The sound of typing was all that was heard throughout the lecture room, the lecturer's voice just barely heard over the rhythmic sound of furious typing. The student's paying no attention to anything around them, nor their spelling, which would be disastrous later when going through notes. However, one student seated near the back has barely one page filled. Just the date and time. Maribel could barely concentrate, the drone of the lecturer's voice fading in and out of her hearing and when it does, the information isn't retained as it goes in one ear and out the other.

The cause of this is a small, buzzing sound that appears to resonate within the room. As if a swarm of mosquitoes have managed to find their way into the room even though all the windows and doors are shut. Glancing around the room, Maribel could not spot the annoyance but what she saw was that no one seemed to be bothered by this. Were they too focused to notice? Or is it something else? She sighed and tried to concentrate on the lesson, hoping that whatever it was stopped soon.

Unfortunately, the buzzing only became louder and more incessant. Again, Maribel looked around the room but nothing was out of place. She groaned quietly in annoyance, placing her head in her hands in hopes the buzzing will go away. Thankfully it did, sighing in relief as she continued to listen knowing that she'll have to get notes from other students later.

But this didn't last for long. The buzzing returned with full force, louder and more annoying that is emitting from within her mind. The suddenness of this caused Maribel to jump in surprise, clutching the side of her head. Biting her lip to refrain from yelling in pain. A few students near turned to the sudden movement, but returned to continue typing or taking out their phones to procrastinate, as if this was a regular occurrence.

"Shut up, shut up!"

Maribel sighed before looking at her screen, in which what was on it caused her blood to freeze. She distinctly remembers not touching the keyboard for a good few minutes, right? It's not possible, why would she write that? Maribel gulped, feeling nauseous all of a sudden, taking deep breaths before closing her laptop and gathering her things. She needed to get out of here before she collapsed again, or worse. A few students took note of her quick departure, but again they quickly lost interest.

The incessant buzzing grew louder as she made her way towards the door, as if whatever is making that noise doesn't want her to leave. A throbbing headache forms, making her ability to think practically non existent. Dizziness takes over, the room beginning to spin as the feeling of nauseousness takes over. The stuffiness of the room doesn't help as each step is an effort to make to reach the door.

"Please, let me go…"

She all but gracefully barreled out of room, forcing the doors open more than necessary. Stumbling to catch herself from falling before practically falling into open arms, catching her in an embrace. The incessant buzzing stopped immediately once she acknowledged the person. Confused, she took a small step back to see who this person is.

"Renko?"

The brunette grinned as she let Maribel out of her embrace.

"But, why...are you here?"

Instead of replying, Renko dug in her pocket to fish out her phone, showing Maribel the reason why she was there.

*mutual friend: hey you might wanna get down here

*mutual friend: i think blondie is having one of her episodes

*Renko: is she? I'll be down there in a few minutes

*Renko: and she has a name you know? -_-

*mutual friend: might wanna hurry it up, your girlfriend is leaving in worse for wear.

*Renko: on my way

*Renko: and she's not my girlfriend!

*mutual friend: coulda fooled me

Maribel giggled as she read the last part of the chain of messages that were shown on the screen, causing Renko to quickly turn the phone back to herself, confused to what the blonde found humorous in the conversation she was showing before quickly pocketing it once she realised what Maribel had read, mumbling to herself about presumptuous students and something else Maribel couldn't hear.

"Come on."

Maribel took ahold of Renko's hand and ushered her through the corridor, not listening to the brunette who was still grumbling under her breath. She led Renko into the walkthrough garden and ushered her to sit down on the nearest bench.

"You didn't have to get me you know, I was going to leave anyway."

Renko sighed, knowing her blonde friend's stubbornness can get the best of her.

"Merry, I worry about you. I can't just stand by doing nothing, I'd feel awful if something bad happened to you."

"And you think I don't worry about you, like what happened a few weeks ago?"

Renko curled into herself, an expressionless facade washed over her face as her hand instinctively reached for her shoulder. Maribel considered taking it to comfort her, but instead of going to her shoulder, Renko make to reached for her necklace instead.

"I know bringing it up causes a deal of pain for you, but it's true. I worry a lot."

Renko sighed, staring at the ground as if it was the most intriguing thing in the world. It was until Maribel placed her free hand on Renko's chin and gently forcing Renko to turn her head to look at her.

"I want to worry about you. Heck, I worry about you even before, since you can be quite clumsy at times."

This lifted Renko's mood a little as a small grin and granted a light chuckle, which Maribel was glad for as she continued.

"But I care, that's all that matters to me."

They continued to sit in the garden, admiring the flowers that have bloomed and generally watching the clouds in the sky float away into the distance. It wasn't until they spotted some of Maribel's classmates walking through the corridors that they decided to leave and go to a more secluded place, away from seeing eyes.

They decided, since the exemplary lesson hours were over, to leave the campus grounds as many places within they had in mind had a few groups of people dotted about. Walking aimlessly, taking note of funny signs (well Maribel was) before stopping at a yakitori stand to eat. It wasn't until they were settled when Renko asked Maribel something that was on her mind since they met up a few hours ago.

"If I can ask, Merry. What happened during your lecture? I mean, you didn't look good when you left."

Maribel lowered her cup slowly, debating to herself whether or not to divulge the information to her friend, sure telling her would ease pressure on her shoulders but at what cost? She doubted that simply telling the brunette her laptop is haunted and showed her the words 'Your life is a lie' in a purple font that it wouldn't accept would go down well. Renko sensed Maribel's unease as she played with the paper cup in her hands.

"You, ah...you don't need to answer that if you don't want to. I understand if it's uncomfortable to talk about it. Actually, just forget I even asked. It was dumb of me to bring it up."

Renko scratched the back of her head sheepishly, berating herself for asking the question. Maribel stayed silent as she stared into the clear liquid, wondering how much she would need to drink to stop hearing the buzzing in her head that unfortunately returned. Luckily not as aggressive as before, but still an annoyance to have. The blonde heaved a sigh as she downed the rest of her drink and made to stand, startling the brunette slightly with the sudden movements before standing up herself to return to their accommodations, making idle chatter as they went. Unknowing to them as they were followed by a shadowed being, camouflaged in the dark alleyways and spaces, ignored by other passersby as it darted under streetlights to continue following the two students.

AN: the mutual friend is someone Renko knows and asked to keep an eye on Maribel in her class. They are not important to the story just to point it out there.