In Rufus/Lupus/Luxus' name, I'm going to use Luxus since I'm more used to it. But, if you're not accustomed to it, just tell me and I'll gladly change it.

Oh, and just for you guys to know, I think I might add supernatural stuff concerning the demon race.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GRAND CHASE OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS. The only ones I own are Kyle, Mica, Ella, Elaine, and Roald.

XxXxXx

Chapter 7: Beginning

Jin's POV/ 11:00 A.M.

His glare intensified every second as I stood across him. His purple orbs bore to my red ones like a dagger. His seemingly dark, purple hair which accompanied his features of purple skin gave me the shivers. Everything about him was purple. 'Wait… purple skin?' I looked at his pale, lavender skin. 'Maybe he's sick?'

Neither of us said anything. Heck, I don't know what I should say, or if I should even reply. I had no idea why he would just want to end my life like a small flea. But his question confused me. What did he mean by "Who gave you permission to enter?"? And why is he even here?

"I said," He called for my attention, which wasn't necessary as my thoughts were filled with his sudden discomfort, "who gave you permission to enter?" he repeated, his voice losing its previous venom and replaced with a bit of curiosity and amusement.

Not knowing how to professionally reply, I took the keys which was still in the keyhole and tossed it to him, which he caught easily with his free hand. He examined it slowly and carefully, he paused and looked at me for a second before examining it again.

He sighed and threw my keys back to me like it was garbage; of course, I caught it just as easy as he did. "Whatever." He lied down in the luxury couch and used the open book to cover his face, in which I took as a sign of accepting the fact that I'm his roommate.

I released a breath I didn't know I was holding and inspected the room; the room was painted peach or the color of the skin, and the floor was made of marble tiles. On the center was a round, glass table, and on top of it was a vase with white flowers. Accompanying it were two purple couches that give off the feeling of luxury, they were facing the table and almost sticking to each other. There was a flat-screen television leaning on the wall by my left. Underneath the set of table and couches was a blue mat. I expected there to be a chandelier but there wasn't, instead, there were lamps spread across the room. There were two windows equally distanced with each other opposite the door. Lastly, there were green plants on every corner.

There were two doors on each side of the wall. It was probably indicating the bathroom and the bedroom for each side, seeing it can hold two people in here –more like ten-. On the far left and the far right, there was a room but no door. I went to the one on the left first and noticed it was a kitchen, with all the utensils needed. The one on the right indicated it was a dining room.

If I have to give my opinion, if it wasn't for the dining room, kitchen, and table set, this room could be split into two. The only thing joining them together is the couches and table. It was probably because of the kitchen and the dining set that they combined this. They could have just combined the kitchen and the dining room together, anyway.

Since it looks like there are two bedrooms -across each other-, I was wondering where mine was. I looked at the sleeping roommate in the couch whose face is covered by the book. His right hand was underneath his head, giving support, while his left hand was resting on his chest.

It would probably be rude if I wake him up while he's sleeping, but it's better than barging in another's bedroom.

I scratched the back of my neck, which was then replied with a finger pointing to the first door on the left. I don't know how he knew that I was going to ask that, or if he was even sleeping and how he even knew that I scratched my neck when his face was covered with a book, I decided to dismiss the thought and enter the room –the one which the purple-haired guy pointed-.

The room was pretty normal other than the bed; there was a king-sized bed in the color of red in the upper-left corner of the room and beside it was a small desk with a bedside lamp. On the bottom-left, there were two shelves; the first one was filled with different kinds of books, from story books to professional. The shelf on the right was practically empty, probably for us to fill personally. Beside the desk and the bed were two windows, shaped in rectangle, big enough for a child with red curtains hovering over it, although for now, the curtain was tied to the side and the windows were open. On the upper-right was another desk, but bigger with a computer on top of it, there was also a laptop beside it, probably in case we go out. The bottom-right was the closet which was also red. There were two air-conditioners engulfed on the walls. Lastly, the floor was covered in one, big brown mat, with a red mat in the center, and the walls were painted light peach.

I inwardly laughed when I saw the closet, since I only brought my books and gauntlets with me. I opened it and expected nothing, but gaped when I saw the contents; my clothes were in there, including some others I don't own. There were also towels and personal things that I needed inside. There were four drawers below it, two on each side. I opened one and saw an envelope, addressed to me. I tore it open only for my eye to widen. There was money inside the envelope, enclosed with a letter.

Dear Jin,

I'm sorry for sending you to Serdin High, which was just turned into a boarding school a year ago. I want you to experience life more, so I send you there. I put all your clothes and personal things in this closet after you went to school. Since I knew that you wouldn't have anything but books and your gauntlet.

I'm sure that you won't regret coming there. Even if this was short notice, I'm positive that you would thank me even if you're angry right now. Say hi to Amy and Kyle for me, okay sweetie? I love you! (:

-Elaine

I sighed again for the umpteenth time. I'm kind of mad, but since I met Amy and reunited with Kyle, it's okay… I guess. It's not that bad.

Oh yeah, how did Elaine knew Amy and that Kyle was here? I met Amy in the fountain near here… and it didn't look like Kyle knew I was transferring. It's really suspicious of how she knew Amy. Seriously, I just met her. Did she tell Amy to be friends with me? But it didn't look like that since Amy looked surprised. 'Ugh… this is seriously giving me a headache.'

My consciousness then drifted on the sentence written after. It said, 'P.S. I'll see you in a year. But then… you could visit me every weekend if you want to, unless you're mad.'

