Chapter 37: Let Him Go

Jerry Grayson

"It's awful, what happened here?" Renee said.

Jerry nodded. He was surprised that to be dispatched to the Morning Star Academy. He was even more surprised to learn that the school was attacked by supervillains with an alarming number of casualties. By the time Jerry and Renee got there, a boy was already dead.

"Poor thing. He was so young." Renee said.

As soon as the words left her mouth a loud bang filled the ambulance. That was followed by Renee screaming. He gasped and slammed the brakes.

"Jerry, he's not dead!" Renee yelled.

"What?" Jerry frowned and turned to look in the back seat and was surprised to see that the white sheet was no longer covering the body and the boy that was under it was currently spasming while gasping for air.

"What the hell?" Jerry frowned.

"He has a pulse!" Renee yelled.

She began to check his body. "Get to the hospital!"

Aurélie

Aurélie was confused on how she ended up on the dressing room floor. She sat up slowly and groaned. Her body was stiff from being trapped in such a confined space. Aurélie paused, where was she? The last thing she remembered was she was with Maryanne and the others fighting against Orion. Now she was in a fancy red dress and left with an intense feeling of nausea.

Aurélie groaned and stood up. She opened a door to the dressing room and was surprised to see that the store was practically empty. She could count on one hand how many customers there were and there were even fewer workers.

The salesclerk girl around her age stood at the cash register lazily playing a game on her phone. Aurélie frowned.

"Where are we?" Aurélie asked in her head.

She waited for one of her sisters to answer her, instead, she was met with silence. Aurélie frowned. Her mind was never silent. She always had at least one other girl shouting in her head. Now the only thoughts she heard were her own.

"Girls?" Aurélie called.

Silence. No one answered. Aurélie gulped. What was worse was that she couldn't feel their presence in her mind. She could not sense her sisters.

"Shit…shit. This is really bad." Aurélie began to mutter.

She reached into her purse and pulled out her phone. She just needed to call Cleo and her roommate could help her get in touch with their teachers. They would know what to do.

No answer. Aurélie frowned when she looked down at her phone. She was going to check the time, only to widen her eyes the moment she saw the date. "January? Weren't we in December?"

She kept scrolling and saw she had sixty-seven missed calls. Some were from Cleo. Most of them were from her parents, all of them were from the last couple of hours. Aurélie scratched her head in complete confusion.

"What's going on?" She asked.

Lex

Darkness. Lex never thought it would be possible to feel darkness yet somehow, he could feel the rough coldness of shadows weighing down on his soul. The darkness consumed him, devouring him. It tore apart his soul yet gave his belly a certain warmness that he had never felt before.

"Lex." Faith called.

The darkness parted so Lex could see the girl. The first thing Lex noticed was how beautiful she looked. Her blond hair was radiant and flew around her like a golden mist. Her pale skin sparkled like she had specks of moonlight on her skin. She wore a bright white dress that looked like it was made of snow. She was gorgeous.

"Come on Lex." She smiled.

She did a waving gesture, signaling for the boy to come towards her.

"Come on Lex." She repeated warmly.

Lex was about to take a step forward when he felt a hand grab him. He frowned and turned to look at the source. It was Sarah. The girl had a beautiful black dress that looked like it was weaved from shadows. Her blond hair was tied into a ponytail showing off her round face and bright eyes. There was a kindness in her eyes that Lex did not see often but always knew was there.

She gently placed a hand on his cheek. "You don't belong with her. Not anymore."

"LEX!" A voice shrieked.

Suddenly the world around Lex began to shatter. The two girls let go of him and turned to smoke, leaving the boy falling into an abyss.

"LEX!" A voice yelled.

Suddenly the world began to crash down on Lex. Light flooded his eyes and his body became numb. He was no longer in his dark paradise and instead was on a hospital bed, four sets of eyes anxiously peering at him.

"Oh, thank god." Faith sighed.

The blond girl threw herself at her best friend, throwing her arms around him. Lex's arms were restrained so he couldn't hold her back. However, being in her embrace was good enough.

"I thought I lost you." Faith sobbed.

Lex coughed. He smiled weakly. "You're crushing my stomach,"

"Come on Faith, we don't wanna lose him again." Kaleb smiled.

