle’s set is here!

Content warning: dark content, toxic relationships, manipulation, verbal and physical abuse, forced intimacy

Riddle Rosehearts

By his word, Riddle truly had tried to remain amicable and open-minded for this date.

Too-rigid, too-coddling, too-stuck for time, too-unbending. You had tried to impress upon him the importance of fluidity, fun for fun’s sake, and a sense of ease which he has yet to fully feel on these types of romantic excursions. It’s difficult to entirely will himself away from ironclad routine and tradition, the dating guides he poured himself over in the library, what to do and what to avoid, the formulaic manner in which he wants to pursue your hand.

It’s all in the effort to satisfy you. To guarantee your partnership, commitment, and adoration. But it’s a hearty struggle for Riddle to live easily— rules are foolproof and unshakable, and shan’t allow his unease and insecurity to slip through the cracks. The fluid, lackadaisical attitude you wish him to assume certainly will, though.

He’d suggested a scarcely-populated and unfrequented cafe for a reason, and you’d vetoed his vote without care, adamant on lugging him over to some sleek new burger shop that recently opened on Sage’s Island, flush with people.

People he’d wanted to avoid, for fear of them robbing him of your attention. The things he’d wanted to speak about were overshadowed by your gushing over inconsequential things— the quirkily named menu items, their gargantuan milkshakes, that girl’s crazy boots, and, hey, was that an RSA student? Menial things, of no conversational value, void of substance. Things that deviated too far from his idealized date, that left him unsure and output. He had complacently nodded along, feigned a smile, and chewed up as much of his order as he could manage; but of course, change takes time to adapt to, and Riddle was less than content.

On your way back to campus, following along an isolated path cloaked in brushes and weeping willows, you become familiar with the consequences of pushing your boyfriend too far. Your takeout bag strewn about graveled ground, slushed and ruined strawberry milkshake soaking into dirt mounds and rocks, Riddle goes as far as to stomp down on the remains of your burger. “Was that fun for you, darling?” He jabs, emphasizing the last bit with a sneer, digging a finger hard on your sternum. You gape, grappling as to what could’ve spurred on such a drastic shift in his mood, but Riddle speaks for you.

“You’re a selfish little thing, aren’t you? You don’t think. Not about my preferences, my plans. Being seen fraternizing with you in public— alone, mind you— was a giant leap on its own. A risk.”

“I do try to be lenient, my dear, but all you do is take. You’ve even monopolized my time. See?” He lifts his wrist, removing his other hand from your sternum and unsheathing his casual dress shirt, showing you a watch. He taps the glass two times, clinking it with his fingernail, and sneers at you; so out of sorts, one might think you’d cussed out his mother. You open your mouth, the beginnings of a ‘how was I supposed to know that’ lingering on your lips, but he grasps your shirt collar and drags you down to him.

“If you’re so keen to make this relationship work, do right by me. Listen. That’s all I ask, darling.”

Riddle is not well-suited to the use of cheesy nicknames. Even something as benign as ‘my dear’ has the potential to throw him off kilter for his foreseeable future, utterly wrought with embarrassment and fear of coming on too strong. At his calmest, you’re not likely to receive an affectionate endearment from him— it’s much too unbecoming for a dorm leader to openly show favor like that, anyway. His inexperience is ultimately covered by the claim of ‘not wanting to be a biased ruler,’ which, quite blatantly, is an ineffective lie. To his credit, Riddle does try to be sweet on you. He has repeatedly practiced utilizing the name ‘darling’ in the isolated comfort of his dorm room, though he often finds himself flustered when merely conversing with a pillow.

But he’s fully in his element when buzzing with rage, isn’t he? He may not be the most articulate, gurgling and stomping around like a fussy toddler, threatening you with shattered teacups and sullying your dorm room with his tantrum: but he is free of inhibition and shame. Riddle will scream at you for allowing your grades to slip (it’s a burden to monitor you, you know, but he loves you well enough to take the task), but at least his blow is softened with the use of darling— albeit weaponized as a taunt, lilted and demeaning. In his furious blowouts, he’ll often take pause to berate you as if you were a fussy child yourself, cooing and verbally stooping to your (lower, in his distorted image) level, asking ‘do you understand that well enough, my dear?’ when your only transgression is running five minutes behind his predetermined schedule.

Riddle strictly calls you: darling, my dear. These are the only endearments he’s familiar with; he hasn’t been exposed to romantic media in the same way Ace has, for reference, and isn’t well-versed with what’s on trend to call one’s lover.

Trey Clover

“And now he won’t even answer me in class, Trey. And we sit next to each other!” You huff, throwing your arms into the air, growing increasingly irate, your every suppressed frustration bubbling up with ease in his presence. The beginnings of tears prick your eyes, and you feel your throat swell shut. To have an unresponsive group partner will always be an unbearable frustration— especially in Trein’s class, with his sink or swim curriculum, his rigid syllabus, his unwavering expectations. If your classmate doesn’t cooperate soon, you’ll fail.

You only wish you were headstrong enough to force him to comply.

All you can do, at present, is vent your every frustration with this situation to your sweet, doting, attentive boyfriend.

“I don’t know what to do…” You mumble, leaning against the cool kitchen countertop. You’re thankful that he’d entertain you so late in the night; not a soul can be heard in the surrounding rooms. It’s mostly silent, save for your ranting, the kitchen’s hum of electricity, the nervous shuffling of your feet.

Save for Trey’s worn sigh.

Exhausted, almost sounding more irate than even you, his mere exhale startles you straight. Is he mad? Eyes wide, worry seeps into you. Have you spoken too much? Had you even asked about his day? Are you being inconsiderate? You stutter something incoherent, but before your worn brain can muster something appeasing to say, Trey speaks up.

He lifts his glasses to rub his temple, green hair slightly tussled. He’s tired, and you certainly aren’t easing his tense mind.

“And what do you want me to do about this?” He starts, uncharacteristically monotone. Yellow eyes settle on you, unblinking, and you avert your gaze. Wholly intimidated, cowed into silence. When he wills it, Trey’s perfectly capable of sucking all the air out of a room.

Your sweet boyfriend speaks for you.

Pacing forward, he’s suddenly before you, so close the tips of your slippers touch. “I told you that one’s trouble, didn’t I?” Trey lightly chides, still cooly composed. ‘That one,’ being your fickle partner; the one your boyfriend did, indeed, warn you about. More than once, insisting that you inquire with your ever-intimidating professor about a group change, and to no avail. “Didn’t I?” He reiterates, pressing you for a reaction. You look away, a mix of scandalized and ashamed, called out on an error you hadn’t felt was too egregious to make. You thought you could handle it. You still can.