I heaved another sigh. 'This day isn't getting any better. My feet are too tired from walking all the way here and trying to find my room. My eyes are also groggy from waking up early, and not to mention, my head aches pretty bad from that nap on the roof of my house. And then there's…'

I paused momentarily, immediately being reminded of that memory. 'And then there's that dream…' Remembering it made my head hurt again. As if it was trying to stop me from remembering anything anymore regarding that.

And as if on cue, a ringing bell brought me back to my senses.

I wondered what it was for. I went out of my room to see my roommate still plopped on the couch. He didn't change positions. He was just like I saw him before.

The ringing never faltered. And I became tense. I thought that it may be an emergency or something, so I looked over the window and noticed people coming out of the dorm casually. The ringing then stopped.

I noticed this boy with orange hair; it was spiky and messy, like he wasn't even combing it, although it looked natural. He was with an indigo-haired boy. The reason my attention was to them was because the orange-haired boy said out loud, "Lunch time!" with a huge grin on his face.

'Right. This is a boarding school which means we have our meal in here.' I exhaled a sigh of relief, but then the bell rang again. It was like it was telling us that it will never stop until we came out.

I looked at the clock above the door and noticed that it was almost 11:30.

I heard someone groan, and looked to see my roommate groggily sitting up, his face looking more annoyed instead of angry. He then ruffled his hair in great annoyance and stood up, proceeding to leave the room. Since I don't know where the canteen is, I followed him.

I was walking side by side with my roommate. Right now, we're in an elevator to go down. Neither of us said anything, but I don't mind the silence. I'm really not in the mood right now because I haven't even got my nap. Not to mention, he almost killed me back then.

We reached the first floor and got out. We walked to the canteen, which is in between the boy's and the girl's dorm.

"The name's Dio." He suddenly spoke out of nowhere. I looked around to see who he was talking to. Technically, only a few were outside, and they were far away so… he must be talking to me.

"…I'm Jin." I didn't expect for him to actually start a conversation with me. "Nice to meet you." I held out my hand for a handshake. He hesitated for a minute, but then took it without even bothering to look at me and walked straight ahead.

We entered through a sliding door. The walls weren't made of cement or bricks, but see-through glasses, allowing you to observe the outside. The floor was tiled. The tables and chairs were equally distance with each other and the tables can only hold four, which is why some students grabbed a few chairs from some tables and placed it in their own table for them to sit on.

Dio walked away from me while waving a hand. I sighed again, but dismissed the thought. Right now, I had to find Kyle.

Normal POV

Dio found Lass –the silver-haired boy- and Luxus –the auburn-haired boy- sitting across each other on a table by the end of the room. They always tend to pick that place. Of course, no one dares to question them about it.

Dio sat beside Lass, noticing that they already reserved some food for him. He roughly picked up his spoon and fork and proceeded to eat. All of them didn't bother to greet, knowing that they always see each other.

"It's rare for you to be late." Luxus broke the silence and spoke, directing it to Dio. Dio paused for a second, but still continued eating. Luxus didn't mind Dio not answering, they were always like that.

After a while, Dio picked up the goblet filled with water and drank some of it. He grabbed the tissue beside the plate and wiped his mouth. "Something came up." He finally answered Luxus' question after about five minutes.

Now, it was Lass' turn to speak, "Something?" He asked with a flicker of interest in his eyes. Dio barely nodded, noticing Lass' eyes.

"Let me guess," Luxus interrupted them, which made both look at him, except that Dio closed his eyes after, knowing where this was going, "it's about that new student." He said after drinking half of the water in his glass in one gulp. "Am I right?" Rather than a question, what he said sounded more like a statement.

"What about him?" Lass turned to look at Dio who was deeply thinking about the time he threw a knife at him.

After a moment, Dio finally answered, "He's my new roommate." He said in a slightly dark tone yet amused one, emphasizing the word roommate.

Luxus' and Lass' eyes slightly widened at the sentence Dio just stated.

'Roommate? You can't be serious.' Luxus thought, inwardly smirking.

'Heh? So the academy finally grew up some courage to send someone for him? How pathetic this school is.' Lass snorted at the thought.

They sat in silence while Dio was finishing his meal. Dio was eating more polite and gentle than before, considering that he always eats fast but mannered in every meal and he was always the first one to finish. This made Luxus and Lass conclude that Dio was bothered by something. And that that something has to do with the new student.

Dio folded his arms and thought about the time he threw the knife at Jin. Dio immediately sat up after hearing the door open. A red-headed boy came in, his eyes showing exhaustion and annoyance. 'That time…' Dio didn't hesitate and threw a knife at the person as fast as lightning, just enough to scratch his cheek. 'Jin…, huh?' The boy cocked his head to the side; quickly avoiding the damage Dio intended to give to him as a warning. 'The way he dodged it was perfectly natural…' Then, the boy's eyes became surprised as he looked at the knife. 'He didn't even notice that he dodged it.'

Luxus looked at Dio and thought, 'If that transfer got Dio thinking about him, he might be strong…' Luxus slightly smirked, which interrupted Dio's thoughts and made him look at Luxus.

Dio sighed. He stood up and said, "I'm leaving. I need my nap." Lass and Luxus gave him a half-nod as a reply.

Jin's POV/ 11:35 A.M.