Kaleb jokingly pushed Faith aside. "Welcome back to the world of the living." Lex noticed that his eyes were red and puffy. Even though he was acting lighthearted, he must have been devastated. It was then he noticed he was wearing a surgical mask. "I'd hug you but I'm not exactly feeling my best.

That genuinely shocked Lex. As far as he's seen, Kaleb rarely ever got sick. He was starting to believe that he never did. "What happened?"

"I have some kind of the flu so I'm supposed to take it easy." He said.

Lex frowned. "Spider-monkey flu?"

Kaleb sighed. "Some villain created this chemical that was meant to attack my genes. Well, the mutant genes in me anyway. My human side was the only thing that kept me alive, that and some good medicine. It could have been a lot worse; I could have ended up like…" Kaleb trailed off before he could finish his sentence.

His happy expression stayed on his face however his smile did not seem to match his eyes.

"Matt," Lex said aloud, realizing why his roommate was so broken up.

Fouzia finally spoke up. "They're saying a villain killed Matt,"

Lex gulped. Suddenly, he remembered everything. Fouzia killed Matt. Even though he didn't smash the rock over his head it seemed like he was just as much to blame as Fouzia. A part of him feared that Fouzia had beat him to the punch. Would he have done the same thing to get rid of the person that hurt Sarah and Faith? Would his attack have been worse? Would his be an accident?

"I told Mrs. Zambiea that." Alexander said shakily.

Kaleb shook his head. "Poor Matt. He was so nice. A little high strung, but he always had a smile on his face."

Lex frowned. Kaleb wasn't aware of the truth. He didn't know how cruel Matt truly was. He just saw the boy that made jokes in football practice. The worst he had seen is him complaining about his rankings. He didn't know about the boy that beat his own girlfriend, about the manipulative asshole who tried to turn his best friend against him.

Faith sighed. "I feel so bad. I mean I know that sounds weird after what happened, but before Homecoming I kind of considered him a friend. I mean he was never an enemy."

Fouzia shook her head. "I need some air."

The girl sighed and walked out of the room leaving her friends alone. Lex sighed. Only five people knew how Matt really died. Alexander and Fouzia already covered up the murder, and Victoria sure as hell wouldn't tell the truth. Lex frowned. Even if he didn't agree with what they did, he was going to stand by his friends. If they're saying a villain killed Matt, then a villain killed Matt.

"Where's Hunter? Our friend group feels incomplete without him." Lex joked.

Although no one was smiling before their faces dropped to the floor at the mention of Hunter's name. Even Kaleb dropped his smile the moment he heard his name.

"I don't think we're going to be seeing Hunter anytime soon." Faith sighed.

Lex frowned. "What happened? Oh God, please don't tell me he's dead."

"He betrayed us," Kaleb said through gritted teeth. Lex noticed all six of his hands were clenched into fists.

Sorrow managed to make its way on his face.

"What do you mean he betrayed us? That guy doesn't have a malicious bone in his body." Lex frowned.

"He was working with Cyrus," Alexander explained.

Lex shook his head. He kept hearing the name Cyrus. Was this guy supposed to be important?

"Who is Cyrus?" Lex asked.

The trio shared a puzzled look. It seemed like they knew something they didn't want to tell him.

"He's a villain." Faith said.

"A psychopath." Alexander finished.

Lex shook his head. "And Hunter was working with him? Hunter was working with the guy that attacked the school?"

Faith sighed. "We don't know the full story."

"We know enough." Kaleb frowned.

"I don't know anything. Can someone tell me exactly what happened?" Lex asked.

"What happened Mr. Dayton is that you're a miracle." A voice answered.

The four teens turned to look at Ms. Morningstar looking at them with a smirk. The four of them gulped in unison.

"Ms. Morningstar." Lex croaked.

She smiled. "They declared you dead. They said they couldn't find a pulse. Then like magic, you have a seizure in the ambulance and new life is brought into you." She smiled.

Lex frowned. "I don't believe in magic. The doctors probably made a mistake."

Faith crossed her arms. "Lex's a fighter."

Ms. Morningstar narrowed her eyes at Lex. "Of course."

She smiled. "I suppose I should go check on the rest of my students."

Just as Ms. Morningstar was about to leave Faith grabbed her arm.

"Ms. Morningstar there is one more thing, during the fight we saw someone." Faith said.

