Ace ,Deuce and Hook left for class, Noire just sat there, shivering like a leaf. Grim sensing something was wrong, jumped in her arms and let his friend cuddle with him.

"Why? Why me? What did I do? I never… I never…"

"Noirey?"

Noire and Grim looked up to see Cater watching them with a worried look.

"Cater?" Grim's ears perked up. "What are you doing there?"

"I was on my way to do some shopping. What happened to you? Your face is all red and your eyes are… Have you been crying?"

"…A little. In silence."

"Im not sure." Grim explained. "After hearing the story from Hook's past i think something clicked inside of her."

Cater cringed. Carefully, he sat next to his friend and put a hand on his shoulder. Noire looked down, her hands still running through Grim's fur. Her chest was heaving.

"I wonder what your thinking...How about we go to town instead? Up for some window shopping? It will take your mind off things."

Noire smiled weakly.

"Thanks, Cater"

As they passed by Big Bang Burger.

"So, do you feel better?" Cater asked. "Do you want to come back to Heartslabyul?"

"Sure."

Their meal finished, they headed back to Night Raven College.

"Not bad," Cater remarked as he and Noire entered the Heartslabyul foyer, Noire wasn't sure what she'd been expecting when she emerged from the mirror portal to Heartslabyul, but it certainly wasn't being greeted by every student she passed. Every time someone caught sight of her, a string of "Hey, Noire!"s, "How are ya?"s, and "Good to see ya!"s sounded from those within earshot. Noire smiled and waved back as often as she could, but her confusion must have been evident in her eyes because Cater and Trey shot her amused looks.

"So how's it feel to be a local celebrity?" Cater asked, poking her cheek teasingly.

"Umm…very confusing," Noire answered. "How do all of them know who I am? I was barely a blip on anyone's radar yesterday."

"Word travels fast," Trey explained. "Most of the students had already been evacuated by the time your magic revealed itself, but a few managed to catch a glimpse of it before they were ushered out."

"Riddle's been in a surprisingly chill mood all day today, too!" Cater chirped. "The worst anyone's gotten for breaking the Queen of Hearts' rules today has been a warning if he said anything about it at all. Granted, he's supposed to lay off on using his Unique Magic until all the blot leaves his body, but for him to be so mellow… Well, it's not something we ever thought we'd see!"

"We've had a bunch of guys from our dorm ask us about you," Deuce added. "How you did what you did, what you said to Riddle to get him to ease up, if you're doing okay after he threw you-"

"I mean, technically he didn't throw me," Noire pointed out.

Grim huffed, crossing his arms. "It was soooo annoying!"

"You're just mad because they weren't askin' about you," Ace remarked dryly.

"As if you're one to talk, Acey~! You got pretty huffy when some of 'em asked if she was single at lunch today," Cater teased.

"I-I don't know what you're talkin' about," Ace stammered as he rubbed the back of his head, refusing to meet Noire's eyes as his cheeks flushed a light pink. "Those guys were just interested in her because they know she's in good with the dorm head now and they wanna use her as a shield in case Riddle flies off the handle again. I'm just lookin' out for my friend. That's all."

"Mmhmm~! I'm sure that's all it was," Cater replied, the teasing still evident in his voice.

Before Ace could spit out another retort, Riddle called out to them. "Well…I was hoping you would show up."

"Hi Riddle!" Noire greeted, Riddle gave a stern look. "You're under strict orders from the nurse not to do anything strenuous, are you not?. You'll risk making your injury worse."

"Hmm?" Noire tilted her head in confusion before remembering that, barring Ace and Deuce, the guys didn't kmow she was medically cleared " Oh im medically clear"

"Oh?" Trey asked. " Glad your fully recovered "

"Ah yes, that reminds me," Riddle said, smiling at Noire. "I need to talk to you about a Unbirthday Party."

"Sure thing," Noire agreed "What's this about the party?"

"Firstly, I need to know when your birthday is," Riddle replied. "As you know, Unbirthday Parties can only be held if none of the invitees have a birthday on the chosen day. Given the influence you've made on Heartslabyul it wouldn't feel right to have it without you."

"I appreciate you guys thinking of me," Noire said with a smile. "My birthday isn't until October 31st though, so you don't have to worry about that."

"October 31st?" Trey repeated. "That's interesting."

Noire tilted her head. "How so?"

"October 31st is the anniversary of Night Raven College's founding," Trey informed her.

"It's kind of a big deal," Cater added. "There's parties thrown all over campus and everyone gets super hyped for it!"

" Plus its halloween" Hook added walking up.

"It sounds like fun!" Noire agreed. "If I'm still here by then, maybe I'll try throwing one myself. It'd feel weird to throw a birthday party without my family but it would feel even weirder to do nothing on our birthday. Having a Founding Day party sounds like it'd be a nice way to meet in the middle."

"Just make sure we've got tons of yummy food!" Grim told her.

Riddle cleared his throat. "If we could get back on track, please. In looking over the calendar, the only day that we'll get the chance to hold an Unbirthday Party before Ace's actual birthday is this Sunday."

"This Sunday?" Deuce repeated. "Like…not even two days from now?! How are we going to get everything ready in time?"

"Most of the preparations can be taken care of easily enough with magic. We'll still be cutting it close, but it can be done," Riddle replied. He turned to Noire " And you " he said making Noire gulp, " Don't make me worry again or it will be off with your head " Riddle said smirking

" You'd love to collar me would you" Noire said, causing Cater, Trey, Deuce and Ace to laugh " That came out wrong " she sighed, she could see Riddle found it amusing.