*Rewritten*

I do not own Kuroshitsuji or any of its plots or characters, only my original characters and plotlines belong to me.

XxX

1.

So apparently we had an English test today. Which I did not know anything about.

Not that anyone studied for an English test these days, certainly not my class, but I normally knew when I had a test and for which subject. That way, I could consciously decide that I was not going to study. These were the moments where I realised I should seriously write this sort of stuff down. I kept thinking my memory would be enough. Silly me.

I looked at my phone while the teacher handed out the tests, so slowly that it almost felt like she was mocking us. She probably wasn't doing it on purpose, but still. We all knew what was going to happen if he thought she took too long.

And, of course, two minutes later my point was proven. Ciel, who always sat in the back row, preferable left, closest to the door, gave the handsome man dressed in black who stood next to him a sign. The man immediately walked towards the teacher, took a copy of the test and was back by his master's desk before our teacher could flinch.

Our teacher was blushing now and smiling shyly as she continued handing out tests, faster now. So, okay, maybe she was doing it on purpose.

It was strange how normal these sorts of things had become. Other people might have found this odd, but in me. Me and my class were far too used to it by now.

Ciel Phantomhive, a fifteen year old boy, who also happened to be an earl. Because that sort of thing still exists, apparantly. He owned the most successful toy and candy company in Europe. And when I say 'owned' I meant exactly that. He didn't have parents to rule the place, so he ruledthe place. Which seemed more like a movie or a child's dream, but no, this was actually the way it was.

And the man dressed in black was his butler, who I thought looked way too young to be a butler (he was probably twenty-something and which twenty-year old was so out of options that he became a butler for a spoiled brat such as Ciel?). He was handsome, of course, which annoyed the guys in my class the most.

Other than that, I didn't really know much else about Ciel, only that he had skipped two grades, which meant that he was now in the same year as us, the seventeen year olds. Apparently being rich wasn't enough. He had to be crazy smart as well.

Most people I knew didn't really like Ciel. They just thought that he was a spoiled brat who did whatever the hell he wanted to do, just because he could, since he had the money and the status. Which I didn't think they were mistaken in, but I didn't think that that was necessarily a bad thing. People who take what they deserve weren't necessarily bad.

No, the thing that made me feel uncomfortable when Ciel was around was his butler. Not in the way the guys at school were uncomfortable, but… different. The dark butler suit he always wore, even in the summer. The eyes that I kept mistaken as red, but people always told me they were brown. The weird way he sometimes smiled. His always pale skin, no matter how often that skin saw the sun. The fact that he was always - always - with Ciel, no matter where or when. Everything that butler did just seemed… suspicious. Which rich kid brought his butler to school? A bodyguard, yes, I could get behind, but this butler wasn't trying to hide, he was always by his master's side. It was weird. Everything he did seemed weird.

And everything Ciel did, too, for that matter. But Ciel was clearly different. He did blush, he did get burned in the sun. The only thing I had never seen, was Ciel's smile. You could say that that's logical, I mean, hello, he did lose his parents, but it did somehow upset me. Which young teen never smiled?

Not that I smiled much. And certainly not right now. Right now, I was trying to find a question on this test, that the teacher just gave me, that I can answer. Which was an impossible mission, since I didn't study for this stupid thing. And I wasn't smart enough to know these things without learning.

The only one who was writing enthusiastically was, of course, Ciel. Though maybe 'enthusiastically' wasn't the right word. 'Arrogantly' seemed to fit better.

I was sitting in the middle of the classroom and looked over my shoulder. Ciel was writing like a lunatic, clearly knowing all the answers. The air around him definitely arrogant. The other thing I saw was his butler, who looked at me the exact same moment I looked at him. And of course, being the teenage girl that I was, I immediately looked away from his perfect face. God, I always forgot how hot that guy was until I looked him in the eye. It was quite easy to underestimate someone's attractiveness when you weren't looking directly at them.