“Look at me, buttercup.” He implores, cupping your cheek with one hand and facing you to him— but, for fear of what you’ll find, and shame for the presumably selfish manner in which you’ve acted, your minor betrayal, you keep your eyes averted.

But your sweet boyfriend doesn’t like that, doesn’t enjoy offering his tenderness and receiving none of your compliance in return. Trey squeezes your cheeks so harshly his nails dig into your cheekbone, and you gasp, eyes immediately flickering to peer up into his.

“You know you can always trust me, right?”

You nod. Faintly feeling like he’d just grip your cheeks and do it for you, if you hadn’t.

“Take his name off of your research paper, tell Trein what’s been going on, and own up to it. It’s your work, sweetheart.” Thick fingers loosen their hold, and a soreness stabs the meat of your face, but you refrain from soothing yourself. He brushes hair from your eyes, and leans in to kiss your forehead.

“If you’d just listen, we wouldn’t have hiccups like this, would we?”

It’s a tad uncharacteristic for him, but still expected, given his pastimes and upbringing— Trey utilizes sickeningly sweet nicknames to when referring to you. He feels he’s being unoriginal when he calls you things like ‘honey’ and ‘sweetheart’, largely because he’s playing it safe and sticking to what he knows: what his parents call each other. It’s a secure bet to call you the aforementioned endearments, normal things like ‘pumpkin,’ but Trey does have a tendency to let pure sugar drip from his lips when he’s cross with you, using grossly saccharine names so as to glaze over the pure venom he’s fully capable of dishing your way when it’s warranted.

His idea is that, the sweeter his words, the more willing you’ll be to acquiesce to the severe alterations he wants to impose upon your relationship, which will ultimately bind you to him. Because he’s so articulate and persuasive in the manipulation he does, working the rest of your peers out to be these wholly volatile creatures so as to solidify his position as the sole recipient of your love, this strategy is incredibly effective. He plays a long game, planting little seeds of doubt in your own capabilities whenever you have the smallest slip-ups, hinting to the possibility that, yeah, maybe you’re just not cut out for an environment like this, that it’s in your best interests to quit, save yourself this cutting mental strain. It ultimately snowballs into a bigger issue, wherein you’re constantly left too-hesitant to pursue bigger feats in your school life, doubting your intellect and hard work thus far, feeling deep inadequacy in areas that you may not even struggle in. He’s at the root of it. And he’ll be there to soothe and sway you to him when you stray too far from the path you’d set for yourself, falling completely behind.

Trey doesn’t use lover’s nicknames too freely with you, though. They’re an indulgence, and something he typically doles out as a reward, somewhat micro-dosing you with doting words when you do what’s expected of you, and unprompted. Holding his hand, never straying too far from his lunch table, not growing too needy, listening to him (at bare minimum)— even going as far as to check up on your flossing and treat you with a ‘good job, honey,’ if you stay consistent. Like you’re some child.

Additionally, he’ll wean you from his tenderness should he feel the PDA gravitates too much attention to the both of you. He’s got no qualms in publicizing your relationship, and is in favor of doing so— but, as with most things, Trey is partly wary of exposing too much of himself, and this applies to you. It’s a mix of possessiveness and a desire to keep the raw parts of his life squared away, untouchable, and unseen. You’re among those things.

Trey loves to call you: sweetheart, honey, buttercup, muffin, sweetness

Cater Diamond

Cater wrenches you to him, hands spread over the expanse of your back, rubbing you up-and-down, as if attending to a distraught animal. The evening sun gleams through the club room’s windowpanes, kisses your cheeks, bathes you and Cater in a warm, honeyed veil. You’re both sat snugly atop a pile of pillows used to form a makeshift couch, snack wrappers littering the floor, the room left vacant with both Lilia and Kalim having long darted off to attend to their own dorms. Your boyfriend gives up on his half-assed massage and wraps an arm around your waist, curling over you and stuffing his face in the crook of your neck.

It’s intimate, it’s sweet, and it makes you flush. His earring rests cooly against your flushed cheek, and a smile tugs on the corner of your lips. It’s nice.

Even still, what he’d just said bordered on creepy. Invasive, possessive, and utterly strange, coming from him. In good conscience, you can’t let it slide.

“Cater?” You push, trying to nudge his head away from you, but he’s fully leaning on you now, his nose nuzzling into your jaw, this close proximity lightly frying your nerves. “Can you just— can we talk for a second? I don’t want to glaze over that.”

A little sigh comes from him at that, warm breath spreading over the expanse of your neck, making you shiver. “Glaze over what, cutie?” He croons into you, not sounding quite as irked as you anticipated he’d be from the interruption. If anything, he only squeezed your midriff a bit tighter, and you couldn’t exactly complain. It’s nice to be held like this.

Why don’t you quit your club for me?

You take a beat of silence, hoping that he’ll remember the jarring little tidbit he’d dropped on you not twenty minutes ago, his phrasing then disregarded and brushed away by the crushing gravity of Kalim’s excitement at the prospect of your participation in their band-snack-club… thing.

For me, he’d said. It’s not too weird, is it? He wants to spend more time with you. You’re already skipping over your obligations to your own club every other week to be with him, urged on by his club’s cumulative persuasiveness and heady enthusiasm, the ploy that Cater just really, really wants to see you more. That it’s boring without you there. It’s sweet that he’s so insistent, you think, but a thing of doubt gnaws at your brain. A bit of queasiness, at how easily he’d suggested you disregard what’s so important to you.

It’d be fine thing to say, had this not been the fifth time Cater’s brought it up, disregarding the five respective times you’ve already shot this suggestion down.

You like your club. You like what you do, and you really like the people in it. And you love Cater, of course, but you can’t deny the twang of uselessness you feel at wasting two hours to simply lounge and snack and sit in silence as Lilia mercilessly shreds an electric guitar, the sense that you’re misplaced, that there’s another place you’d rather be.

You’re queasy because of his insistence. You’re queasy because he won’t let up, and Cater seems just a little more annoyed every time he brings it up, as if he’s fed-up with some unreasonable display of defiance you’re putting up, that this is the end-all decision to the fate of your relationship.

You could very well be overthinking.

This could be no big thing.

He’s mouthing your neck at this point, warm lips lingering over your pulse. The hints of teeth he’d let roam your neck have you squirming by now, arms twitching to shoot up and brush him away from you, but you resist, indulging him in indulging you. It takes a moment to gather your bearings, find a modicum of mental fortitude, but you persist in your interrogation, wanting to quit the creeping discomfort that’s been nagging at you for weeks now.