Ms. Morningstar raised an eyebrow. "You saw someone?"

"Land Mine. The villain that attacked us in the Black Church. He disappeared once the heroes started to show up."

Ms. Morningstar chuckled. "Land Mine? He and the rest of his crew are in jail where they belong. You must have been mistaken."

She turned back to Lex and grinned. "Get well soon." She smiled.

Cleo

Are you going to answer that? Aerolynn asked.

Cleo shook her head and nuzzled her head against her girlfriend's.

"I don't want to deal with my parents." Cleo sighed.

The two girls were currently snuggled in Cleo's hospital bed. Aerolynn sighed as more words conjured along her side.

Our school was under attack last night. They're probably worried sick.

Cleo frowned. She probably seemed selfish to Aerolynn. She was complaining about her parents to a girl that's never had a family. Her struggle didn't compare.

Cleo sat up and sighed.

"My father had this saying that if you can't be the best at something there's no point in trying," Cleo said.

That's stupid. No offense. Aerolynn frowned.

Cleo sighed. "Growing up, I was always my father's princess. He expected a lot of things from me and I was always able to give them to him. I wanted to be a hero and my father simply wanted me to be the best hero I can be,"

Well isn't that what you're doing? Aerolynn asked.

Cleo shook her head. "No Aero, it isn't. I get to this school and I went from being the most popular girl in my school to being invisible. I was finally faced with a chance to prove myself when I fought that villain. And without even blinking he was able to take away the only thing that made me special."

Aerolynn frowned and took the blonde's hand in hers. Your quirk isn't what makes you special.

"It kind of does in our society. I couldn't even hold my own against him. When I answer my parents call, I don't want them to see what I've become." Cleo sighed.

What have you become? Aerolynn asked.

Cleo frowned. "A failure."

Aerolynn shook her head. No. You, Cleo MsScream are not a failure.

"You don't have to patronize me." Cleo sighed.

Cleo was about to say something when Aerolynn's phone buzzed. The girl raised an eyebrow and pulled her phone out.

"Who is it from?" Cleo asked.

Kevin. He's saying they found Aurélie. Aerolynn gasped.

"You mean Alice." Cleo corrected.

She was still getting used to her new roommate. Alice was considerably less pleasant than Aurélie.

No, I mean Aurélie. She's back.

Kevin

"What's your name again?" The receptionist asked.

Kevin sighed. "Kevin Odeymi."

The receptionist nodded slowly. If Kevin had to take a guess the lady was probably confused about how the hell to spell Odeymi.

"I don't see you in the system." She said.

Kevin sighed. "Did you spell my last name right?"

"I'm pretty sure I did. A-d-a-m-y." She spelled out.

Kevin sighed. "No offense ma'am, but this is going to take all day. I just need to see my friend."

"And your friend is?" She asked.

Kevin could tell the woman was afraid at the thought of having to spell another foreign last name.

"Calm down he's American." Kevin sighed.

After Kevin gave her Jarret's information, she gave him Jarret's room number. Kevin sighed in relief and sprinted to the boy's room. Last night he slept in his room alone. He was miserable. Even though he slept by himself all his life, having Jarret there comforted him. Maybe it was just the fact that it was the only human connection he had, but he felt attached to his roommate. He was his best friend. Currently, his only friend but that didn't take away he was his best friend.

Six Months Earlier:

"Fuck." A voice hissed.

Kevin paused just as he was about to knock his door. Kevin frowned. Was this a bad idea? What was he thinking about going to a hero school? Plus, his roommate was randomly cursing, meaning he had company, or he was crazy. Well, Kevin couldn't really call anyone crazy.

"Dude, just go in," Kaleb said.

Kevin turned to see Kaleb watching him with a smirk. Kevin frowned. He met Kaleb on the bus, the boy was friendly to him, something Kevin appreciated. He was relieved that he wasn't the only black person in this school. He even saw a cute girl with braids in the common room. Well, kind of cute, her brooding scowl kind of took away from her beauty. That and the fact that Kevin was confident that said girl could probably body slam him.

"My roommate is pretty cool." Kaleb smiled.

"Of course, he is. Things just work out for you don't they?" Kevin sighed.

Kaleb shrugged. "Call it good karma."