But no one else in school ever forgot. I knew so many girls who had confessed to him, or were planning to do so. He always turned them down, of course, which is to be expected, since A, he didn't really know any of them, since he's always busy with his master (I had heard someone say that he turned her down by saying that he 'lived to serve'). And B, they were all teenage girls, they were certainly not the best thing a close to perfect man could get.

I sighed. I hadn't even written anything down yet. That was another problem. The mystery surrounding Ciel and his butler were oddly distracting. So I tried to focus and the test and fought the urge to look at the butler and his master again.

XxX

When lunchtime finally arrived, I was more tired than after skipping a night of sleep because I wanted to finish the book I was reading. For a short while I wished I could just go home, but then I was reminded of what actually waited for me at home and I decided that the many hours I had still left to go were probably going to be way more merciful to me then whatever was waiting for me at home. So I forced myself to the cafeteria, each step feeling like some sort of triumph.

When I entered the cafeteria, the first thing I saw, of course, was Ciel and his butler. Always sitting on the table in the left corner of the cafeteria, which was always the cleanest place. Not because people didn't make a mess there, or because no one after sat there, but because the butler always cleaned it up before Ciel took place. I knew that because, one day, I had dared to speak to the young earl and asked why his butler would always left five minutes before the class finished. It was always the class before lunchbreak.

"He goes to prepare my lunch," Ciel had answered with his posh, always bored-sounding voice.

I didn't understand what drew me to Ciel's table that day, but for some reason, I walked towards his table and stood still before the table, where Ciel was eating his sweets and what not at the other end.

"Can I help you?" he asked, not even looking up from his table. Did he even know who was standing before him?

He probably doesn't really care, I reminded myself. "Well, no, not really," I admitted, because that was the truth. What was I doing?

The butler's eyes narrowed, but he didn't say a word. The vaguely smile on his face didn't waver one bit.

Ciel looked up, his face filled with a slight annoyance. Like I was a fly that kept buzzing around him and he was getting sick of it. "Then why are you standing there?" he asked me.

"Good point," was the only answer I gave. I looked around in the cafeteria, but I knew that there weren't any friends who could save me. Because I didn't really have any. One of the many problems of not wanting people to get involved in your life. 'I was just wondering if maybe I could accompany you?' Oh, God. What was I saying?

Ciel made a sound and I wasn't even sure how he made it, but it sounded disdainful. "Do whatever you like."

I froze, surprised. Seriously? I had expected him to straight up murder me for even daring to ask. Still in a kind of frozen shock, I slowly sat down.

The butler chuckled, as if he found my expression funny. Great. The hot guy was laughing at me. Just great.

"Sebastian," Ciel announced then, ignoring my presence. "I'm finished."

The butler made a typical butler-like bow. "Yes, my Lord. I'll clean it up right away."

That was the moment that I made the stupid decision to open my mouth. "Not that I'm against it or anything, but why do you always take your butler with you wherever you go?"

Ciel looked at me with a mildly surprised expression on his face. I didn't think he would answer. But then he blinked and opened his mouth. "A King without pawns would be useless," he answered, making me feel strangely stupid. What did the king have to do with his butler? And pawns? What about them? Was he talking about chess? Why was he talking about chess?

"Aha," was my reaction, because I didn't want Ciel to think that I didn't understand him, because I didn't want him to think I was stupid. That would be a tiny bit too embarrassing.

The butler had already finished cleaning up Ciel's lunch and was pulling Ciel's chair backwards so that Ciel could stand up from his chair. "Well, it was a delight talking to you, miss… Whatever, but I have to get to my next class." And with that he left, leaving me alone in the cafeteria, where everyone was staring at me as if I'd just killed a man.

XxX

When I arrived at school the next morning, I noticed that Ciel was absent. That wasn't that strange, he had a company to take care of, but I felt myself getting more and more curious about Ciel every day.