“Cater, I’m not— I’m not comfortable coming over here anymore. After school, it’s… It’s better for me to do my own thing. I think. My club relates a lot to the field I want to go into, you know? It’s not optional for me.”

He doesn’t stop kissing at you. He doesn’t show a hint of concern to you, not baring a glimpse into what he’s thinking, and you’re getting a bit scared, to be fully honest with yourself. You want to be honest with him.

“And… I dunno. You’ve been really weird lately? Not, like, creepy or anything, just a little off. You don’t open up to me as much, and I feel like something’s wrong.” You explain, still letting him lean into you, wringing your hands in your lap as his lavishing persists, not once acknowledging your words. Taking a second to open room for an addition, you sigh as you’re met with silence, the movement of his lips not once abating. So you continue. “I just think—“

Cater bites your neck without an ounce of forewarning. A sensitive spot, the place he likes to tease his fingers over when he plays with your hair, that he knows can cripple you with a single chaste kiss. He bites down there, and hard. You stifle a cry, overwhelmed with a conflicting wave of pain and minute pleasure that does not abate. Confusion and fear overwhelms it all.

Your hand jolts to cover the aching impression the instant Cater lifts away from you, and you quickly turn away to face him, face twisted up in shock and slight discomfort at the jarring action, feeling quite miffed and, frankly, betrayed that he’d do something like that without asking. For biting you so hard. Hard enough for tears to prick your eyes, which, as you observe Cater lean back on the pillows with boyish ease, you’re faintly certain has caused his smile.

Lax and nonplussed with your shock and awe, the hint of trepidation that lingers around you, Cater spreads his arms, opening himself for another hug. As the seconds tick by, the longer you remain stagnant in your disarray, the more impatient he becomes. He leans forward, taking initiative, wrapping you again in his embrace and falling back with you.

Your boyfriend lets out a little ‘oomph’ upon contacting with the pillows, chuckling a little— so lackadaisical in nature, you could mistake this rendezvous for the same teasing tousling he likes to do in his dorm room, not the serious conversation you’d intended it to be. Why won’t he take you seriously?

His hand soothes over your head, lightly brushing over your baby hairs, and a little kiss meets your earlobe.

“Let’s just be quiet for a little while, yeah? Take it easy. You think too much, babydoll,” He coos, but not without a twinge of warning to his tone, sterner than he’s ever been with you. You go a bit rigid.

“You shouldn’t wear yourself out with useless stuff like that. Everything’s just peachy, isn’t it?”

Out of every Heartslabyul member listed here, Cater uses endearments with the most frequency. It’s expected of him!

He experiments with your nicknames like one would throw darts, constantly changing his flow of speech and choice words, shooting either to hit or miss. He’s not super in-tune with your likes and dislikes— it’s more so how his peers react to the nicknames he lavishes you in. If hearing him call you ‘booga-bear’ makes his dorm mates crumple up and cringe, he’s not likely to ever use it again. Whatever is popular to call one’s beau online, he’s likely to start calling you. It’s very impersonal, quite obviously only intended to build him up as the sweetly doting boyfriend he aims to be, superficial enough to throw you off. But he doesn’t exactly want that, either, so he’ll ease up a bit if he finds it makes you increasingly wary to accept his attempts at PDA, sticking to what’s tried and true— babydoll. It’s equal parts endearing and embarrassing, just intimate enough to make you squirm, with how quietly he’ll whisper it in your ear. Just below the rush he gets from a hit Magicam post is the thrill of making you shrivel up, be it out of shyness or plain discomfort. He likes to have that level of influence over your state of being, to get you to curl up from a small word.

Cater marks you his: babydoll, cutie, cutie-pie, lovebug, hon’, sugarlump, puppy, sweetums

Ace Trappola

Petulant, mean, and uncaring. Your boyfriend is a rotten bully. You fume and stomp down a main hallway, steps long and wide, aiming to make Ace acutely aware of your indignation.

“Leave me alone!”

“Baby, come on!” He groans, the noise reverberating throughout the gymnasium, following him out as he slams into the push handle and jogs after you. You don’t look back, walking faster now.

Mean, mean, mean. Who is he, to tell you to fuck off? What sort of boyfriend is he, to mutter that you’re only showing up to practice to ‘soak up attention,’ to flaunt and flirt with his teammates? You had thought doling out refreshments would be a nice gesture, something he’d recognize for what it is; his partner demonstrating support on a hot summer’s day, being his mini-cheerleader. You thought he’d be happy to see you.

‘Leave them there and go,’ are the words Ace greeted you with. Not a smile, no wave, no questions of why you weren’t at your own club, none of his typical sweetness. None of it. No, the second he spotted you in the sidelines with Floyd, he was immediately abrasive and cold, meandering over to tell you to piss off the instant a whistle blew for a break. Even upon pointing out your reason for being there, a cooler packed with carbonated sweetness and water, you received; ‘That’s nice, babe, but we’re busy.’

Perhaps if Floyd hadn’t been so close to you on the bench, Ace’s mood wouldn’t be so sour. His jarring bouts of jealously are a sign and dance that you are, regrettably, well familiar with. And utterly sick of.

But he’s always been quick to make a smooth recovery.

Catching up to you, breathless from the last game and the mini-sprint it took to reach you, Ace snatches up your forearm. You, still furious, wrench it away from him, but his hands are quick to follow. In a flurry of motion, you’re spun around to face him, shoulders gripped tightly by Ace’s sweaty palms.

To top off his absurd assholery, he absolutely reeks. You scrunch up your nose in distaste.

“Hey, hey, hey! Babe, I mean it. I’m sorry for being such an ass back there,” He smiles, crooked, his eyebrows knit together in a blatant mockery of regret. “That’s what you’re all mad about, yeah? I didn’t mean to talk so harsh. Honest.”

You open your mouth to rebuke him, attempting to shrug out of his hold, but he’s even quicker to interrupt you, to hold you tighter.

“I mean it.”

Tighter, tighter, tighter. Tighter until your shoulder locks up, rigid with pain, threatening to pop out of socket. You whine, thrash, try to maneuver yourself in such a way that throws him off of you, but Ace doesn’t let up. Till he wrings out your forgiveness, he won’t.

“I-I know! It’s fine!” Is what you muster, more of a yell than the timid acceptance he usually likes to hear from you, but it’s enough. His grip eases. You breathe.

And then he holds you, more tender than before, in that performative tenderness you can easily see through. It’s always the same— brush hair behind your ear, pepper your cheek, nose, forehead, and neck in kisses, and stroke your back up and down. He must think this is all it takes to rid you of your hurting.

