Merry Christmas folks! Hope you all enjoy the holidays.

Euphrosyne's Fic III – 07

.:Bastard Academy:.

Adjusting the collar of his polo shirt after slinging the jean jacket over his body, Brooklyn shoved his hands into the pockets of his khakis. The day was a lot cooler than he expected, and considering the brisk temperature in the heated halls, the boy slowly walked, debating whether he wanted to head back to dorm and grab another sweater before continuing on his way.

"Brooklyn!"

A voice called him from behind. Hearing the familiarity, he turned and smiled. "Hey Mariah, what's up?"

The girl looked a little frazzled and was taking quick short breaths to calm herself. Had she been running after him this entire time? He would have noticed and heard if she had.

Struggling to string words together, the pink-haired girl knit her fingers together as to prevent herself from nervous fiddling. "You heading to Rye's dorm?" It was a pretty obvious question considering their location in the girls' corridors, but it was a silence-breaking sentence nonetheless.

"Yup. Heading over to pick up my gal." Oh how Mariah envied that title. "The two of us are meeting up with Scarlett and Garland for brunch to celebrate Garland's victory. It's tradition. A weekly tradition so it seems." the boy laughed.

Mariah loved the way his eyes sparkled when he spoke, how his chest would rise with warmth before his shoulders rolled back in light release. He was always complimenting others; she often found him overlooked! Instantaneously she felt her heart skip. She found it difficult to speak.

"You heading that way too?"

Nodding a little too fiercely, the girl swallowed. "Yeah, I'm meeting up with one of the girls, you know, to fix up our project and stuff. We're studying Mayan scriptures. Really cool. I love it."

She mentally bashed herself with the sentence. Why not just stamp GEEK all over your face!

"I'm glad you're so passionate about your work. I saw Scarlett working on her piece. Those symbols are pretty intricate."

She blessed Mary and all things holy that Brooklyn mistook her rambles as passion. Being in the boy's presence always set her off! Though she loved Brooklyn's company, she hated… the… mind meld…?

What was I talking about again? Forget it! There's no hope in saving pride now. You're memory's plagued. You've totally forgotten Scarlett, your roommate for four years is in the Arts! Gah! Our steps are coming to a halt. That means I'm running out of time. Just open your mouth and-

"Well, here we are. I'll see you around 'kay-?"

"Are you going to the upcoming formal?"

It came out slurrier than expected (especially since she had been practicing), but the boy's expression proved he had heard her.

"I…I don't know. Is there a formal coming up? Knowing Scarlett, she'll probably force us to go as a group."

For such an intelligent man, the guy sure was dense. "Well, I was wondering if…if you…you know, wanted to go with me."

Brooklyn's smile faded a tad. He furrowing his brows with slight confusion, "I don't think I understand. I thought you and Ray were going together."

Sure, now the guy's wheels start turning. She tried to play it casual. "Ray and I are friends. He didn't ask me, so I thought, and if you aren't going with someone already-"

The presence of another silenced the pink-haired girl. If she had been nervous before, no way in hell would she be able to formulate words in front of a witness.

Tala gave the two a weird look before passing them by. Scanning the female over with a suspicious stare, those turquoise eyes finalized on the male, shooting him a glare of threatening accusation. Not particularly interested in the scenario at the moment, the boy left their silent encounter at that, as quickly as he appeared, the redhead disappeared again, turning his back on the two as he turned the knob of the door in front of them. The weighted door closed behind him.

A horde of screaming echoed the corridors seconds after the door clicked shut. Vibrations of heavy footsteps sounded the halls before a body hit the door hard on the other side.

Brooklyn stepped forward to turn the knob, but someone beat him to it. If his reflexes had been any slower, a body would have collided with his own.

Dripping hair cascading over her features, Rye clung to the towel wrapped around her body. Eyes wide with a blank expression, Tala's seemingly weightless body sat against the hallway walls, the shadow of one angry teen dawning over him.

Was he just tossed?

"I didn't see anything! I swear!"

"Uh huh? Now what exactly is this that you didn't see!"

