The remainder off the school day ticked by painfully slow for Ciel and he couldn't tear his eyes away from the clock which seemed to be running a more leisurely pace than usual. As 7th period finally let out he found himself mindlessly drifting to the library to assemble his ever wandering thoughts. Ever since he was small, asserting his opinion had never been an issue but for some reason the boy found himself at a crossroad confronting his new roommate. After their lunch run in, Ciel's stomach had been knotted with anxiety. How could the blonde be so nonchalant about breaking into what the students referred to as the vault? 'There's no way I'm going to sneak out after curfew with him...! It's out of the question! It was just a meaningless note I found... Why does it have me so curious?'

With a deep sigh Ciel set his backpack on a table towards the back of the old library and could see snow fluttering gently to the ground from a window next to him. He tried to clear his mind and browsed the vast selection of novels and poems the shelves had to offer. A leather bound book caught his attention and he pulled it off the shelf; 'A Study in Scarlet' was written In beautiful front across the cover. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had always been a favorite author of his and one of his most vivid memories he had of his late mother was of her reading the Sherlock Holmes novels to him as a smaller child. He turned the book over in his small hands, the smooth cover sending a nostalgic tingle throughout his small frame. "Maybe reading this one more time... Won't be so bad." With a ghost of a smile on lips, he headed back to his empty table and cracked open the novel for anything but the last time.

X-X

The hours flew by much quicker than his school day and before he knew it the sky outside had taken on a dark hue of blue. With his bag slung over his shoulder and the book nestled securely in his arms, Ciel finally decided to head back to his dormitory. He didn't want to get caught out after curfew and figured he could only avoid the blonde for so long. To his surprise, Alois was no where to be seen as he walked into their shared room. With a sigh of relief, he set his bag down on his dresser before curling up in his bed with the book he had taken with him from the library. Eventually, after many flipped pages, sleep pulled him under. It had only felt like moments before an abrupt shaking of his shoulder caused his eyes to shoot back open.

"Look who is finally awake." Alois's sharp icy gaze stared down at his face as Ciel sleepily pulled himself up into a sitting position. "It's just about twelve now. Let's leave."

Ciel stared wide eyed as the blonde started heading for the door, but he was even more surprised at the willingness he felt to follow him. "You can't be serious! Didn't you say we would get expelled if we were caught?" He quickly said in a hushed tone but followed him out the door regardless.

"Who said we're gonna get caught?" The older boy said in an overly casual tone which didn't soothe Ciel's nerves at all. "Besides you wanted to check it out didn't you? The administrators are so strict about letting anyone near the basement. Who even knows what they're hiding down there."

The dorm hallways were pitch black and silent except a few mumbles coming from some of the doors they passed by and Ciel couldn't believe how he managed to walk down the spiraling staircase without a single stumble. He could barely make out Alois's slender silhouette in the dark but the soft clicks of his heels made it easier to stay behind him without getting lost. Sudden light engulfed his senses as a door in front of him creaked open and he was tugged along out the door.

"W-Watch it!" Ciel retorted indignantly as he shivered from the sudden cold. Seeming to ignore his comment, Alois kept right on walking towards the main building while leaving a trail of pressed footprints in the freshly fallen snow. Turning his sapphire colored eyes to the sky, Ciel stared up at the celestial lit moon and the dozens of stars that surrounded it like an illuminated cloud. 'Looks like I'm really doing this... What would Lizzie do if I got expelled... But it feels like I have to do this for some reason... I don't know why but I've never been more sure of anything in my entire life...' Ciel thought while still gazing up at the gorgeous midnight sky. He could see his breathe from the cold that resembled a wispy ghost. Though he still couldn't put his finger on it, the grey haired boy knew he had to find answers about the seemingly normal list he found; something about it didn't sit right with him and he was going to find out what. With one more calming glance at the iridescent moon, Ciel crossed his arms over his chest to fight against the chilly winds and followed after his roommate through the snowy campus in front of them.

X-X

Instead of heading through the main entrance, Alois led them back to the outdoor pavilion on the side of the school where they had met at lunch previously that day. Ciel decided not to question it when he unlocked the door with a key connected to a bracelet on his wrist similar to the one Hannah had used when he was moving rooms; some things were better left unknown for now in his opinion. Once inside the school, he continued to keep close to the other boy and allowed him to lead. He was still new after all and could just barely find his classes. Though the hallways were dimly lit, Alois pulled a flashlight out his coat pocket and the simple light it produced was enough to lead them safely through the school.

"They don't have guards or cameras around... Do they?" Ciel asked eventually as they started walking side by side. He knew it was more his nerves asking than anything.

"Oh calm down. The biggest thing we have to worry about is spiders." Alois responded with a roll of his eyes. That didn't make him feel any better. As they approached the end of the hallway, which was a dead end, a set of stairs led down to what the blonde said was the vault. A sign was held above the entrance signaling it was off limits to students. With a single moment of hesitation, Ciel followed behind him and gripped on tightly to the railing. A shiver ran down his spine as the the temperature dropped sharply the farther they walked down. As they reached the bottom, he realized this was where he had got lost his first day. The boy felt his cheeks redden at the thought of his clumsy first run in with Professor Michaelis. Alois's voice drew his attention from his drifting mind as they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"The entrance should be right down here." He said with a blink of his light eyes, directing the light of the flashlight towards a path to the left of the stairs. Down the path it was nothing but old brick walls and it was so quiet he could hear every breathe the two boys made. The path seemed to go on forever, but at last the light they had illuminated a towering metal door. Alois leaned down and ran his hands across the lock once they got closer, the coldness stinging his fingertips.

"Will your key work on the door?" Ciel asked almost to optimistically. Alois shook his head in response.

"Unfortunately no. The old skeleton key they use here doesn't work according to upperclassmen. But I have the key that will work." Reaching into his pocket once again, the blonde pulled out a thin key that shimmered gold in the light.

"Where did you even get that?" The smaller boy asked curiously as watched his roommate insert the key into the lock.

"Superintendent's office." Alois responded, sending a daring smirk back to him as the lock opened with a loud click noise. There was no going back now.