Ace uses nicknames as one would a bandage. He strongly believes that, with enough sappiness, any wound he’s inflicted upon you can be easily amended. Typically, he’s too flustered to use endearments around his peers, not wanting to appear as some lovesick puppy-dog who’s desperate to win your favor. Cooly, he’ll call you by name, occasionally switching to ‘babe,’ if only to solidify his position as your boyfriend when he feels threatened by another man. Those sickly sweet nicknames only come up when you’re well and truly put-out with his abrasive behavior; he gets aggressive and accusatory when you display interest in anybody other than himself, and is both deliberately and unintentionally cruel, often forgetting himself and going too far with barbed words and vicious snipes. Only when you’re teary-eyed does Ace bust out ‘baby,’ cupping your cheeks in his hands and softly leveling with you— cooing warmly, as if he hadn’t just marked you a whore for electing to work with Deuce over him in a paired project.

Ace likes to call you: babe, baby, and (very rarely) cutie. Will try and fail to woo you by calling you ‘sexy’ and ‘kitten’. He’s not suave enough…

Deuce Spade

“You know… I’m not really comfortable with you hanging around Epel so much.”

You take pause from preparing Deuce’s study guide, setting your pen down mid-vocabulary word, leaving the bright blue flash-card unfinished. Intrigued, albeit slightly put-out by the serious tone he so rarely takes, you devote your full attention to him.

He immediately interprets your blank staring as open criticism rather than a gesture for him to continue— justifiably so, you suppose— but what do you say to something like that? What exactly has made him uncomfortable? Is he about to accuse you of something? You’re not sure. So you wait for him to speak, your expression the image of neutrality.

“Sorry. I’m sorry if that’s overstepping a little. I’m just… I don’t know, he’s a bit touchy, I guess ? He knows that I’m dating you, but he still calls you such nice things, and it’s kinda irking to see him hover around you like he does. Like he’s trying to win you over or something. I dunno,” He rapid-fires, speaking so hurriedly that you can hardly deliberate on what’s being said, as if to gloss over this blatant source of his concern.

Deuce has been clingy the past few weeks. To say the least. You’re well aware of his fried nerves as of late, but you’d thought to attribute the incessant lingering and repeated calls to his concern for midterms— that’s the viable excuse he had, anyway, and the very reason why you’re going so far as to make him a study guide right now. For a class you don’t even have.

“Maybe I’m just overthinking.” He asserts, about to brush away his statement, waving a hand in the air. Deuce’s right hand deftly flicks and twirls a pen, a mesmerizing little gesture, one you’re certain he’s doing to curb his own anxiety. You can feel his leg jolting up and down, practically vibrating from the intensity of his nerves. You think he’s finished, and open your mouth to inquire further, to coax out a better explanation from him, but he fires off again.

“I mean, it’s weird, right? I call you up to come over and study, like we promised, and he’s with you at Sam’s shop. He mozies up to our table in the cafeteria and sits next to you, and I have to sit two people away because, y’know, my class is so far away I’m always late, which I’m sure he knows. The apple thing, too, you know?” Deuce whines, breathlessly exasperated, so frantic in his explanation that you’re wildly taken aback, minimally gaping and grappling for an area to interject. But you can’t, and he continues for you.

“Cutting that apple for you. Making the slices into little bunnies, all that. I couldn’t even do it for you when I tried after school, and you had to wrap my hands cuz’ I’m such a clutz and went and cut myself, and— geez.” He breaks off, voice cracking, and you’re forced to full attention at the warble his lip takes, the wet gleam that instantly floods those striking chan eyes, threatening to drip down onto your freshly inked flash cards.

You don’t mind it. Instead, You immediately lean over the desk to cup his hands in yours, trying to ease him into meet your eyes as his own go glassy. He dips his head downward, clearly hiding from you.

“Hey, hey! It’s okay! Please don’t cry, Deuce.” You quietly urge, not keen on attracting any watchful eyes from around the library, empty though it is. You’d be sorry if anyone else saw him like this. If he became the butt of some joke for his sensitivity— you’ve always liked that about him. You don’t mind the tears, but you do worry.

So you do what any good lover would do, and comfort him. Do anything to right what’s making him so wrong.

“It’s Epel, yeah? You don’t want me to hang around him so much? That’s all fine. We’re weren’t even that close in the first place, Deuce. I swear.” Reaffirming him, you acquiesce to the inquiry that so quickly wracked him with anxiety, leaning over and pressing your forehead to his. “I wish I’d known about this. I’m sorry that I didn’t catch on sooner,” You offer, trying to get him to look at you with gentle reassurances, half-empty promises.

Then you kiss his forehead, and he rockets upright.

With a grin peeled over his lips, he leans forward to kiss your cheek, filled with fresh zeal and eagerness. Your eyes widen a bit at how quickly that crumpled expression fled his face. How immediately he resumed that easy boyishness of his, the sweetness that endeares him to you so much. It’s strange, but he kisses away the stitch that forms between your brows, too.

“I knew you’d understand, lovely. Thank you for being so considerate.”

Deuce knows much better than to degrade you in any capacity. Among a plethora of other life tips, his mother made it a point to drill into him the importance of respecting his partner, to communicate, harbor respect, to treat you as an equal. Ever since he meekly announced to her that he’d found you, she’s reminded him of this. Treat them well, she’ll note, every time he brings you up over the phone, which, admittedly, is incredibly frequent. So, he’s not likely to use the same monikers that Ace or Cater take to, which are markedly less respectful given the context they use them in— Deuce wants you loved and appreciated, and takes great care with what nicknames he chooses for you.

He’s flushed for hours after using it, but Deuce strongly favors ‘lovely’ for your trademark endearment, something to call you every day without fail, be it publicly or over the phone each night before bed. It’s sweet and easy, gentle, something that rolls off his tongue easier with repeated use. It’s comfortable and safe for him and you. It’s nice.

The issue with Deuce’s nicknames doesn’t pertain to you, necessarily, but trouble does arise when he seeks out a new individual to project his insecurities onto, someone he views as a threat to what you two have got going on. Be it with someone in his close circle physically inching too close to you, or an unknown classmate he shoulder-checks for staring at you too long, Deuce can quickly become volatile. To a fault, he’s incredibly possessive of you, and although it’s something he’s aware of, he struggles to keep it in check. Old habits die hard and, inevitably, he’s going to cuss someone out for crossing some benign and inscrutable boundary he’s made around you. Unbeknownst to you, or so he hopes. He’s not a massively threatening presence at school, but he’s got his fair share of bite— Deuce builds a bit of a reputation as an attack dog, where you’re concerned. If he deems it as warranted, he’s not above a bloody brawl. If his mom heard of any of this, she’d burst into tears. He’s quite certain that you’d leave him if you found out about him breaking fingers for the meager crime of latching onto your arm.