Kevin frowned and opened the door. Standing in the center of the room was a tall and lanky boy with tanned skin and shaggy brown hair. He was currently sucking on his thumb when noticed Kevin's presence. The boy looked up at Kevin and raised an eyebrow.

"You must be Kevin?" He said.

Kevin nodded. "And you're Jarred?"

"Jarret." The boy corrected with a smile.

Kevin blushed and laughed awkwardly. "Sorry, Jarret."

"Jarred would have been a cool name." Jarret chuckled.

Kevin looked up at the boy. He was that much taller than him where he had to look up.

"Why are you sucking on your thumb?" Kevin asked.

Jarret chuckled. "I cut myself on a thumbtack. Stupid really."

Kevin froze. Blood. The scent made his stomach rumble and made Kevin want to lunge at his roommate right now. Kevin shook his head.

Calm down. He said to himself.

Kevin sighed. "Yeah, stupid mistake." He said through gritted teeth.

His fangs threatened to tear his lips apart and make their way into the boy's flesh.

Kevin tried to distract himself and looked up at the wall. A poster of a muscular pro hero was on the wall.

"That's Captain Celebrity, right?" Kevin asked.

Jarret grinned. "Hell yeah, the number one hero in America. You a fan?"

Kevin shrugged. "I was never into mainstream heroes."

"Wow, a hipster," Jarret smirked.

"So why is he on your wall?" Kevin asked.

Jarret smiled. "He's a real hero. One day I hope to be as great as him."

Now:

"Fuck." Jarret cursed.

Kevin sighed in relief when he heard his friend curse.

"Thank god." Kevin grinned.

Jarret looked up at Kevin and smiled to see the boy walking towards him.

"Kevin." He said warmly.

"You're okay," Kevin said in relief.

He ran over to his friend's bedside and pulled him into a hug, his nose, nuzzling his friend's shaggy hair.

"Not really. Brain is jumbled. So many thoughts." Jarret frowned.

Kevin chuckled. "Well for the past couple of days you been borderline brain dead and could barely say one word, let alone a full sentence."

Jarret smiled weakly. "Progress."

"Definitely progress." Kevin smiled.

Jarret shook his head. "I don't remember anything. My mind is like thousands of puzzle pieces trying to piece themselves together."

"So, you don't remember what happened with Amanda?" Kevin asked.

How could he block out something so traumatic? He looked like he was going to die.

"I know I got in trouble and she punished me. I remember being in so much pain I wanted to die. That's it." Jarret said.

Kevin smiled. At least Jarret could move forward. Maybe not remembering what happened was the best thing. Now he can try and live a normal life. Jarret's hospital gown was exposed so Kevin could see the scars and bruises that decorated his friend's skin. Kevin reached out to the touch one of the scars forming.

"Jesus Christ." He said.

Jarret chuckled. "On the bright side, chicks like scars."

"Yeah, because girls are just lining up to get with you." Kevin laughed.

Jarret frowned. "I'm finally back to normal and the first thing you want to do is insult me?"

"I have been spending a lot of time with Jake and Sarah," Kevin joked.

As soon as Kevin said Jake's name, Jarret froze. The warmth in his eyes was replaced by a cold glare. Jarret began to shake his head rapidly.

"She's going to kill us!" He screamed.

Kevin flinched and jumped back in shock. Jarret's body began to thrash around, and he began to slam his head against the wall.

"She's going to kill us!" Jarret screeched.

Kevin ran to the monitor and slammed his palms against the call button.

"Can somebody send a nurse up here! My friend is freaking out!" Kevin yelled.

Jarret finally stopped thrashing and began gasping for air. Then it stopped. His body went limp causing Kevin to panic.

"Jarret!" Kevin yelled.

He ran over to his friend, he reached out to touch the boy however Jarret pulled himself away. He seemed to regain control of his body and his mind. He looked up at Kevin with wide eyes.

"I think I just remembered something." Jarret panted.

Kevin smiled. "That's good right?"

"Kevin, did you kill someone?" Jarret asked.

Aurélie

"So, you have no memory of the past four weeks?" Amanda asked.

Aurélie shook her head. "I'm confused. Are you telling me I missed a whole month of school?"

Amanda frowned and sat back against her chair. The two were currently in the hospital waiting room, with the headmistress demanding to speak to her.

"Well, that explains why I couldn't track you. You're back, I was using my quirk to track Alice." Ms. Morningstar sighed.

