"Class, today is the day all of your love letters will be delivered." Mr Pentious announced at the end of class the next morning. He opened a drawer in his desk and lifted out a stack of envelopes. "I'd like a volunteer to hand these out to the class."

Your hand immediately shot into the air, and you were chosen to distribute the love letters; a task you undertook with pride.

There were six letters for Angel. He seemed very pleased with himself as you handed them over.

Two letters for Niffty. She gave an excited squeal and bounced in her seat as you dropped the letters on her desk in front of her.

Four letters for Cherri.

Poor Husk didn't receive any. Even though it wasn't your fault, you felt incredibly guilty passing by his desk without giving him anything.

Moxxie and Millie had obviously written a letter for each other, although Moxxie was less than thrilled to see his girlfriend receive two more letters from other guys.

Thirteen for Alastor. That didn't surprise you in the slightest.

Eight letters for Loona.

Blitzo grimaced as you handed him an envelope covered in glittery red hearts that read 'FOR MY DARLING BLITZY' in big letters.

One each for Charlie and Vaggie. They glanced at each other and blushed as you handed over their letters, and you couldn't help smiling at the sight.

There was even one for Mr Pentious. The whole class laughed as you handed the letter to your embarrassed teacher.

And there was a single letter for you. As you sat down at your desk again, you peered closely at the sealed envelope with your name on it, wondering who it could be from. Everyone else was already tearing into their letters, so you figured it was ok to open yours. You carefully took the letter out of the envelope, and your heart danced just looking at the delicate, swirly handwriting.

'How many moons must pass us by before I can tell you how I truly feel? Every beat of my heart is only a painful reminder that I continue to live without you by my side. My only wish is that someday you see fit to lay your beautiful eyes upon my unworthy presence. Your secret admirer.'

You felt your face turn red, butterflies fluttering in your stomach. This was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said about you. You felt you could weep with joy, but then with sadness as you realised you didn't know who it was from. 'Your secret admirer'... who could it possibly be? You scanned the small sea of faces in the room, but it may have been written by somebody in another class, so that didn't narrow it down at all.

The sudden sharp ringing of the bell pulled you back into reality. The class was dispersing, but Niffty stood at your desk, waiting for you.

"Are you coming?" she chirped.

"Oh! Yeah, sorry." You linked arms with her and headed out into the hall. "Just lost in thoughts about all this love letter stuff. Who were your letters from, anyway?"

Niffty sighed sadly. "Just some boys from another class. Who cares, neither of them were from Alastor."

"Aw, that sucks," you said sympathetically. "But just wait until he reads your letter! There's still a chance."

Your best friend beamed. "Oh, I haven't given up or anything! Now, how about showing me your letter? You went redder than a tomato! I have to know what it says!" She gasped. "Oooh, is it something dirty? I bet it says something dirty, doesn't it?" Niffty giggled.

You blushed again and giggled nervously. "No, it's nothing dirty! Here, take a look." You took the folded letter out of your pocket and handed it over.

She read the letter quickly as if she were devouring a meal, squealing excitedly when she had finished. "Oh my gosh, no way! This is so sweet! I'm so jealous!"

You smiled weakly. "Yeah, but I don't know who it's from."

Niffty peered at the letter again. "I'm not sure either. I don't know anyone who writes like this. It's like poetry."

"Excuse me?" came a voice from behind you. Niffty looked up and immediately turned a deep shade of red.

You turned around. Of course it was Alastor.

"Oh, hi Al. What's up?"

"How are you, dears? I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"N-No, not at all," Niffty managed to squeak.

"Ah, good to hear. In that case, may I speak with you privately?" he asked. But he wasn't looking at Niffty. He was looking at you.

"...Me?"

"Yes, if you have a moment to spare right now?"

You exchanged glances with Niffty. She shrugged.

"Y-Yeah, sure," you said with uncertainty. "I guess."

You followed Alastor down the hall and around the corner, where you were alone with him. He gazed at you with a very familiar look in his eyes. A look that made you weak at the knees. You knew exactly where you'd seen that look before, you saw it almost every day - it was the same look of love and adoration you saw in Niffty's eye when she saw Alastor. But Alastor only had that look in his eyes for you.

"My dear," he said softly, "I've had my heart set on you since the day I first laid eyes on you. You have no idea how happy I am to discover you feel the same way about me."

"Uh... what?" Your face quickly burned bright red.

He procured a piece of paper from his pocket. "I received your poem, my dear. I'd be delighted to take you to the Valentine Dance, if you wish."

Your heart sank. Oh shit.

"W-Wait a second!" you stammered. "I think there's been a misunderstanding here. That letter wasn't from me."

Alastor chuckled. "There's no need to be shy, darling. I'd recognise your beautiful handwriting anywhere."

You totally forgot about that. But then a sudden realisation hit you. The love letter you received must have come from Alastor. Your blush deepened just thinking about all the lovely things he wrote.

"Al... you... um..." You struggled to find the right words.

He took you by the hand and tilted his head in the cutest way. "Will you go to the Valentine Dance with me, my sweetheart?"

Your thoughts were clouded by a fog of infatuation and the sound of your own heart pounding. You so badly wanted to say yes, but in the back of your mind, there was Niffty... but she would understand, right? Surely she would be just as happy for you as you would be for her? Yes, that made sense. It was only fair.

"Y-Yes... I will. I'd love to go to the dance with you, Al."

"Wonderful." He lifted your hand to his lips and planted a gentle kiss. "That makes me very happy."

You both stood in silence for what felt like an eternity, gazing into each others' eyes, wishing you could stay trapped in this moment forever.

Alastor was the one to break the silence. "I should let you return to your friend," he stated, cheeks almost as red as his hair. "Goodbye for now, my darling."

With another gentle kiss to the back of your hand, he left. As soon as he was out of sight you stumbled backwards onto the lockers behind you with a crash, slowly sinking to the ground in shock.

What the fuck just happened?!

Your mind was blank. You didn't know what to feel. Happy? Sad? Confused? It was as if all of those emotions were hitting you at once, and your brain had overloaded and shut down.

"You BITCH!"

A sudden scream kickstarted your thought processes back into action, and you immediately became aware of a presence looming over you.

"I heard everything! You FORGED my letter to Alastor?" Niffty yelled, tears welling up in her eye. "How could you do such a horrible thing? What happened to 'bows before bros'?"

"It isn't my fault!" you began to explain, picking yourself up off the ground. "I had to copy your letter because-"

"Because what?" Her tears began spilling down her cheeks. "Because you planned to take him from me this whole time? You're the only one who knows how much I love him, and you just used me to get him for yourself! You're heartless!"

She ran away sobbing before you had a chance to explain any further.

"Niffty!" you called, but she didn't even look back.

'You're heartless!'

Tears stung your eyes as her harsh words echoed in your head.

'You're heartless!'

'Heartless.'

'Heart...less...'

"Hey. Are you alright?"