Deuce will call you: lovely, precious. He rarely deviates from these two, if at all.

[writingforatwistedworld]

Heyoo!! How are you?? Hope you're well!! ^^

I noticed your ask box is open and I'd like to request a Self Aware! Deuce/(Your choice here)/Riddle with a player who has their ceremony outfit but when they arrive for their daily stuff/near the end of their stuff, they go into the changing card room for the homescreen and just play around with their hood like "Hehe, hood on, hood off, hood on, hood off" and repeated until they do other stuff/go away (aka out the app)

Good day/night!

Self-aware au

I do not take any responsibility for you reading this no matter which age group you are from!

WARNINGS: Yandere themes, kidnapping, violence, murder, religion, blood, death, obsession

Riddle Rosehearts/Deuce Spade/Malleus Draconia-“Hehe, hood on, hood off, hood on, hood off, hood…”

Honour to the Overseer!

This tomato was just way too happy the moment he was put on the home screen

I mean, he has better clothing than this but it seems like you favor his ceremony robes so why say no?

Oh? He is supposed to wear it? Ok

Now off again? Mhm no prob... On again?

“Hehe, hood on, hood off, hood on, hood off, hood…”

Imagine this redhead's embarrassment when he notices that you are playing with his clothing

If this would be done by someone else they would be collared before they could even just turn around to run away

And then here you are, highest power in this world, playing with his good old robes

Ah uh... dear Overseer, you are messing his hair up... NOT THAT HE IS TELLING YOU TO STOP!

To be honest, he really likes you doing this

I mean, he is always so feared, looking like the tyrant that he was once to his dorm.... Once actually cutting someone's head off after they didn't pay you enough respect (in his eyes at least)...

And then you turned him, mentally, into one of the cute hedgehogs he uses to play cricket

Keep going... he might wake up in the infirmary after you left simply because his blood pressure was everything but in the healthy zone but ok

We encourage turning him into a cinnamon bun over here

Just keep this limited to him, ok? Otherwise he has to make sure that the other someone you would also be doing this doesn't have a head anymore

My man over here shy the second you give him attention

I mean, he is like a cute little chick, looking up at you with so much adoration and trust

Big round eyes my friend, big round eyes

And you like his ceremonial robes?

Like I said, eyes and a lot of interesting paint... Yes, that was one an NPC in ceremonial robes who thought they could take his favored position

But back to the fluff

Poor thing was I confused when you put the hood back on and off

Is this somewhere in the rules?

Pulling someone's good off and on??!

I mean, there is so much and he might have lost track of them... (don't tell Riddle!)

But just hearing that giggle is enough for him to stop questioning your actions

“Hehe, hood on, hood off, hood on, hood off, hood…”

He is almost the one saying “aww! How cute!!!”

Remember, red paint

But seriously, he is really considering giving up on his dream to become an honor student if it means defending his position

Just keep tugging on his hood, there are already seven students in the infirmary because of him. Wouldn't want to make it worse, would you?

Our local dragon far was exexpecting a lot from his God

JUST NOT THIS

But ok, let us set the screen

Mister “those are no green contacts but real” was standing there, all excited for your return...

Heck, his tail was almost wagging

Wait, you are currently looking at whim to put here... He won't let you!

Once he finds out which imbecile took his place... huh?

O-Overseer! Watch out! His horns can be a bit sharp at their ends!

You wanted him to wear his hood?

Why didn't you tell- it's off again

Why is it on again?

It may sound weird especially if we are talking about a guy like him but he would turn his rivals into fried chicken if they were to get the same treatment

And also, he doesn't mind that he, the prim and proper monarch that he is, leaves the room always with messy hair

He wears it like some sort of badge of honor

This must mean you are holding a lot of affection for him! And also that you wish to be with him!

Don't you worry, a few spells and preparations later you will be here, with him, without escape

[spacexseven]

in for a penny, in for a pound (ii)

note: hi :> these were the most requested characters since part one, and i might even be open to working on another part for more characters if you all are interested! i tried changing things up with deuce's part :O honestly, the part that took me the longest was figuring out reasons you'd need to ask someone to fake date you for...

summary: yandere! riddle, azul & deuce fake dating reader

pairings: riddle x reader | azul x reader | deuce x reader

cw: yandere characters, obsessive behavior, obsession, forced relationships, blackmail, manipulation, abuse of authority, threats, violence, deceit, guilt-tripping, drugging, imprisonment, implied non-consensual kissing

when you asked riddle to fake date you, it was just a silly joke.

che'nya, surprisingly still in one piece, had slinked up next to you a day ago, with that mischievous grin that seemed to be stuck on his face, "i'm paw-sitive riddle might like you."

you scoffed at that, rolling your eyes, "as if!" though you had to admit the thought was a little funny. riddle, having a crush? and on you? "by the way, don't you have class?"

"don't worry about me!" he cried out, disappearing for a moment and reappearing in front of you, his hands on your shoulders and eyes staring into yours, "aren'cha even a little bit curious?"

"no. besides, don't they say curiosity killed the cat? you better watch out."

at your remark, he grinned gleefully, before continuing to press you on the issue, "he really really really likes ya~"

"if you don't believe me, why don't you try asking him to go out with you?" che'nya suggested, looking surprisingly serious, "i bet'cha he'll be purring in joy."

"sure, che'nya," you sighed, "if it'll get you off my back about this."

"purr-fect! i'll be watching!"

so, to appease his burning curiosity, here you were, standing in front of an uncharacteristically silent riddle.

"together?...like dating?" he stares, wide-eyed.

"yes," you echo, "like dating. but if you're uncomfortable-"

"no, not at all!" he freezes suddenly, "i mean, if it's you..."

you were taken aback. did he just agree to be your boyfriend? you find yourself frowning at him, "you know, you can just say no. i won't take it personally."

"but why would i say no? i meant it, i wouldn't mind."

"really?" he must have caught the surprised look on your face because then he says something you would have never expected to hear from him.

"i like you, after all." riddle looks satisfied, standing proudly in front of you as if he hadn't just said the most insane thing.

"no way," before you can stop yourself, the words are out of your mouth, "i can't believe it! are you in on this with che'nya?"

there was no way to you that riddle, who rarely spared you a second glance, was standing here now, confessing his sudden affection to you. it didn't make any sense.