I found Kyle sitting in a table beside the window. I waved my hand to him and sat across. There was already a meal set aside for three. "Hey, Jin. 'Sup?" He greeted me as I rested my cheek on my hand and gazed outside the window; there were tables outside too, and a few students. Some were even eating under the shade of a tree.

"Nothing, really. Just wondering why they kicked me out from home." I said nonchalantly.

Kyle laughed. "Hey, just because they enrolled you here doesn't mean they kicked you out, right?" He gave an amused laugh while I sighed again. "Besides," he added, "you got to see me and Amy so it's not all that bad right?"

'He has a point. I did manage to see them but that doesn't mean that they can just make me go here without even consulting me.'

"Hey guys!" Amy greeted us from afar as she ran towards us, apologizing to the people she accidentally hits.

She sat beside me and giggled. I greeted her but immediately regretted it when I saw Kyle glaring at me. 'What's his problem?' Kyle grumpily picked up his fork and spoon and proceeded to eat, his eyebrows furrowed.

'What a weird guy.'

We finished our meal and left the plates there. Kyle and Amy said that the janitor will clean it up anyway. For now, we were walking to the park –don't ask how a park is in here-. The path's side was full of grasses and flowers, and there were many trees around too. Nature seems to have taken its toll here. There weren't any roads here, nothing.

To be honest, I want to take a nap to rid of this headache but Kyle and Amy said that going to the park will make me feel better.

"So," Kyle broke the silence –Kyle was to my right and Amy was to my left- "Jin, what are you going to wear?" I stopped walking and looked at Kyle.

"What am I going to wear?"

"Yeah." He nodded at my question.

"…"

"…"

"He means the party." Amy explained.

I blinked. "What party?" Kyle and Amy stared at me for a while. Then, Kyle smacked his fist on his palm as if he figured something out.

He scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "Sorry, I guess I kind of forgot to tell you about it. Hehe."

"I thought I told you not to forget things like that." Amy placed her hands on her waist and scolded Kyle. Kyle avoided it by whistling and wandering his eyes.

"Anyways," Amy looked at me, "since you guys mentioned the party, do you mind accompanying me to go shopping? I need to buy clothes, too." She said both to me and Kyle. Her voice sounded more alluring and sweet than normal, which made me wonder.

'I don't have anything to do anyway, and this headache seems to have disappeared already, so…'

"I guess it's-!" My sentence was interrupted because Kyle pinched my hand really hard, where Amy can't see.

"What's your-!" Kyle covered my mouth to prevent me from continuing. "Uhh… Jin and I need to have a manly talk over there, so if you will excuse us!" He dragged me to a nearby tree, far enough for Amy not to hear us.

I removed his hand from my mouth and exclaimed, "What's with you, Kyle?!"

He placed his hands in front of his chest for protection. "Hey, no need to be so grumpy. I just saved you so you should be thanking me." He grinned and showed me a thumbs-up.

"Saved me? And how did you save me?" I said through gritted teeth.

"You seriously want to accompany her to go shopping? I won't stop you but if you do that, you'll go through hell." He said dramatically.

"What?" My anger was gone and replaced by confusion. "Go through hell? And why is that?"

Kyle placed his hand over my shoulder and sighed. "Jin, you're still young. If you do that, you might…"

I sweat-dropped at his actions. "You talk like I'm going to die." I removed his hand from my shoulder. "It's not like I'm a soldier who suddenly raised his death flag, idiot." I said to him dumbly.

"But Jin-!" He frantically shook me like he was trying to awaken me from a dream. Since the force was too much for my head, that stupid headache came back. 'Even if I wanted to go, I can't because of this stupid headache!'

"Look," I removed his hands from me, "even if I wanted to go, there's no way I can because you made me sick again…!" I angrily explained to him like I was talking to a kid.

His mouth formed into an 'o'. "Oh… I see… That's great then!" He gestured his arm to wipe some sweat from his forehead.

"Great…? How is that supposed to be great…?!" My patience was really running low now. I have really short fuse. And it only got worse because of this pain in my head.

I sighed again. "Nevermind, I need to rest." I waved a hand to him and proceeded to walk back where we came from. I passed by Amy who gave me a confused look. I replied to her by showing a weak smile. "Sorry Amy… I think I really need to rest…" The pain in my head just keeps getting worse. The more I talk to her… the more the pain lingers. And I don't even know why.

Amy had a worried expression on her face. "Okay… just walk straight ahead and you'll find your way back." I half-nodded and walked away.

Just before I lost sight of them, I looked back and saw Amy and Kyle briefly talking. I couldn't hear them very well, but I was certain it was serious based on their expression. The thinking made the pain get worse. I don't know why, but seeing them like that made me feel nauseous for some reason.

I didn't want to think anymore so I quickly followed the path and walked quickly despite the pain in my head.

I reached the dorms and immediately went straight to my room. I noticed that Dio was sleeping in the couch like earlier, except that he was not wearing his school uniform. Instead, he was wearing a white shirt –a shirt with a picture of a purple-haired girl in it, she also had the same skin tone as him- with some kind of long-sleeved purple fabric underneath it. He was wearing blue shorts.

I went straight to my room and plopped on my huge bed. In normal cases, I have really high stamina and headaches like this were pretty normal to me. But this time was different. The pain is draining away my energy.

I sighed. I closed my eyes, hoping that sleeping will make me feel better.

I slowly opened my eyes to see a different scenery from what I would have expected. I was in a town; people were flocking everywhere here and there. Some of the stores would have someone giving away fliers. There were plants and trees in every side. The road was not cemented, it was just the earth. No cars would also pass by like those in the cities.