As if debating whether she wanted to hurl another object, better yet, which objects she could physically lift and hurl at the boy for his unannounced intrusion, Rye's eyes suddenly shifted from Tala's crouched position to the feet beside him, eventually locking eyes with Brooklyn.

If she had been angry and embarrassed before, she was in a whirlwind of emotions now. Self-consciousness hit her like an operatic gloved brick.

Stepping back as she took in all the members in the hall, Rye let out a breath before running a hand through her wet hair, taking a step back. She made a noise that sounded like suppressed screaming and simultaneously clenched her fingers into a first before squeezing her eyes shut. She grabbed the towel that had begun to fall dangerously low.

"Rye, are you alri-?"

"I'm fine." She quickly interrupted, struggling with the towel as she forced a smile. "Give me a moment would you? Nothing personal."

With that, the door slammed in the taller boy's face, a wave of screaming followed, if possible, at a higher frequency. A faint voice was introduced, but before either members in the hall could register the new voice, they heard yelling of "What the fuck?", "lock the god damn door!" and "teach your fucking boyfriend how to knock!"

More than two bodies felt sorry for the blue-haired girl, but most would agree it was better Ming Ming than them.

Mariah tried to laugh off the silence. "Yeah, ha. So um, think about what I said Brooklyn and get back- no, I'll call you or something." With a casual shrug, she smiled before waving, disappearing into the hall.

Reaching out to call her back, Brooklyn's moves were interrupted by a loud exhale.

Brooklyn merely sighed. This was probably not the time.

Loosing his tie with one hand while balancing the open newspaper in the other, the sound of Kai's crisp leather shoes echoed the massive halls of the billion dollar company. It was already half past nine, so the building was pretty much empty aside from the security guards on the even-numbered levels and the head honchos in the upper seats.

Clearly aware he was already late on meeting the guys, the exhaustion from being cooped up in an office all day did not exactly speed him along. His body told him he needed sleep but his mind told him to head over to the bar, 'be it half an hour even, you haven't seem the guys in over a week, it's the right thing to do.' Mr. Hiwatari's co-op program, pulling him out of classes to get hands-on-experience in the firm, was a mode of building routine into his life as to engrave responsibility after graduation.

Opening the door to his office, Kai saw a blur of red hair spinning in his chair. A girl with light blue hair laid lazily on the leather couch, flipping through a spindle which contained the numbers of important executives and clients. The redhead was known for his unannounced arrivals, usually however, he didn't bring friends.

"I thought I was meeting you at the club." It was more a statement than anything else.

"Just had dinner with Ming Ming in the neighborhood so we decided to drop by and say bonjour," he laughed at his own cleverness. They were in the infamous French cuisine district. "You have a history of bailing on us if you don't recall. We're gonna escort you to the party." Stopping the chair, the redhead leaned back before propping his legs on the expensive table. Crossing his arms, he scanned his friend's professional attire. "What'cha reading there?"

Tossing his friend the paper, Kai walked over to the hanger, "Catching up on the stocks. Seems the man has taken a sudden interest in the oil industry." Kai began to unbutton his shirt, throwing his blazer on the couch just narrowly missing the girl before throwing a dark turtleneck over his head.

The blue-haired girl giggled at the scene, "You can change into your jeans here too, you know."

Ignoring that comment, he continued to walk towards the door of his private washroom, reappearing to toss the bottoms of his suit to the collection of clothing on the couch. "We ready to go?" He was slightly desperate for sleep.

There was another giggle as Ming Ming looked up, returning the index holder to the table behind her head. "Not yet, Kai-kun. We're waiting for a pizza."

The blue-haired boy raised a brow, eyes landing on the redhead. "I thought you two just ate?"

"We have, but you my friend, probably haven't eaten anything all day." Picking up the phone, the boy pretending to dial a few numbers, mimicking a feel of importance; the boredom was about to end. "Besides, we haven't had dessert yet. I'm up for a little Italian."

Ming Ming walked over to join her boyfriend, wrapping her arms around his neck from behind the chair. "You're so bad, Tala."

"Did you ring Bruce? Doors close at 8:55. Access cards in and out."