Aurélie nodded. She felt incredibly disoriented. Like she just woke up from a long nap. Her body still felt kind of numb and her mind was scrambled up into pieces.

"Ms. Morningstar I have another problem, I can't reach any of my sisters," Aurélie said.

Ms. Morningstar frowned. "You can't reach them?"

"The only thoughts I can hear are my own." Aurélie said quietly.

The feeling was strange. How long had she wished to have her mind all to herself? Now that she did, she felt alone. She always had someone in her corner fighting for her, now she had to defend herself. Where were her sisters? Did something happen to them?

"We'll run some tests on you later, we'll see if we can figure out how to bring these girls back." Ms. Morningstar said.

Aurélie sighed in relief. "Thank you, Ms. Morningstar."

"Aurélie!" A voice yelled.

Aurélie turned to see Cleo and Kevin running towards her. Before she could even react the two tackled her and pulled the girl into a hug.

"I've missed you so much." Cleo cried.

Kevin nodded. "I missed you more."

Aurélie wheezed as her friends began to squeeze her harder.

"I need air to live!" Aurélie croaked.

Kevin and Cleo laughed and let go of their friend. Aurélie smiled, it was calming to see her friends again. Ms. Morningstar laughed.

"I'll leave you three to catch up." She said.

With that, Ms. Morningstar grabbed her briefcase and walked out of the room leaving the trio alone.

"So, what did I miss?" Aurélie asked.

Fouzia

"Fouzia!" Alexander yelled.

Fouzia froze at the mention of her name. After what happened last night she was trying to distance herself from the boy. He didn't seem to get the memo.

"Can I help you, Alexander?" She asked.

"Are we going to talk about what happened last night?" He asked.

Fouzia gritted her teeth. Matt. She killed Matt. She took away a life.

"What are you referring to?" She asked.

Alexander looked down at his feet and sighed. He was searching for the words to say what he wanted.

"I didn't want to lie." He said quietly.

Fouzia frowned. The lie. She could have come forward and finished all of this. She would have been arrested but at least she could tell the truth. Then Alexander took that opportunity for her. He lied, and now she was stuck drowning in her secrets.

"Then why did you?" She demanded.

Alexander frowned. "I just wanted to protect you."

Fouzia sighed. Yesterday if she heard those words she would have felt flattered that he cared that much. Now she felt trapped.

"I'm going to go check on Victoria and Sarah," Fouzia said.

Just as she was about to leave, Alexander stopped her.

"We're still friends right?" Alexander asked.

Fouzia gulped. She didn't have time to think about that. She didn't want to.

"Like I said I need to go check on Victoria and Sarah." Fouzia sighed.

She pulled her arm away and walked away from the boy.

Sarah

Sarah was surprised when she woke up in a poorly decorated hospital room. She groaned and sat up slowly.

"What the hell?" Sarah asked.

She sat up slowly and was surprised to see a blond nurse watching her.

"Oh good, you're up." She smiled.

Sarah groaned. "Lex." She mumbled.

"One of your friends told me to tell you that Lex Dayton is okay and recovering." She smiled.

Sarah frowned. She didn't have any friends. She began to process what the nurse said, and she smiled. Lex was going to be okay. That was all that mattered.

"How? He wasn't breathing." Sarah said.

The nurse smiled. "We have really good doctors here they were able to revive in him in the ambulance, at least long enough for us to perform surgery when he got here."

"So he's alive? He's okay?" Sarah asked.

"He's okay. He's going to make a full recovery. Now concerning your issues, we already contacted your parents." She said.

Sarah raised an eyebrow. "What issues?"

"Your pregnancy. Luckily, your baby was not injured in the fight and is still very healthy." She said.

Sarah was taken aback for a second. She shook her head. She must have misheard.

"I'm sorry what?" Sarah asked.

"I said your baby is healthy-"

"I heard that part bitch," Sarah said.

She raised an eyebrow. "Did you not know? You're seven weeks pregnant."

"You're lying." Sarah frowned.

"I'm afraid not-"

Sarah cut the nurse off. "I'm not stupid. I know not to do it without a condom."

"Well you're young and you would be surprised with the number of boys that don't know how to use it properly, plus condoms can break and there have been cases where they don't work at all," She said.