'Where am I?'

"Over here!" I heard a voice, a girl perhaps. I looked at their direction and saw her; a girl with rose-pink hair and chocolate eyes. Her hair was pulled into a twin-tail. There were two boys following her. He had brown-hair with matching eyes. The other one had red-hair and eyes that reminded me of a ruby. They were probably grade-schoolers.

The two boys were carrying many heavy brown bags, and they look exhausted. 'Huh?' The red-haired boy looked awfully familiar, and then it hit me. 'Ah, could he be me? I saw him in my dream earlier morning. Oh, and that pink-haired girl must have been the girl from that time.' I thought, remembering my dream earlier. 'But then…' I focused my eyes on the brown-haired boy. 'Who is he? He seems awfully familiar, too. And I don't even know that pink-haired girl's name yet.'

"Look, look! Isn't that cute?" The girl said while looking at a red spaghetti strap dress displayed in front of the glass. "Let's buy it!" She happily exclaimed.

"EEEHHH?!" The two boys groaned simultaneously. "You still want to buy some more?" The brown-haired boy complained. He fell to his butt on the ground and dropped the bags. The red-haired boy -I mean me- sighed. "Don't you think this is more than enough? It will probably take a while for you to finish wearing all of this." I –my tiny version- reasoned to escape.

Both of the boys nervously looked at the girl, hoping that that would be enough to get out. I silently laughed at them. They look like a funny trio.

Still, what is this anyway? Why am I seeing this? And why is my child version there? I don't even remember any of this.

Just then, the picture froze again, preventing me from thinking further. The background became blank, and a strong wind gushes over. Unlike last time, I couldn't feel the wind.

Then, a mirror appeared before me. I thought at first that it reflected me, but to my surprise, it didn't. Instead, my child version was there. His eyes were different from before. His face had no emotion, and his eyes stared at me blankly; void of anything.

"You…" His mouth moved, as if he was talking to me. "Who are you?" I was shocked that he was talking to me, but I was more surprised at his question.

"Who… am I…? I replied, being careful of what I'm saying.

"Who are you?" He repeated in the same tone as before.

He observed my actions carefully, and I did the same. Then, his eyes darkened, and his mouth formed into a smirk. "You know nothing…" I blinked at his sentence.

"…What?" I slowly asked. I couldn't decipher his meaning. Know nothing… I know nothing of what?

"Your past… Everything… You know nothing… but the present…"

I gulped. I'm beginning to get uneasy and I could feel the sweat slip down my forehead. 'What is he saying?'

"Doesn't it hurt…?" He began to talk again, his voice was getting darker and I could get the hint of sorrow and anger in his voice. "Not knowing your past… not even knowing your parents… not knowing me…" He slightly hissed at the last part.

My eyes widened from shock. 'What the h*ll is he talking about? My past…? What about it? Now that he mentions it… I don't exactly remember anything from my childhood… I heard some from Elaine, but… is that really enough?'

I stared at my hands in doubt. They were shaking. And I could tell that he wasn't lying. His face was blank, but his eyes are serious.

'No… I can't be swayed by him…! I…' My thoughts were filled with doubt and for some reason, sadness.

"My past…" I mumbled, just enough for the both of us to hear. "What is my past…?" I asked him filled with worry and doubt. Fear and anger overflowed within me.

"You will know… when the time comes…" His voice started to vanish, and his image became a blur. That's when I realized that he was going away.

"Wait!" I desperately tried to call him back. I wanted to know my past, everything. My parents… I want to know them. Just who are they?

But, he did not heed my call. The sentence 'you will know when the time comes' repeated over and over again until he vanished completely.

"Ugh!" I abruptly sat up. My breathing was sharp and abnormal. I was also sweating a lot, to the point where I needed to take off my clothes.

"A dream?" I looked around and noticed that it was already dark. The room was like before. I could hear the clock ticking every second, so my attention drifted to it. The clock was glowing in the dark it seems. It was an alarm clock beside the bedside lamp and it read 11: 50.

It was barely midnight, and I was still awake. I looked over the open window. The sky was dim and filled with stars. It seems to be full moon right now. I sighed and closed the window.

It was a bit cold, so I looked over at the air-conditioner and noticed it was on even though I didn't touch it. 'Must be automatic.'

I opened my closet and took out clothes for me to sleep on. I also took a towel. I needed a shower right now. I understand it's weird to take a bath at midnight, but I'm already used to it since I always sweat a lot from training.

I opened the door and went to my bathroom. Before that, I noticed a figure by the window. It was probably Dio. He was wearing the same clothes as earlier. He didn't notice my presence, but I could feel an aura of sadness illuminating him.

I stared at his unmoving back. I couldn't see his face, so I shook the thought off and went to the bathroom.

There was a bathtub and a sink, also a shower. I decided to take a shower, since I wasn't used to a bubble bath or something of the riches.

I slowly took off my clothes and dumped them in the basket near the sink. I turned the faucet and let the water flow down my body and damp my hair.

My thoughts went back to my dream earlier. 'I know nothing of my past, huh?' I quickly washed my face and brushed my teeth. I picked up the towel and wiped the droplets of water flowing down my body. I quickly put on my clothes which are a red shirt and baggy pants. I placed the towel over my damp hair.

I left the bathroom. Dio was nowhere to be found, so he was probably in his room now. I went back to my own room, still drying my hair.