So, being the curious little idiot that I was, I decided to offer visit his house after school to tell him the homework assigned to the teacher. And the teacher didn't say "no". So then I suddenly had to go to Ciel Phantomhive's house after school, only because my curiosity went in the way of my common sense.

And when I said house, I should have said castle.

Not that it really was a castle. Just a really, really, really big mansion that looked like one. My god, how did people actually hear the doorbell in such a large house?

Well, apparently they had their ways of hearing it, because when I ringed the doorbell a maid with a strange purple-like hair colour and giant round glasses opened the door. She reminded me of Harry Potter, but then a female maid-version. "H-h-h-hello"' she said with a strange voice. As if she was forcing the words out of her mouth. "W-w-welcom to Pha-Phantomhive est-t-tate. C-can I help you?" she asked.

I somehow highly doubted that she could be of any help, she looked like a pretty helpless maid. But I decided to play friendly today. "Yes," I said, putting on my best smile. "I'm looking for my classmate. Ciel Phantomhive." Not that I needed to mention his last name since the maid obviously already knew what her master's last name was.

"Y-y-yes!" she said nervously. She opened her mouth to speak again, but before she could she was pushed away by white gloves, who belonged to the butler I knew. Sebastian. The contrast between him and the maid was almost laughable. "Can I help you?" he asked, and the way he said it made me feel very unwelcome.

"Um…," I mused, trying to act unmoved by his perfect face, which I wasn't. My god, this guy was way too good-looking. He could be a model and earn a lot more money than he probably got from that little earl. "I'm looking for Ciel." It sounded more like a question than an answer.

A fake smile appeared on his face. It made me feel like ants were crawling all over my body. "I'm very sorry, but the young master is sick today and doesn't want to have meetings in his state of being."

"Is it Lizzie?" I heard a familiar voice ask from behind the tall butler. The smile on the butler's face disappeared as I realised the familiar voice was Ciel.

The first thing I noticed was that he didn't sound sick. The second thing I noticed that he sounded way friendlier than he normally sounded.

"No, it's not," the butler answered. "It's a classmate of yours. Clarissa Lane, if I remember correctly."

Why the hell did that butler know my last name? That was kind of… strange. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be flattered by that or freaked out. Or just let it go. Maybe it was part of his job to know all the names of Ciel's classmates. Now that I thought about it, that wouldn't surprise me.

Ciel pushed his butler aside so that he was able to see me. "What the hell are you doing here?" he asked, definitely meaning to make me feel as unwelcome as possible. The friendly tone from earlier had disappeared completely. I was already starting to feel like I'd imagined it.

Suddenly, the butler smirked as if his master had said something funny. Of course, I immediately felt stupid because I didn't get the joke, despite my best efforts. Maybe it was some sort of inside joke?

Ciel gave his butler a cold glance. "Don't look like that, Sebastian," he ordered. "It's annoying."

Sebastian's smile faded immediately, but the amusement did not leave those red eyes.

Ciel turned his head back to me. "So, why are you here?" he asked, his tone cold and bored. Almost uninterested. But if he actually was then he wouldn't have asked the question, right?

"I'm here to tell you about the homework that we have tomorrow and I just wanted to check if you were alright," I said, feeling like a complete idiot. I believed even the maid didn't stutter as much as I did during that one sentence.

Ciel raised one eyebrow, clearly not believing a word a was saying. And I didn't blame him. I wouldn't have believed myself either. Then he sighed. "You don't even live in this area, do you?" he suddenly asked.

The question confused me. "Not really. Why?" I asked, unsure why he'd even asked me that. And how he knew that at all. What kind of information did he rather about his classmates? Did he really trust us so little?

"I guess you could come inside for a cup of tea." Ciel turned and started to walk back inside, calling his butler after him. "Sebastian."

"Yes, my Lord," the butler replied immediately. After that, he quickly turned to me and gestured me inside the house. "Is Ceylon tea good enough for you?" he asked me, as if I would have any idea what 'Ceylon tea' was.