"How long has it been Ming Ming?"

The girl checked her glittering watch. "22 minutes."

"Let's give Bruce a call then."

Standing by the side as he watched his friend call the first floor guard, their years of friendship really provided insight to the other's thoughts. Kai vividly recalled the redhead's fetish for inflicting pain on the less fortunate, delivery folk being a prime example.

"Yup Bruce. The kid should look something like me. Maybe a little bit taller? Well, he'll be holding a pizza, that should be an instant give away." The redhead thanked the older man before hanging up. Clasping his hands in a satisfied manner, naturally, he changed the subject. "So we're heading to club Ménage. Ming Ming here has VIP passes."

Kai narrowed his eyes, "What was that all about?

The boy slyly shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"That was a rather detailed description of just any old random pizza boy-"

"Well, you'd be interested to learn, that as of today, my pointless pickings on pizza folk have ended, because, as of today, there is a reason behind my actions."

Kai walked over to the desk, not really following his friend's words. "Elaborate."

"It came upon my knowledge that Kon's bitch is cheating on him." The redhead looked up to see the expected surprised expression. "I know. Mariah doesn't seem like that type of girl so I too concluded that it was the male's work. I took it upon myself to prove to this boy exactly who he thinks he's messing with." He smiled proudly at himself. "I'm such a hero."

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door.

Kai looked up. "Cash or credit? I'm all cards."

Tala snickered at his friend's question. "2-4-1 Pizza and Wings policy states if they don't arrive in 20 minutes or less, it's free and on them."

The blue-haired girl just giggled at the male's spectacular repeat of the slogan. Kai had heard of these special delivery offers and knew the food came out of the deliverer's paycheck if not delivered on time. Even if this dude was the other man in the Kon-Wong relationship, this confrontation seemed inappropriate and rather off topic.

The door sounded again.

"Go on. Do the honors."

Shaking his head to signal his absolute disapproval, the blue haired boy had no other choice but to answer. Let's relieve the poor kid of the humiliation and have him get on with life…

He opened the door, and froze.

…

Vyse?

This had to be some mistake.

As the coldness of the outdoors transferred from his clothes to that of the surrounding, the said boy stood with two pizzas in one hand, and a bucket of wings in the other. In a ridiculous light blue t-shirt very much unfit for the current weather, a paper hat with some sort of button with a chicken logo was pinned on an angle. A red apron hung loosely from his hips, probably a device used to carry cash and change than anything else.

Treating the three no differently to that of other customers, he lifted the food towards Kai, staring at him, but not really making eye contact. "That'd be $32.50 please." Proper etiquette and customer service skills clung to him like a second skin, that last word had slipped out of his mouth, too late to be retracted.

Kai reached into his pockets, hoping he had some sort of change.

"No, Kai. If I am correct, 2-4-1 Pizza and Wings-"

Something he never expected to see flashed before Brooklyn's eye's that night, and as bizarre as it seemed, it made him, thee Kai Hiwatari feel uneasy. Was it the sudden shift in composure? Mechanisms to defend pride? He didn't know, but either way, a wash of protective instincts kicked in. Vyse was giving off unstable vibes, and few, if any at all, have probably witnessed enough of this odd behavior to make predicaments on possible future behavior…

Stop over thinking Kai. He's Rye's friend…

His eyes twitched a little at those last few words, mind traveling too far for its own good. That separation between mind and body, something that always annoyed the Lee Estates heiress, often over expressed itself in threatening situations.

"Do you have a machine in the car-?" Kai found himself unconsciously taking out his wallet.

Tala merely cleared his throat.

Locking eyes with the tall male, Kai found something stronger than disgust, and it was directed at him.

"Take it."

Package pretty much shoved into his arms, Kai watched as the headmaster's other grandson turned away. Though the other two members in the room made loud remarks about his rudeness, threatening to file a complaint, laughing shamelessly all the same, Kai swore the laughter was directed at him.

Shit. How was he going to explain this one?

Personal experience. Stupid policies, on top of minimum wage! It's like working a day for free! Grr, twitch twitch. Must think festive thoughts…

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