I yawned and removed the towel. I sat onto my bed and fell on my back. 'This day was more tiring than the rest… I hope tomorrow will go well.' With that, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

"Ring. Ring. Ring." My mind's consciousness registered the sound of a bell ringing. That might be enough to wake my mind up, but not enough to actually wake me up.

I flipped over and tucked my head underneath the pillow to get rid of the noise. To my pleasure, it worked just fine.

"Ring. Ring. Ring." There it went again, but this time, the sound was louder. Even though the pillow was supposed to be protecting me from the noise, it more looked like it doubled the ringing.

I groaned and sat up while rubbing my eyes. I glared at the alarm clock before me. I didn't even set it last night. 'Automatic.' I rolled my eyes. I used my fist and slammed it down the button on the alarm clock.

The loud ringing didn't stop, which made me wonder. I realized that it was from the whole building.

"Huh?" I looked carefully at the alarm clock. It read 6:52 A.M. "8 minutes to get ready…" I yawned and drifted back to sleep.

.

.

.

"Wait." I immediately sat up and looked at the alarm clock again. The tick-tock it made registered in my brain, especially the time.

"Crap."

I hurriedly tossed the covers in my bed and got my school uniform from the closet –don't ask how it became clean, because I don't know either- and went to the bathroom. The clothes I tossed in the basket last night wasn't there, so I was assuming it was cleaned by who knows and the school uniform I'm holding right now is from last night. 'No time to worry about it.'

I took a quick shower, roughly cleansing my body. I brushed my teeth really quick and hard. I washed my face and wiped myself off with a towel. I quickly put on my school uniform and got out the bathroom.

My roommate wasn't there, so I was assuming he left without me. 'What a nice roommate.' I rolled my eyes at the sarcasm. I looked at the clock and saw that there was barely a minute to get breakfast.

Yes, basically, I'm hurrying to eat. Kyle told me when we were eating lunch yesterday that breakfast starts at 7:00, lunch at 11:30, and dinner at 6:00. He also told me that if you were late –this only applies for breakfast-, they would not serve you any food. It was probably so that students won't be tardy. Still, they seriously apply that strictness so I have to hurry. (When concerning lunch, we eat here on weekends or holidays, but when we have school, we eat at the main building since it'll take too long if we walk from the building to the canteen.)

It'll take too long to wait for the elevator, so I went down by stairs. I ran as fast as I could and reached the canteen. I looked at the clock and it looks like I barely managed to get here.

I sighed and rested for a few seconds to catch my breath.

"Barely made it, I see." The cafeteria lady told me as I went over to get my food. I gave her a weak nod.

I didn't mind if I couldn't find Kyle and Amy, so I ate by myself.

"Okay, as you guys know, tomorrow is the party." Lime cheerfully told the whole classroom. The students cheered and the room was full of chatters.

Lime clapped her hands to get their attention. "Tomorrow will be the official opening of 'Introduction Day', the party will be held at the ceremony hall, so wear formal attires, okay?" Lime informed us and gracefully left the classroom. Before she did, she added, "If you do not have formal attires, just wear your real school uniform." She finally left.

"Finally!" Kyle exclaimed beside me. He stretched his arms and he laid it on the back of his chair. He tilted his head and closed his eyes. Then, he looked at me and leaned his arms on his desk. "This is the party we were talking about." He gave me a toothed grin.

"Party, huh?" I mumbled to myself and sighed.

"Why so sad, Jinny? Do you not like parties?" Amy said in front of us. She leaned her arms over her chair to talk with us.

I sighed at the new nickname but Amy just giggled.

"What are you going to wear, Jin?" Kyle interrupted us.

"School uniform?" I said unsurely. I don't own those sleek, black coats or those tuxedos anyway.

"Oh, you mean 'that'? Our school uniform is pretty slick, isn't it? Maybe I'll wear that too…" He muttered to himself.

"You mean this?" I pointed my finger to my clothes. "How is this 'pretty slick'?" I asked him doubtfully.

"Huh?" Kyle looked at me. Then, his mouth formed into an 'o'. "I forgot again…" He nervously chuckled.

"Again?" Amy disappointedly said to Kyle and lightly hit her forehead with her palm.

I was confused as to what are they talking about. But I could tell that it was important.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell him." Kyle snickered and directed his attention to me.

"In other words, 'that'," He pointed to my school uniform, "isn't our real uniform."

I blinked. "What?"

"I said, 'that' isn't our real school uniform. Ours is much cooler." He leaned on his chair and closed his eyes.

"If this isn't our real uniform, then what is?"

"It should be in your closet, a uniform with an emblem of Serdin High." Amy informed me.

'Now that they told me, there were clothes I don't recognize in my closet.' I thought to myself.

"We have uniforms for every season. In spring, fall and winter, we wear long-sleeve coats, but the texture will differ by the season. In summer, we wear a simple polo shirt and a necktie. Since it's fall, we'll be wearing coats with the Serdin High emblem. It's not really a coat, but it's really pretty." Amy clarified with a smile.

"Oh, Jin," Kyle interrupted us again, "I'll introduce you to some of my friends tomorrow, 'kay?" He told me with a smile. His smile had a weird aura, which made me think. Amy looked at him and pouted.

"I'll introduce you to my friends, too. Okay, Jin?" Amy sweetly smiled and offered to me. I carefully observed them. They were acting suspiciously.

Seeing that I won't lose anything, I nodded to both of them.

They cheered at the same time which made me half-smile.

