I came to a while later. I had a headache of massive proportions, and to be honest, I couldn't remember how I ended up in the hospital in the first place. There were bandages around my head. How long had I been out? On the desk beside me, there was a get well soon card. I raised my hand and gently took it. The card was unsigned, and I had difficulties trying to figure out who it could've been from. My first guess was Emma. She seemed like she might be the kind of person, but definitely not her friends. I thought of Sebastian, but then decided that was wishful thinking and shoved the thought out of my mind. Emma. It must've been Emma.

Some time went by before I was released. About two weeks, maybe three, I hardly bothered to count the days. No one brought in my work for me, so I'd have a lot of catching up to do.

From then on, I was constantly busy, writing essays, doing homework, coloring maps, reading textbooks…it became slightly overwhelming. After about a week, at around 8:00 pm. I took up Emma's offer and headed to dorm room 69. The door was answered by a sophomore student. "Are you thick? Boys aren't supposed to visit the girl's dorms after seven-thirty!" she snapped. I glared at her."I'm here to see Emma," I told her. The sophomore student returned my glare before glancing over her shoulder."Emma! Some pint-sized fag is here to see you!" she called. That stung a little bit, but not as much as hearing Emma happily squeak"Ciel!" as she headed for the door. How the hell did she know it was me just by that description! Learn not to question things, I told myself. Just learn not to question things. Because if there was one thing I'd learned in middle school, it was that girls didn't make any sense. I entered the dorm room."We're going to be in huge trouble if we get caught," the sophomore girl snapped at Emma, but she ignored her, and motioned for me to take a seat on the couch. "I invited him here about a month ago," Emma told the girl as she sat down beside me. "Well, he's a month late," the sophomore girl sighed."I'm heading up to do some homework. He'd better not still be here in the morning, or I'll kick his ass," she announced, and headed to another room."Forgive Haylie, she's a little…well, anyway! What're you here for?" she asked, grinning. I let out a sigh, and her face fell."I heard about the incident by the swimming pools. Are you okay?" She placed a hand gently on the back of my head. I gave a shrug."I can't even remember what happened," I admitted. "Well, the one responsible was kicked out of the school. We know it was an accident, but I think they did the right thing, giving him the boot." I gave a nod. After a moment of thought, I lifted my head and asked"Are you the one who gave me the 'get well soon' letter?" I asked. She smiled kindly, but didn't give me the answer I had expected."Nope. I would've signed it, but the one who did give it to you said you'd be smart enough to figure it out on your own," she admitted. I paused to think about that for a moment. She hadn't, huh? I jokingly asked"Not Sebastian, right?" She just smiled, and I let that sink in."Wait, SEBASTIAN gave that to me?" I asked. I felt my face going red as my eyes went to the floor. I tried to imagine that. Emma grabbed my face and turned my head so that she could see my eyes. She released me as she went 'awww'."You like Sebastian, don't you?" she asked. "I, uh…um…urk. Please don't tell anyone," I stammered. She laughed and pet me for a moment, something I otherwise would have absolutely rebelled against, but at the moment, I could only feel my face go even more red as I awkwardly twiddled my thumbs. I closed my eyes and stood up, going over to the sink and splashing water on my face. This caused Emma to giggle. She stood up and placed a hand on my shoulder."I won't tell anyone. Promise." I winced."That's what Elizabeth said when I told her about my crush on Alois," I grumbled under my breath. She blinked. "Elizabeth? She's not that good at keeping her mouth shut. Why'd you tell her?""She was my best friend in middle school. She had kept secrets for me before then, but we got into a fight, and she went off and told everyone." We had never gotten over that fight, I thought dully. Emma frowned "I see…well, I'll be true to my word. I swear. I'm good at keeping secrets." She gave me a thumbs up and a smile. I nodded