For a minute, she had forgotten how to breathe. Sarah's stomach dropped. Pregnant. She was pregnant. The thought weighed down her soul. She was only a kid. She didn't even know how to take care of her herself, how was it possible she could give birth to a human being? The worse realization was that this was Matt's child.

"Fuck," Sarah said aloud.

The nurse frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Well, my baby's father was murdered last night so…I'm not doing great." Sarah sighed.

The nurse's face fell. "Oh honey, I'm so sorry."

Sarah gulped. She didn't deserve to feel sorry. She was the reason Matt was dead.

"Don't worry your mom is on her way." The nurse said.

Sarah frowned. Was that supposed to make her feel better?

Amanda

"Amanda? I'm surprised to see you." Dr. Troy said.

Amanda smirked when she entered the coroner's office. The doctor was sitting at his desk, Amanda raised an eyebrow at all the files on the table. A lot of people must have been dying.

"I heard about your students, I'm sorry about what happened." He said.

Amanda gritted her teeth. She had been avoiding dealing with Matt's death. Her entire plan relied on him growing stronger. He was the only way to stop Cyrus. Now he was dead.

"I didn't come to talk about that, I came to talk to you about one the bodies you received." She said.

He frowned. "Amanda, come on, not this again."

"Just show me one file and I'll be out of your way." Amanda smiled.

She sat on the desk and leaned in closely to the man. "It's just a small favor."

He sighed. "What's their name?"

"I have no idea what their legal name is but they may have been enrolled under the name Pullerina." She said.

Dr. Troy shuffled through his files until he stopped at one paper that seemed to satisfy him. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out rectangular reading glasses and carefully put them on. Amanda waited as the man read the file.

"You're going to have a problem on your hands, Amanda." He said.

He sat the file down and looked up at the headmistress, causing her to frown.

"A problem?" She asked.

"I've been in this business for a long time. When you deal with deaths involving quirks, you're bound to see some weird stuff. This, however, is different. I've never seen anything like it. Her death is fascinating." Despite the fact he was supposed to be a professional, Dr. Troy could not help but smile lightly.

Amanda rolled her eyes. "I'm sure it is."

"At first, I ruled it to be a heart attack, but then I looked closely and realized all her organs stopped functioning at the exact same time. After death, almost as if they were frozen in time. Pullerina's entire body just shut down at the same time." He said.

Amanda frowned. "Just shut down?"

Sarah and Lex were in the woods with Pullerina. Lex would have an aneurysm at the time so it couldn't have been him. Then that meant…Sarah killed Pullerina and the girl had no idea. It took everything in her power not to grin in excitement.

"So how much?" She asked.

He frowned. "Pardon?"

"How much is it going to cost to make this problem go away?" She asked.

Alexander

"Hospital pudding is the worse." Kaleb sighed.

Alexander looked over as his friend shoved a spoonful of pudding in his mouth. Alexander raised an eyebrow.

"Then why do you keep eating it?" Alexander chuckled.

"I haven't eaten anything since last night," Kaleb said.

Suddenly Alexander remembered the last time he ate was before Homecoming. He was too caught up in the news of Matt's death and half of his friends being strapped to hospital beds to notice his own hunger.

"You need to eat something," Kaleb said placing an unopened cup in his hands. "You'll feel better."

Alexander shook his head. "You can eat enough for the two of us."

"That is true. However, I wouldn't feel right watching you starve while I eat this incredibly mediocre pudding." He said.

Just as Alexander was about to say something when he felt something tap him on the shoulder. He looked down and was surprised to see a piece of paper on his shoulder. He frowned pulled it off. He looked around and was surprised to see no one was in the waiting room except for him and Kaleb. Who could have put a piece of paper on his shoulder?

Hunter. Alexander realized.

Alexander frowned. Hunter was here. Everyone had been looking for him after he disappeared.

He betrayed us. Alexander told himself.

However, he had to believe that Hunter had a good reason. Even though everyone was saying he was a liar and couldn't be trusted, he couldn't help but think of the boy that was always nice to him. He couldn't help but think of his roommate as the loveable jokester who always tried to make him smile.

Hunter wasn't a bad person and Alexander wasn't going to rule him as one until he talked to him. If Hunter was here, where would he go?

"I'm going to go see if Victoria is out of surgery," Alexander said.