"By the way," I started, "why do we have to wear this if our uniform is what Amy said?" I finished with a dumbfounded look on my face.

Kyle and Amy looked at each other before chuckling. "They said they wanted to give the school a fresh look. I don't see how this can be fresh though." Kyle showed me a smile which was warm yet funny.

I opened the closet. I carefully looked over the clothes and finally found it; it was a long-sleeved black coat with two columns of buttons. It had a pocket by the left chest and engulfed in the pocket was a gold, metal-like substance that read 'SH' in the font of Algerian. Beneath the coat was a simple, white polo shirt with a collar –of course-. There was also a red necktie tied around the hanger. I noticed that something was tagged behind the cloth. It read 'Fall'.

'This must be it.' I noticed other clothes that looked like this too, except that the material was a bit different. There were jet black slacks that I wasn't familiar with, too.

I sighed. I have to meet up with Kyle tomorrow to find out where that 'Ceremony Hall' is supposed to be.

'Still,' I remembered the time I walked to get back here. After homeroom ended, I quickly got out the classroom to check out the uniform. On my way back, people would look at me weirdly. Some would have a surprised expression, while others would have an amazed one. Some were even talking behind my back. I could here a few of what they were saying:

"Is that the new student?"

"Wow, he must be brave to come here."

"Idiot, he must not know the rumors."

"I heard that Dio is his roommate. Could you believe that?"

"Seriously? But he doesn't have a scratch on his cheek!" 'Scratch on my cheek? What for?'

And then it will spread like that. I don't think they noticed me hearing them. But I didn't even want to interfere with them. Rumors like that, I was already used to it.

I sighed and placed the clothes back in the closet.

I got out of my room and saw Dio reading a book on the couch. It was different from the other one he had before.

"Hey." I greeted him. He looked up from his book and half-nodded.

I sat beside him. I placed my elbows on my knees and held my hands together with my chin resting on my hands. I release an exhausted sigh. I could feel his eyes look at me for a second, but I pretended not to notice it.

"Hey, Dio," I started, "Do you know the rumors around this school?" Although I said that I didn't want to interfere, I asked anyway.

I looked over at Dio to observe his expression. The only thing different was he was wearing a bittersweet smirk.

"Rumors…, huh?" He said as if he remembered something nostalgic. I looked at him and waited for an answer.

"You enrolled here and yet you didn't know it? Your parents must be stupid." He rolled his eyes.

I looked at him confusingly. Normally, I would've been offended, but since I don't exactly have parents –even though I consider Elaine as one-, I didn't mind it. Still, anyone would get angry if someone said that to their family, even if they don't have one. 'I wonder why I didn't get angry…' To be honest, I felt bitter yet happy. Weird, right?

Dio noticed my expression. "So you have no parents. I see." Dio looked back to his book; he was holding it with one hand while using his thumb to flip the pages.

"I don't know if it's real, so listen carefully, human." I blinked at his sudden change.

"To put it simple, the people think that the students who enroll here will be cursed or have tremendous bad luck."

"Huh?" I sweat-dropped at his information. 'That's it? They're making a big fuss over that? And here I thought a series of murders happened or something.' I sighed again.

"Is that all?" I asked with a bit of disappointment on my face.

Dio looked at me weirdly. "You should be careful, you mere mortal. Because it really happened to some. This school was even nicknamed 'School of Misery and Misfortune'." Maintaining his cool attitude, he went back to his room.

Before fully closing the door, he added, "Even if the rumors weren't real… those things happen in reality…, you silly human." His voice drifted off and you could tell he remembered something horrible. It only changed back to normal when he said 'you silly human'.

I sighed. 'School of Misery and Misfortune, huh? I think I have had enough misfortune already.'

It was finally time for the party. The party started at 6:00 p.m. sharp. They said it was fun at night, which is why the part starts after dinner –even though we didn't eat.

Kyle and Amy guided me to the 'Ceremony Hall'.

I was only wearing our school uniform –the real one- while Kyle was wearing a suit and black slacks.

Amy was wearing a pink dress; it had frills in it and its sleeves reached her elbows. It was a V-neck too. Dark-pink ribbons were scattered it. There was also a red belt around its waist that made the dress more astounding.

Amy's hair was neatly tied into a ponytail, with a few strands falling over her ears and her bangs were placed to the side by a cat-shaped pin. She was wearing 2-inch high pink sandals too.

'Amy looks…' I gulped, 'really cute…' I felt my neck getting hot. I shook my head frantically to rid of the thought.

We entered the place and it was beautifully decorated; tons of huge chandeliers were scattered around the top. The walls had those decorations which were garlands that were loosely hanged and repeatedly pinned to the wall. There was a banquet in the middle of the room. There was also a stage in front with lots of chairs accompanying it.

People were gathering here and there. Most of them were wearing formal attires. To be more precise, all of them were wearing formal attires except for me.

'Is this how the rich spend their money? A party which is simply an 'Opening Ceremony' in other schools? …Can this get much worse?'

"All right! Finally, we're here!" Kyle exclaimed. It was a bit far from the dorms, but the walk was pretty nice.

"Yay~! Let's go Jin!" Amy grabbed my wrist and proceeded to drag me away.

"Hey, hold it!" Kyle grabbed my sleeve which stopped us from our tracks.

"Huh?" Amy looked at Kyle who stopped us.

"No way, Amy. I suggested that he meets my friends first." He pointed his finger to two people having a conversation with each other.

"But, I got to him first." Amy pulled me and we were walking again against my will.