"what?" riddle seems indignant, now wearing a matching frown, "what does he have to do with this?"

"don't act like you don't know!" you scoff, "i've been set up! how embarrassing, ugh, i'll get back at him..."

riddle slowly blinks at your agitated reaction, "i don't know what you're talking about," he says, at last, "but i really meant it. about liking you, i mean."

"did you?" you look around, thinking how awkward the entire situation was. if he was being serious, saying something like 'no, i was just kidding' would totally sound like a jerk move, right?

"yes."

"you know, i was being serious too..." you finally reply, "sorry about that whole...outburst, i thought che'nya told you to pretend to like me or something."

"why would he?" riddle asks, "that would be...a cruel thing to do, pretending to like someone."

considering that that was exactly what you had just done, you resort to smiling awkwardly at him, saying your goodbyes before leaving. it's alright. you'd find a way to break up with him soon.

riddle only gets increasingly difficult to avoid since that day, which irritated you to no end. riddle was nice, but you had no feelings for him whatsoever and while you were hoping he'd lose whatever interest he had in you as the days passed, he only seemed even more enamored. internally, you curse out che'nya—this was all because of his meddling—as riddle's voice floats in from behind you.

"we should get something to eat together—" typical riddle, to not even bother asking you first. he says it so resolutely like the decision had already been made, by him. you hated how he did that, always choosing for you. he was always overbearing in that aspect, but it only got worse after the confession.

you successfully talked yourself out of it for the last week or so, but before that he had you seated right next to him every day without fail. he also insisted the two of you study together, and almost signed you up for the equestrian club with him despite you having no interest or skill in it. who would have thought riddle was so clingy?

"i already have plans."

"cancel them."

you turn around in shock, taken aback by his sudden demand, "what are you talking about? i can't just do that, just because you want me to."

"but," he frowns, the expression perfectly natural on his face, "i'm your boyfriend. who's more important than me? and, i'm your friend."

"riddle," you sigh, finally realizing this had to come to an end, "i don't think you realize how unhealthy this is. you think that i have to put you above everyone else, and you only ever want to spend time with me. what happened to trey, and your other friends? i thought you were starting to like yuu as well?"

he looks offended by your suggestion, an almost frightening scowl fixed on him now, "it's not unhealthy. it's perfectly normal for a couple to be all over each other. and, unlike you, i know to take care of my lover first before anyone else."

was there no way to reason with him? "but riddle, if you ignore your friends, they'll be hurt. what if things don't work out, and we break up? if you don't have your friends to rely on, who will help you then?"

he looks bewildered that you'd ever even consider such a situation, "that will never happen," he says, as though it was a fact, "i won't let it. so there is no need to worry."

the way he kept refusing to listen really frustrated you, especially since this had been going on for what seemed like forever. it was torturous at this point, having him ruin everything around you if it meant your attention would only be on him. how ever would you get through to him? as the anger coiled in your stomach, you made a huge mistake, revealing to him the truth behind your words from that day and unintentionally sealing your fate.

"i never liked you," so blinded by frustration, you didn't pause to gauge his reaction—something you'd later regret tremendously, "che'nya told me to ask you out, but i never had any feelings for you then, and i still don't feel anything but hate for you now. i just wanted to prove a point."

riddle's face is blank before a tense and obviously forced smile creeps on it, "you're really mean when you're mad. but the only person who should be mad now is me."

"i'm not being mean. this is the truth. i never liked you and i never will. don't talk to me anymore—i don't want to see you ever again," with a scalding glare at him, you storm out of the halls and out of riddle's sight. when you were finally back in your room, you breathed out a sigh of relief, not prepared for the events about to unfold.

"i would never do such a thing."

crowley chuckles awkwardly, the sound obviously forced, "all i'm saying is that it's mr rosehearts' word against yours. i'm sure you understand how this looks?"

how did it look? riddle, the dorm leader and one of the best students in nrc to be accusing you of stealing — who would believe you over him? he was a lot more influential thank you, and he ruled with an iron fish. nobody would dare oppose him anyway. you wouldn't be too surprised if crowley was sucking up to him as well.

"but perhaps you could...plead your case with him. it could likely be a misunderstanding, no? i shall give you two some privacy and not speak of this to anyone yet, for i —" at the withering look riddle shot him, the headmaster cleared his throat and briskly exited the room without finishing his usual line.

"i can't believe that you would lie—"

your incessant rambling is stopped by riddle's authoritative tone and the terrifying message his words carried, "it doesn't matter if it's a lie. what matters is that you'll be expelled from nrc. i'd love to see how you explain that to your family back home."

"you—this is going too far now, riddle. you can't drag my family into this," you seethe, feeling more angry when you noticed the smug look on his face.

"i can do whatever i want," he stares into your eyes, "but if you were to take back what you said that day and promise to be the best partner for me, i could just as easily explain to mr crowley that i was mistaken about the identity of the thief. not a word of this would leave this room and everyone will be happy."

for a moment, you wished the ground would open up and swallow you whole. anything would be better than agreeing to riddle's stupid demands, but you couldn't be expelled. it would destroy your family and your reputation. after a few, heavy moments, you seal your fate once again.

it only occurs to you, when you finally get in touch with a friend of yours who you hadn't seen in nrc for a while, that when riddle said he would tell mr crowley he was wrong about who the thief was, he was using that opportunity to rip away a good friend of yours by framing them for the crime instead. now, the grip riddle had on your arm feels more like the chains connecting you to a neverending nightmare.

when you asked azul to fake date you, it was because of a little crush.

you knew he was way out of your league, but you've always had a silly little crush on him from the day you saw him. azul was a year above you, but he was so popular that everyone knew about him. apart from being smart and suave, you were so impressed by how he managed to do well in school, supervise the dorm and run the mostro lounge (a place you stopped by almost every day, and not just because you were hoping to catch a glimpse of azul—the food was amazing). the few times you've talked to him, it was mostly because he came by to ask if you were enjoying your time in the lounge, but each time you were too flustered to answer. how embarrassing...

and then there was also word going around about his contracts. you weren't sure how legal any of it was, but you weren't about to miss an opportunity like this. sure, you had heard the horror stories, about how azul made the people who couldn't hold their end of the deal slave away in the lounge, and took possession of their skills, but you were still determined to at least get a consultation. you got lucky, as a friend of a friend knew someone who could pull some strings and ensure you get a session with azul personally to discuss your wish.

you had no idea how to approach it with him, realizing it would sound rather stupid to come out and say you just wanted him to hold your hand and go out with you for a few weeks, but finally, you decided that the best way to go about things would be to be honest.

still, it didn't mean you felt any less awkward talking to him about it.