Kaleb stood up. "I'll go with you."

Alexander gulped. "Well…I…um… it's kind of a private matter it's about her…um…mom."

God, he sucked at lying. Well unless it was about covering up a murder, he seemed to be great at that.

"Oh, well I guess I'll see you later. I'm gonna go see Lex." Kaleb said walking off.

Alexander forced a smile that he hoped didn't show how worried he was.

"See you later." He said.

When his friend left, Alexander sighed in relief and made his way to Victoria's room. Unlike Alexander, Kaleb did not seem to believe that Hunter had a good reason for betraying them. He saw anger in his eyes when he had talked about Hunter, something he had never seen before.

Victoria's door was at the end of the hallway. He opened the door and gasped at what he saw. At least he was right about one thing, Hunter was here. The boy was pinned to the wall, Victoria had her right arm pressed to his throat and in her left hand was a dagger pressed to his stomach. Hunter smiled when he saw Alexander.

"Hey buddy, it's been a while." He smiled.

Victoria turned to look at Alexander. "Hello Alexander, don't mind me I'm just going to murder your roommate."

"Ouch, Victoria is this how you treat a guy to a good time." He said.

She growled and pressed her dagger against his stomach forcefully causing him to gasp, judging by his expression if she applied anymore pressure the weapon would penetrate his flesh.

"How can you make jokes after everything that's happened?" Victoria yelled.

Hunter's face fell. "Sorry, it's a coping mechanism."

He looked over at Alexander and smiled weakly. "It's good to see you guys."

"Well, it's not good to see you," Victoria said.

"Hey, Hunter," Alexander said.

Alexander looked at Victoria. "We can at least hear him out?"

Victoria sighed and pulled her arm away. She crossed her arms and frowned.

"You get five minutes. After that, I start slicing you up." Victoria said.

Hunter sighed. He put his hands in his pocket and bit his lips.

"I just wanted to apologize; I didn't want to betray you guys." He said.

Alexander frowned. "I believe you."

"Alexander don't fall for his bullshit. He made a choice, it's not our job to forgive him." Victoria snapped.

Hunter smiled bitterly. "I know it's not. I just wanted to let you guys know that I know I messed up. I'll regret this mistake until the day I die."

"Well Hunter, if you don't finish this speech that day may come very soon." Victoria frowned.

Hunter looked up at Alexander.

"You were a very good friend to me. Your friendship meant a lot more than you will ever know." He said.

Alexander smiled weakly. "Thanks, bud."

Hunter looked back at Victoria.

"I'm going to go away for a long time, and you will never see me again," Hunter said.

He took his hand out of his pocket and took Victoria's hand.

"I want you to come with me." He said.

Victoria's frowned. "Excuse me?"

"We can run away far away from this academy and never look back. You never wanted to come here in the first place." Hunter said.

He smiled. "We can be free of our families and Amanda Morningstar. You're the first person in my life who made me feel like I was valuable. I love you."

Victoria rolled her eyes, causing Alexander to wince. She crossed her arms and frowned.

"Do you really think I could ever forgive you? Let alone trust you? I'm not going anywhere with you. So, Hunter Akira Sato, I suggest that you get far away from here because the next time I see you I'm going to bury a dagger in your chest." She said.

Hunter's face fell. He looked down at his feet and gulped.

"Is that how you really feel?" He asked.

Victoria raised an eyebrow. "Do you really have to ask that? Get out."

Hunter took a step closer to her.

"I said GET OUT!" She screamed.

Hunter sighed and walked over to the window. He looked back at Alexander and Victoria and smiled weakly.

"Look after each other," He said.

With that he jumped out of the window, his body turning into paper, and surfed the night wind. As soon as he was gone, Victoria collapsed to the ground. Then something strange happened. Victoria Crown began to cry. Alexander ran over to the girl and pulled her into his arms.

Suddenly he realized why she was crying.

"You lied to him." He said.

Victoria looked up at Alexander, her brown eyes full of tears.

"Hunter made an enemy of Amanda and Cyrus. He has a death sentence following him. I needed him to go away and stay gone." Victoria cried.

Alexander frowned. "You wanted to go with him didn't you."

"It doesn't matter what I want." Victoria sighed.

She looked up at Alexander. "Do me a favor Alexander, never tell anyone what happened today."