We were stopped again by Kyle. "Now that I'm here, I say that, me first!" He argued and pulled me too.

"No!" Amy pulled me by my wrist abruptly.

"Let go!"

"You let go!"

"Will you guys please?! I'm the one getting hurt here!" My wrist hurts because Amy was pulling it hard, and my sleeve would rip if Kyle continues to pull me like that. To be honest, it looked like we're playing tug-o-war except that I'm the rope.

"But, Jin!" Both of them exclaimed at once.

Their grip softened and I pulled my hands from them. I soothed my wrist and looked at my left sleeve. I was glad it didn't rip.

"What are you guys fighting for anyway? You're just introducing me to your friends, right? Why are you two fighting over something like that? Unless you're hiding something..." I observed them carefully. The both of them stiffened the second I said that they might be hiding something.

"Okay, now that we're all here, shall we start?" A voice on a microphone said. The students gathered to the sea of chairs and sat down.

"We'll finish this later." Amy declared to Kyle.

"Suits me." Kyle agreed.

I sighed at their behavior. "Let's just go."

We sat in the middle. There were many people I don't recognize too, and most of them were wearing stern faces. I assumed that they might be from the other building beside the main building.

'Problem students…'

"Welcome to Serdin High. Although most of you already know this place… This party is for the welcoming of you guys becoming 2nd-years in middle school. This year, we intend to-" The person kept rambling about the rules and regulations, the places you should know, and boring things like that.

Some of the students were already yawning and some were not even listening. After a while, most of the students were already chattering, as if no one was listening anymore. 'Not that I mind.'

"You arrogant students!" A voice screamed from the microphone. "Don't be so cocky just because you've become 2nd years!" It was a girl, no, a woman it seems. It was the person speaking; she has blonde hair and piercing red eyes.

The room became silent. I figured they became terrified from her. In fact, I never even expected her to scream like that.

The speech was done, and we were allowed to do whatever we want as long as we don't cause trouble.

Both of them agreed that Kyle goes first and Amy second –I didn't even get a saying in this.

Kyle led me to the side. There, I saw two people; one was with lilac hair and lavender eyes, while the other had cerulean hair, her eyes were different though; her right eye was blue, and her left eye was red.

"Hey." Kyle greeted the both of them. Both turned to look at us.

"Hey, Kyle." The girl with lavender eyes greeted him. "And hello to you, too!" She giggled at my presence. 'This girl is cheerful.'

"Hi…" The girl with different eyes greeted both of us in a quiet murmur. 'She must be the quiet type…'

"This guy is Jin." He introduced me. I nodded to the both of them.

"This is Arme," he pointed to the lilac-haired girl, "and this is Mari." He pointed to the cerulean-haired girl.

"You're the new student, right? It's very nice to meet you." Arme held out her hand for a handshake and I gladly took it.

"Nice to meet you…" Mari told me quietly. 'She doesn't look happy to meet me at all.'

"Don't worry about her. She's just not used to talking to a new acquaintance." Arme eased me.

"Jin!" I heard a familiar voice call my name. I turned around to the voice' direction -Amy. She reached me and grabbed me by my arm like we're a couple. The thought made something in my chest thump, but I don't know why.

"Let's go already." She told me as if we were going on a date. The thought made something in my chest thump, but I don't know why.

"Hold it!" Kyle stopped us like last time by grabbing my sleeve. 'I seriously think my sleeve is going to rip…'

"It's been barely a minute and you're already taking him away? That's totally not fair!" Kyle argued.

"We never agreed about the time. I said that you go first, and I go second. Meaning, I could take Jin anytime I want as long as you've already introduced them to him." Amy giggled while Arme looked at her amusingly.

At times like this, Kyle could debate properly, but since it's Amy…

'Oh yeah, Kyle is acting normally around Amy even if he likes her. He… must really like her a lot.'

Amy stuck out her tongue like a child. For some reason, she really looked cute like that.

Amy dragged me away from them. Kyle was ruffling his hair in annoyance and mumbling something like "She planned this…!" over and over again.

"Let's talk again another time, Jin!" Arme yelled as I was being pulled by Amy. I nodded to her and hoped she saw it. I got my answer when she smiled.

"They're my friends." Amy introduced –even though I knew them already- me to someone I really know. They were Ella and Mica.

"Jin, it's you." Mica greeted me with a smile. Her blue eyes looked at me happily, which made me look away because I didn't want her to see my red face.

"Oh. Hey, Jin." Ella greeted me too, her emerald glass beads boring into my ruby ones.

"You already know them?" Amy asked me, a cheerful smile carved on her face.

"Of course he does. We live together after all." Mica said to Amy without hesitation.

"You live together? That's gre-… What?!" Amy grimaced at the sentence. Her face was filled with fury and… another expression I couldn't clearly tell.

"Seriously? But you guys are just 14." Ella frowned at Mica. 'Why are they making such a huge fuss about this?'

Then, a thought came to my mind. 'Don't tell me… they think we're lovers.' The thought made me happy, but I didn't want them to misunderstand, especially Amy –which made me confused…

"We're not 'that'. Her parents took me in." I scratched the back of my head as I said that, slightly regretting my words.

Amy and Ella looked really relieved for some reason. I looked over at Mica and saw her usual calm face. I sighed and felt a little disappointed. 'I at least want her to be a little... sad?'

I walked over to the huge table that held all kinds of food. I studied everything on the table and picked some kind of bread. I ate it and let the delicious wheat roll on my tongue.