"I'll hold you to it.""So, do you and Sebastian know each other very well? He seems to think quite highly of you," admitted Emma. I shrugged."He sits next to me in class, but we rarely exchange more then a few sentences," I answered. She shrugged."Try talking to him more. If you don't, you'll never get anywhere," she offered. I gave a slight shake of my head."Nothing would come out right," I sighed. She giggled."Aw, Ciel's infatuated with the new boy from R78, it's so cute!""Stop that! I didn't come here to get teased.""Then why did you come here?" she asked. I paused. "Mostly to just get away from it all, I guess. It has been nonstop work since I got back a week ago. It has been…overwhelming," I admitted. Admitting this made me feel weak, but when I turned around to look at her, she was smiling. Instead of speaking, she turned and headed to the cupboard and got out some kind of breakfast bar. She tossed one to me. I glanced at her in confusion, but she ignored it, asking"Tea? Coffee? Hot chocolate?" I eventually managed to answer 'tea', and she got out a few types. I helped her make the coffee, even after she insisted that I take a seat and relax. "I can sympathize with the feeling of being overwhelmed and stressed due to being out of school for a long period of time. I should have brought you some of your work, but I guess it's too late to be considering things like that now. Really, you can sit down, I'll make the tea." It took me some time to explain that I was a little finicky with my tea, and when I finally got it through to her, she found it funny. So I spent some time with Emma, and she talked a little bit about her time in middle school. After about two hours and twenty minutes, long after we'd both finished our drinks, she stretched her arms over her head and stood up."Well, I best turn in for the night. Ten thirty is lights out, so you best leave before then. Would you like me to walk you back to your dorm?" She paused, then laughed."Sorry, that's a dumb question. It's just a school campus, I'm sure you know your way around just fine. You remind me a lot of my little brother, that's all. He would be about your age.""Would be?" I had a feeling that was treading unsteady ground, but she didn't seem to mind sharing."When he was young…he was kidnapped. They never found him, and he's presumed dead. No one knows who was responsible. In the months before he was kidnapped, he acted strangely. I…I don't know." She looked sad."I'm sorry," I murmured. She gave me a weary smile."It's okay. You didn't know," she responded. She led me to the door, picking up her backpack as she passed it. "Thanks for the tea," I said, giving a polite nod. "Stop being so formal," she chuckled. I gave a shrug. Being either sarcastic or formal was practically all I knew how to be. After a quick farewell, I headed back for my dorm. I found myself in what I'd reservedly call a 'good mood', or at least feeling better then I had as of late, despite hearing about Emma's lost brother. I tried to avoid this state of mind, because whenever I was happy, I'd be dragged down from that cloud fast, and crash so hard that I'd leave cracks in the I got back to the dorm, I was surprised to find all three of my dorm mates were still awake. "Now where have you been, Ciel?" asked Alois, a tone of mock concern in his voice. I ignored him, attempting to shove past the 'wall' they made in front of me, but they refused to let me by."I was talking to a friend, that's all. Had some tea. Talked about Middle School. What, did you think I was making out with some other guy?""That's what Alois suggested," laughed a boy named Toby. My gaze swiveled to him, and the cocky smirk he wore on his face made me want to smack him. And smash, there went the good mood.

"And what made you suggest such a thing?" I snapped. Before I could stop myself, I added

"Wishing you were that boy again, Alois?" The confident look was washed away, replaced by a look of absolute shock at my words. Toby and the other boy, Sam, exchanged confused, slightly baffled looks."What are you getting at, Ciel?" Alois asked, getting defensive. I'd made my claim, I couldn't back out of it now."You know as well as I do that you dated me in the eighth grade. I have the scars to prove it." I removed my eye patch. The looks of disgust and horror on the faces of Sam and Toby were indescribable."What bullshit are you spewing, Phantomhive?" he practically shrieked. He looked almost betrayed, which amused me in a rather sadistic way. He'd trusted me to keep the secret of our relationship. "I still have the scars, and I'm sure you still have the mark on your arm from where I stabbed you with the scissors to get you to stop. If you are claiming that I am lying to make a fool of you, then prove that you don't have the scar. Show us your arm," I practically ordered. He stared at me with pure hatred for a moment."You disappoint me, Phantomhive. I really thought I could trust you to keep your mouth shut. Perhaps to punish you, I'll take out your other eye?" he muttered under his breath, looking like he might cry. I almost felt bad for letting that spill, but then I looked back on all the times he'd ridiculed me, and the last threat he'd given me when we'd broken up. The words rung in my mind for a moment. 'You'll never find anyone better then me'. He'd broken up with me, and he still had the nerve to say such a thing…the guilt left me in that instant. I shoved past a dumbfounded Toby and Sam and headed to my bed, which was when I heard fast moving footsteps behind me. I whirled around just in time to get punched in the jaw. I stumbled backwards."Get out of here!" he snapped. I blinked."No, this is my room too," I pointed out. He grabbed my shoulders and threw me to the ground by the door. "Get out or fight me for a right to stay here!" he snapped. Despite his words, I got the feeling that he really didn't want to fight me. But he'd just punched me in the face, so perhaps that hunch was a little off, but hey, I've been wrong before. I thought for a moment, holding his gaze, before looking away."Fine. I'll find somewhere else to sleep for the night. Sleep well, all three of you." As I moved to stand up, Alois held out a hand. I stared in surprise, and took it. He helped me to my feet before promptly giving me the boot from the room. I wasn't sure how to feel about that. A moment later, the door opened, and one of my jackets hit me on the back of the head, before the door was closed and I heard it lock behind me. I was quiet grateful for the jacket, as it was cold out. I didn't put it on, though, not right away. I stood in the cold, confused about the way Alois had acted back there. It wasn't as if I'd broken up with him, yet he was acting like he still might have feelings for me. Why was that? All I knew is that any affection I'd had for Alois had gone when he'd practically clawed out my eye.