"you want me...to date you?" azul is still smiling, but you can sense his confusion. you couldn't blame him, you knew it sounded weird.

"i've liked you for a while," you say, unable to look straight at him, "so i thought if we did this i could finally..deal with my feelings and get over it. i mean, i've been idolizing you in my head, so a reminder that you're pretty normal would help, i think?"

"i see. honestly, i'm flattered," he says, leaning back into his seat, "and while it's different from the usual things people ask me, i'm not so cruel as to turn you away. in fact, i won't even ask anything in return—" you go to interrupt without thinking, but azul only holds up a hand and you go quiet again. at that moment, he looked rather pleased.

"it wouldn't be fair to ask anything in return since i'm only losing my time. i could even argue that you have more to lose from this. but of course, i'll be needing something to hold as...collateral in the event that you breach the contract or take advantage of this arrangement. there will be a lot of terms to this."

you nod eagerly, ready to accept any and all terms he was going to write. despite the ominous feeling crawling up your spine, you found it all so exciting! dating azul ashengrotto! even if it was just temporary and not really a relationship, you were sure you could soothe the strange infatuation you had with him through this.

"something simple," he continues," what about...your ability to communicate? meaning your voice, of course, and other things—" he doesn't elaborate on that, and you foolishly, don't ask him to, "—most of the contract terms ask you not to say anything more than what i allow you to say about our arrangement to anyone if asked or exaggerate it, so i think it would be a fair exchange. don't worry, this is just a formality set in place. you seem like a good person. i'm sure this will go smoothly."

you weren't sure how smoothly things were going.

it was great...at first. you had regularly scheduled dates, and he wasn't against the hand-holding you wanted. in fact, the contract even allowed for kissing, though you noted azul seemed to get flustered from even the slightest physical contact. it seemed like he was really trying his best to make this a good time for you, but you weren't going to do more than this if it meant he might be uncomfortable. azul would walk by you in the hall and stop to ask you about your day, walk you from your last class to the lounge where you hung out with him for some time, helped you with your work, and even bought you gifts. when you tried telling him he didn't have to, he only insisted you keep it. he was just such a perfect boyfriend.

and that was the issue. you went into this thinking that you'd see how azul was just like most other people in nrc, but he was honestly impressing you with how caring he was and how great he was as a partner. it was almost too good to be true, and it felt like your whole plan had backfired on you. instead, you thought you might be falling for him even more from this.

but there was also the...unpleasant side to him. he wasn't exactly mean to you, but there were those times he'd stare too coldly at your friends and insist you ditch them to go out with him instead, and the times he kept pressing you to stay over in octavinelle for the night, going as far as to say he could talk to crowley about you moving to the dorm permanently, though such a thing was unheard of. he wanted to know every little detail about your day, and even if you could talk animatedly about everything, it was getting a little weird when he kept asking. but the weirdest part? the few times you brought up the contract, asking him about how long it was meant to last, he only changed the subject. he didn't even let you take a second look at it, claiming there was nothing you had to worry about. now you were left confused about the details.

it had been a month already, and you were starting to feel like it was time you ended things with azul. sure, he still made your heart flutter the few times he genuinely smiled at you, and he had a way of making you feel important, but it was a little draining to keep up with the facade when you were worried about deepening your feelings for him. after some encouragement from your friends, you gathered up the courage to approach him about it.

you thought of many ways things could go, maybe he would be pleased to end things, or maybe he'd explain the contract still had a day or two on it. maybe he'd draw up another agreement that would say you couldn't speak about this to anyone ever again. but you hadn't been expecting such an angry refusal.

"no."

you quickly put down the half-empty glass, your fingers curl up into your palm as you waited for him to elaborate—but that was all he said.

"sorry, but i don't understand—"

he smiles, but the expression looks patronizing, "i don't expect you to. you see, according to our contract, since you didn't give any more details, it is up to me when our arrangement ends. and i don't want it to end now, or for the foreseeable future."

upon noticing the shock on your face, he reaches out to place a comforting hand on your balled-up fists, though it feels like it serves to be a warning, "why do you look so distraught? weren't you the one who liked me? i gave it some thought, and you're pretty cute, [name]. i didn't think anyone would love me, but you did, and i would be a fool to let this opportunity slip by. i don't see why you would be upset. this is a mutually beneficial relationship, isn't it?"

"i don't...not anymore. please, i just want things to back to normal," you choke out, "i need my space and my time again."

"well, aren't you straight to the point? my dear, as much as i would hate for it to come to this, if you refuse to accept my decision, i'll consider it a breach of the contract."

"i'll tell everyone," you threaten him, though your voice is shaky, "they'll all know about this. nobody would ever—"

your voice begins to fade, words stuck in your throat and being dragged back down. you scratch at your throat, feeling like a lock had been placed on it, but to no avail. your voice was gone. and azul...he looked like the cat that got the cream.

"i warned you..." he says, his voice muffled. your world begins to slow down and melt, colors merging together and your senses dulling. you could just about make out a hand on your head, stroking you slowly as he continues talking, but his words slur, and your head spins.

"good morning," you're greeted by a voice that sent chills down your spine, and you began frantically trying to hide back under the covers as azul approaches you. was this his room? how did he get you here?

"i'm terribly sorry about how i had to deal with your outburst," he sighs, "but you were just being unreasonable. you agreed to the contract, so it's on you for failing to keep your promises too. don't worry, though. i understand it must have been overwhelming for you. you said...you said you were afraid the arrangement only resulted in making you like me more, didn't you? that's not a bad thing at all. i like you a lot now, too, thanks to the contract. i didn't realize how nice it would be to have someone by my side..."

you turn your head away, feeling hot, angry tears race down your cheeks. azul isn't perturbed in the slightest by the sight.