"…Jin." Someone was tugging the back of my uniform, and I looked over to see it was Amy. Her cheeks were bright red and her chocolate eyes looked weary.

She held out a goblet with some kind of drink. "Drink it…!" She hiccupped the moment she said that.

I blinked and pressed my palm on her forehead. She didn't have a fever… which means…

"Amy, are you drunk?" I questioned her with a disbelieving look on my face.

I mean, seriously, we're not even close to 18. We're only 14 and barely turning 15. How could they drink alcohol? More like, why is this school even allowing them- or us to drink?

Suddenly, an arm was slung on my shoulder. I turned my head to who it was and found the same orange-haired guy I saw two days ago.

He showed me a goofy grin and held out the same drink Amy wanted to give me earlier. "Come on! Just a -hic- sip!" He was moving drowsily, making me conclude that he was very drunk.

"I don't really…" I tried to get away from him without getting him hurt, but I couldn't because his arm, even though it didn't look like it was holding me, had a firm grip.

"Oh, Ryan's ma' name. Nice to -hic- meet ya'!" He looked like he was forcing himself to smile, but failed miserably. Since he even bothered to greet me, might as well go along.

"Jin. Nice to meet you too." I showed him a helpless smile saying 'please get off me'.

"You're the new guy, right? We know ya' already, no need ta' be reserved." His accent was somewhat friendly. I couldn't help but sigh since he didn't get my meaning.

"Ryan, get off him. He doesn't look like he really wants to drink anyway." Another voice came out of nowhere. I looked around and saw that it was the indigo-haired boy Ryan was with.

"Oh come on, Ronan. Don't be such a party-pooper. You should drink too." The boy named Ronan sighed and gave me an apologizing look.

"Sorry about him. He's always like that, please don't mind him." He smiled to me like a noble. 'He looks like those gentleman type of guys…'

"Anyways, my name's Ronan, as you've heard. You're Jin, correct? You're quite famous." He held his hand out for a handshake, which I gladly took.

'Me? Famous? The world must be ending.'

"Ryan, get off Jinny!" Amy tried to pry Ryan's arm off me, which made me stumble a little. She failed though.

'Jinny? Can this get much worse?'

"We're just having a friendly chat!" Ryan recoiled -still drunk- as Amy successfully got his arm off from me.

"Come on, Ryan." Ronan dragged Ryan away from us.

Ryan sulked at first, but then he grinned at me and shouted, "Let's hang out sometime…!" before Ronan fully took him off.

"Right…" I tried to laugh at the situation to make it seem less awkward, but I failed as I only showed a nervous chuckle.

"Jin… let's dance…" Amy smiled at me with her cheeks burning red.

I could hear loud music playing in the speakers, until it changed, so I was assuming we were having a slow dance.

I couldn't deny her since her eyes were practically begging me. "Sure."

Amy's face lit up in delight as she led me to the dance floor.

"…Amy, I don't know how to… dance." I tried to tell her, but she just ignored me.

She placed her hand on my shoulder, and the other with my hand. I placed my other hand on her waist, trying to follow what the others were doing.

We followed the rhythm of the song. I was amazed at how she could dance so gracefully even though she's drunk. She smiled at me with her eyes still looking droopy.

I smiled back, until she giggled.

Thump. Thump.

'Huh?'

Thump. Thump.

'What is…?'

Thump. Thump. I could feel my heartbeat racing the second she released that weak yet carefree laugh.

Thump. Thump. 'What the h*ll?'

The party ended sooner than expected. Now, all of us were walking back to our dorms.

"See you tomorrow, guys." Amy waved both to me and Kyle a goodbye and ran off to her dorm before we could even reply.

Kyle and I walked side by side until he broke the silence. "Hey, Jin. Who's your roommate?"

"It's Dio." I told him tiredly. I noticed Kyle stopped walking.

I looked back at him to see his eyes wide. "Seriously? Him?" I nodded, not bothered by his tone.

"I thought he doesn't like roommates…" He quietly muttered to himself, but I heard it anyway.

We entered the elevator. Kyle's room was on the fifth, whilst mine was on the third.

"What about you?" I asked him to change the topic.

"Oh. I don't have one. I personally asked the principal for it."

"I see." 'The rich's power…'

The door opened on the third floor. I waved Kyle a goodbye and walked to my room.

Dio was sitting on the couch again, reading a book. He didn't bother to look at me even though I knew he heard the sound of the door opening.

I shook my head and entered my room. I picked up a change of clothes and went to the bathroom to take a quick shower. 'These three days have been… interesting.' I thought as I let the water embrace me.

'I wonder if there will be something more than this… and that dream too…'

I turned off the faucet and wiped myself off. I changed and went back to my room. I tucked myself under the covers and closed my eyes.

'Tomorrow is the official start of school… And…' I trailed off my thoughts, suddenly realizing that Amy just showed up in my head.

I shook my head frantically, trying to rid of it. 'That was… just my imagination… There's no way that I…' I blushed at the thought and rolled to the side.

I sighed and forced my brain to sleep.

This is probably the longest chapter I have written or will write.

Even I could tell that the story is getting boring. Anyways, this might be the end of Jin's POV for now. Basically, this is the end of the prologue. (:

There are confusing events in here and don't worry, I know them all.

Feel free to say anything. Sarcasm or harsh comments are fine as long as it might help me.

Thank you for reading! (If some of you does read this…)

-LoveBuildsHate