"Um, sure?" I said, a bit confused. Did Ciel really just invite me inside for tea? That was something really nice. Way nicer than I thought Ciel could be. Maybe everyone was wrong about him. Maybe I was wrong about him. Definitely did not think I was wrong about his butler, though.

Sebastian put on a polite smile. "Then I shall bring you to young master's office before preparing the tea."

"Err, okay?" was my brilliant reaction. Sebastian nodded and directed me through the impressive hallways. I couldn't believe that someone could live in this sort of place. It looked like something from a movie, or something you visit with your family because your parents thinks museums are a good idea for the whole family.

Parents. Family. I knew I made a strange face, but I didn't think the butler was looking at me, so I took my time flattening my expression again.

The butler Sebastian was silent as he leaded me to Ciel's office, but I thought that I could hear the maid scream curses sometimes, followed by loud noises. Sebastian reacted most of the time by grimacing or rolling his eyes. He sighed a couple of times, too.

It took longer than I thought to get to the office. And as soon as I entered, Sebastian was gone. Great. If he could disappear like that, he could probably appear like that as well. And I was really bad with jumps cares.

I looked around the office. Since I was now used to the place a tiny bit, I wasn't that impressed by the office. Not that it wasn't absolutely amazing and awe-inspiring like the rest of the mansion, but I was slowly getting used to that. Weird how quickly magic rubbed off.

There was a desk, a grant window behind it so that the small chair behind it looked more impressive, another table and a few bookcases. Ciel wasn't sitting in the chair behind the desk, he was sitting at the table. On the table stood a chess board. Ciel pointed at the empty chair at the other end of the table. "Sit," he ordered, as if I didn't have a choice.

Obedient as a dog, I sat down immediately.

"Your turn," he offered then, as if this was a very normal way of starting a game of chess.

"Um… I don't really…play chess," I admitted in all honesty. Sure, I had seen people play it before and I think I kind of know the rules, but I had never played it before. Playing chess is hard when you have no one to play it with.

"Oh," Ciel said, hiding his irritation. But that didn't mean I couldn't see it.

We were silent for a while and I wanted to open my mouth to break the silence, felt a need to break it, but then, out of nowhere—

The window shattered. And men who looked like the savages that lived in my village, only dressed a bit better, entered the office. I had seen enough movies to immediately duck under the table, but it didn't seem to make much of a difference.

"There he is! Get him!" one of them shouted. The group men started to attack us. I sat under the table, frozen in fear and shock, but Ciel didn't even look remotely scared. He acted as if this was just another day at the office.

"Who is the girl?" another one asked as he pulled me from under the table, with me too stunned to scream. "She wasn't supposed to be here!"

Another one held Ciel, who didn't even appear to be struggling. Something about seeing him, so small and still so passive, made me want to try to escape with all my might. So I struggled. Not that I had enough strength, let alone any of it, but that didn't mean I didn't try.

"Don't care, just take her with you! Boss has warned us about the employees this kid has." And with that, someone put me over his shoulder and started to carry me out of the window.

I glanced at Ciel, who was also being carried by one of the men. He looked very calm, really like he couldn't care less, as they started to run towards the car that was waiting for us.

I wasn't sure how to process this. But something inside of me wanted to laugh. How typical, that part of me said, first time at the Phantomhive house and you got kidnapped.

And I couldn't help but agree with the voice. It wasn't like Ciel was kidnapped, every day, right? It was almost like this only happened because I was here. And if this wasn't a warning from God, a warning to tell me to stay away from Ciel Phantomhive and his estate, I wasn't sure what else this was supposed to be.

XxX

Since I am on break, I decided to start and rewrite this story from so long ago. I don't know if I'll be doing it frequently, but it really needed an update, so that's why. If there are any inconsistencies in spelling or grammar, that's simply because I have yet to correct the entire story.