I guess one could ask why I'd left so quietly. I suppose I could have fought him, but there were factors to think about here. The relationship, however messed up, that we'd once had. While I might not have liked him anymore, I did have certain feelings directed towards him. I knew what he'd been through to make him that way. His life as what I could safely call a slave when he was younger. His town being slain, his closest friend dying with them. He'd found the head of his father's manor, but suffered abuse by his hands, physical and sexual. He had some trust issues. I felt a certain degree of respect, pity, and perhaps a bit of fear as well, not that I would ever admit this to anyone, especially Alois. Not like I had to tell him: he already knew.

Heading down the path just outside of the dorms, I considered going back to room 69, where Emma was. I decided against it, given this was pretty much forbidden in this school. Not having any friends who were male was also a problem. Then a thought struck me. What about Sebastian? I shook the thought off immediately. If there was one person who I actually cared about bothering, it was him. Plus, he was a senior. I could ask an adult, but they were all turned in for the night.

I guess I'd just have to wait until morning, then request a new room. Provided Alois would even let me back into the room to collect my stuff. I had to admit, despite the fact I was simply kicked out of the room the school had given to me, it kind of felt like the period of homelessness I'd suffered through after my parents had died. Not a good feeling. But then again, I was desensitized to it by this point. Also, being alone had never been a problem for me. I just didn't feel like sleeping outside. What room had Emma listed off when she'd be teasing me? Room Seventy-Eight? I decided to go there. Around this time, the lights had just gone off in the dorms. I knocked on the door. I heard some grumbling and distant squabbles, of two students arguing 'you get the door', 'no, you get the door', along with some swearing. Eventually, the door clicked open. A senior student from my homeroom answered it."We don't want to by your crap! …Oh, did a little girl get lost on her way from elementary school?" he joked. I almost called him an ass, but knew that wouldn't win any points with the lot."Something like that. My dorm-mates kicked me out of my own room. The faculty won't be available until tomorrow morning, and I don't feel like sleeping on the roof. You wouldn't happen to have a sofa to spare until I can talk about switching rooms, would you?" I asked quietly. The boy looked thoughtful, then glanced over his shoulder."Sebastian? Daniel?" "If he's willing to clean off the sofa," answered the boy who I assumed was Daniel. I heard a shuffle and a soft thump as Sebastian headed to the door. Without speaking, he picked me up, causing me to let out a loud startled noise that sounded a lot like "buh!" Not exactly dignifying, but instinctual. The others were too startled to laugh at that. "Why should he sleep on the sofa when there's a spare bed available?" Sebastian asked."You should always be polite to your guests." Their jaws dropped. He placed me down on the bed. I managed to gain my composure, let out a soft cough, and said"Thank you. I will do my best to stay out of your way.""Nonsense. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask.""Daaaaaaaaaaaamn, what is with you two?" asked Daniel. "Forget it. I'm going to bed," the boy from my homeroom, Allen, sighed. He told Sebastian to turn the flashlight off, and headed back to his bed. Sebastian and Daniel went back to their beds also, Sebastian telling them all to sleep well as he took the flashlight off the desk beside his bed and clicked it off. The dark was welcoming, and I quickly fell asleep.