"i don't want you to think i'm leading you on. if i didn't like you, i would have ended the thing within a week, but we kept it going, didn't we? and we're suited for each other, don't you think? i would have thought you'd be happier about how things turned out, [name]. isn't this what you wanted?"

you felt like a scolded child, but you were enraged by the way he was treating you. you weren't a pet for him to keep locked up. you didn't want to be with him, not anymore. not after you learned about his true nature. you should have known it was a stupid idea from the start, and now it was too late to take it back.

you try to scream, but your mouth feels like it's filled with sand and your voice has shrunk. azul only chuckles at your frustrated expression and comes closer.

he sits down beside you, a hand cradling your cheek, "i'm a little nervous about this," he admits, "i've done my research but i'm still not so sure—though we can always learn together. after all, the best way to improve is by practice..."

you had been too trusting of azul, and it cost you your freedom.

when deuce asked you to fake date him, it was to back up a lie.

the whole situation was quite bizarre. deuce had found himself at the receiving end of jeering classmates, who were oddly enough, picking on his inexperience in dating. however they learned about that was beyond you, but you knew how hard deuce was working to become a model student, so you knew it took great restraint in him to not hit them. but in order to silence the taunting, he instead blurted out a lie about dating you.

deuce was pretty close with you, as the both of you met on the first day of school, but it was still quite unexpected that he'd do such a thing. his request was strange, to say the least, but you couldn't exactly refuse, since he had always been there for you. there were many instances when you had to do something you dreaded and deuce would, without complaint, step up and do the task. whenever someone jeered at you about something or the other, deuce would instantly go to beat them up, throwing caution to the wind. you just wished he didn't do it on your behalf, since you always felt guilty afterward.

all of that lead you to your current predicament.

"you...you're going to have to date me!"

you hadn't been expecting to be greeted like that, and your puzzled expression must have been obvious, as he rushes to explain himself, but after hearing him out you agree anyways, "it's not any trouble for me, but...are you sure about this?"

it was a little weird. very weird, to be honest. but deuce had always been there to help you out, and you didn't want to turn him down. if you refused him, nobody else could help. you couldn't exactly let him go back out there and face the teasing again, worried he might lose his temper. he refused to even tell you who it was that poked fun of him, so there was nothing else you could do. besides, if you were ever in a predicament like this, there was no doubt in your mind that deuce would help without question. it was the least you could do.

honestly, this didn't feel like the best way to proceed, but he insisted that he couldn't face admitting that he lied about dating you to 'everyone, so you swallow your doubts and assure him it would be alright. after more careful discussion, the plan was ready to begin as soon as he wanted it. deuce insisted he walk you back to your dorm, all the way talking about something or the other.

this wasn't exactly anything new between the two of you, but he kept redirecting the conversation back to your new status as a 'couple' and it left you a little concerned.

"now that i think about it...my mom would be over the moon about this. i mean, me, and you? she wouldn't believe it!" you laugh awkwardly in response, but you were confused about why he would need to tell his mom. the two of you could probably end things soon, and the chances of her finding out were pretty slim anyway.

despite your feelings, you keep quiet and watch him walk away, still a little unsure about the whole thing.

today, deuce insisted you sit with him and his friends.

"no offense," ace says, waving deuce aside, "but i can't believe it. what did you even see in him? he's liked you for so long, but i didn't think you felt like that for him too."

it wasn't surprising that his friends thought you two were actually dating, since he insisted that you couldn't let anyone know the truth, so you decided to humor them. but his last words startled you a little. deuce...liked you? you put aside that piece of information and focus on answering his question instead.

"i mean, he's pretty cute and—" you don't miss the way deuce's eyes widen "—he's so considerate and kind. i've known him for a while and...i don't know, it just felt right."

you quickly glance at deuce, who was extremely silent and staring at his food like it was the most intriguing thing at the moment. was he embarrassed that his feelings were revealed?

ace groans out loud, saying something about how lucky deuce was and how unfair it was, but you blocked him out, feeling rather stupid about your earlier words, and bewildered about why he'd ask you to fake date him if he already actually liked you. that sounded like torture, to be honest. you finish your food and leave as quickly as you can, claiming you had some work to finish. surprisingly, deuce stood up after you, rushing to catch up with your fast steps.

"i'm so sorry! i know the whole thing about me liking you came out of nowhere, but i didn't want to make things awkward, that's all!"

"that's alright, but it's still...isn't it weird? i mean, lying to your friends? and i don't know...it feels like i'm leading you on. i never knew you thought of me like that."

deuce looks taken aback by your words, "huh? it's not weird at all! i just had to lie so that they wouldn't accidentally tell anyone else the truth. and don't worry! you're not leading me on or anything. i asked you for this, right?"

"right," you mutter, "but still, you do know that i don't really like you?"

he looks a little hurt by the question and you internally scream at yourself, feeling quite terrible for saying that. why were you treating deuce like he'd do something creepy? it was deuce. he'd never...he wouldn't do anything like that...

"i didn't mean to—"

"no," he laughs awkwardly, "i get it. but seriously, you're only helping me out here! if you're worried that this might make things weird between us, i promise it won't. in fact, i think it's helping us grow closer."

he looked like he meant his words, too, which relieved you a little. you just hoped this whole thing would blow over soon so you didn't hurt him any more than you might have already.

it didn't blow over. instead, it felt like deuce was making it even more of a big deal than it was.

you were rushing down to a classroom that you were told deuce was in after wreaking havoc on a group of students. you watched as some of them limped out, glaring at the room they exited, before entering the now-empty room yourself, closing the door behind you.

"deuce?" you call out, worry seeping into your tone, "are you here?"

you find him seated at a table near the back, looking at his hands with a frown.

"i'm sorry," he finally says, acknowledging your entry, "i—they were talking about you so rudely. i couldn't just sit back and listen to that."

"deuce," you sigh, "i get it, but this...you really hurt them. i don't understand why you feel the need to go so far."

"i thought...as your boyfriend...it was the right thing to do," he whispers, "i just wanted you to see me. see that i can take care of you. don't you want that?"

you're exasperated, tired of repeating the same line over and over again. even you don't feel the weight it should carry anymore, "this relationship is fake."

"but it feels right, doesn't it?"

"sorry?"

"i mean...us. you said it felt right," he exhales, "i've been trying so hard to be perfect for you. i've done everything you wanted, to show you how much i care, so why can't you let me believe this for a little while longer? we've done this for this long, would a few more days matter?" he pleads, "just...let me believe that i had a chance."

"deuce, i really don't want to hurt you."

"i'm the one hurting myself," he sounds painfully heartbroken, "but just give me a few more days. please. i'll leave you alone after that."

some part of you didn't want to trust him, but another part of you felt bad for him. maybe it wouldn't be too bad to go on like this for a few more days, but you didn't want him to delude himself any further than he already had. however, the moment you looked at him, so pitifully waiting for your response, you knew you couldn't deny him.

his face drops as someone knocks on the door, "are you two alright in there?"

deuce glances at you for a moment, and at your hesitant nod, a little smile crawls onto his face, "we're alright."

"yeah," you stare at where his hands held yours, his fingers trembling, echoing his words back, "we're alright."

who would've thought his innocent crush on you would grow so dangerously?