Acantha woke up and yawned. The freshman tournament had just concluded yesterday. She hadn't paid much attention to it all, but some kid from Devon Academy had won the whole thing. Luckily, she hadn't been forced to pay much attention as no one from Price had advanced through their pools (much to Hollis' disappointment).

Acantha felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She sighed, taking it out and looking at the number. Her eyes went wide the moment she saw who it was. Frantically, she answered.

"Hello?"

The person on the other end was silent and Acantha knew what that meant. She quietly hung up, her arm trembling. For a few seconds, she simply sat like this, her whole body trembling.

"GOD FUCKING…DAMN IT ALL!"

She violently slammed her fist into the spare desk, creating a deep fissure in its wood. Unfortunately, she could also feel her hand swelling from the action.

These bouts of violence were rare, only once before in her time at Price, but it had been enough to have her roommate request to be moved to another dorm. That didn't matter to Acantha, it gave her a spare desk to abuse in situations like this. Her rage abated, she curled up on the floor and attempted to cry…but the tears would not come. She didn't know if they ever would again.

The only thing that kept her from laying like this for the entire day was a knock at her door. She quickly stood up, determined to tell whoever it was to fuck off.

She swung open the door, readying a shout, but was stopped in her tracks upon recognizing the individual.

"Acantha," the voice was clearly not pleased with her.

– Chapter Sixteen: Aching –

She moved to shut the door in Ava's face. Both fear and anger compelled her, yet even with her strength, Ava easily stopped it.

"Would you care to explain this?" she shoved the door back open, "Surely you wouldn't turn away a superior if you weren't guilty of something."

She gritted her teeth. She had just wanted to be alone after the news she had received, but it seemed like she had no choice in the matter. Not to mention, if Ava was going to be grilling her about something she may have done then she needed to clear the air.

Acantha swept her arm inward toward her dorm, inviting the senior in. Ava walked in and noticed the fractured desk immediately. She glanced between it and Acantha.

"And that's-"

"Nothing," anger flared in her voice, "It's. Nothing."

Ava's frown deepened. She had come here to inquire about what had happened with Othello and the scene in front of her was not giving her confidence. She had decided to trust Acantha despite her reputation, assuming her role as a Leader would outweigh her personality, but now she wasn't as sure.

"Well, I'll get to the point," she held her tongue, "It's about Othello."

Acantha had no idea how to respond to that. She assumed Ava was here about the complaints of her "aggressiveness" toward other students (she was well aware some people didn't like her personality, but that was their problem).

"Um," she debated how to respond, "Who-"

"Don't play coy," the older girl interjected, "The freshman you wrapped in a huge hug yesterday."

Acantha's heart stopped. She hadn't thought about her actions when she had done that, it was just instinct. If other people knew about that…but Ava wasn't the type to spread rumors. She wasn't vindictive…right?

"Yeah…" she said, admitting to knowing him, "What about him?"

"What did you talk to him about?"

Acantha was curious why Ava was so invested in this freshman.

"He-"

She cut herself off. Was it really her place to say what a freshman, no, what any other person had confided in her? Ava clearly knew him, but if he hadn't told her about anything, then it wasn't her place to. She put on the best snarl she could and made up her mind.

"And what makes you think I'm spilling other people's business?"

Ava blinked a few times. The longer the silence went on, the more Acantha's nerves grew. Ava was one of the few people that was about her height and carried a presence even stronger than her own, and it was proving to be difficult to manage.

"I'm not asking maliciously. To put it bluntly, you have a reputation of aggression. I don't care much, but to have that with Othello…"

"You clearly saw," Acantha retorted, "There was no violence, berating, or anything else."

"I only saw the hug. I decided to give you two space afterwards. Hollis also came up, but I turned him away before he could see anything."

Acantha silently cursed herself for her carelessness. If Hollis had seen anything…it would be worse news than Ava sitting in her room grilling her.

"Well…" she struggled to say it, "Thank…you…for that…"

"You still haven't answered the question."

"Even if it isn't malicious," Acantha's confidence was growing, "What makes you think you get to know! He's his own person!"

Ava wasn't pleased she wasn't getting her answers, but at the same time, she couldn't blame the sophomore for her defensiveness.

"So, the desk," Ava changed subjects with the grace of Groudon (not gracefully at all).

Acantha was resisting the urge to shove Ava out of her dorm. She bit her lip. If she told Ava about this, maybe it would keep her from asking about Othello…but…

She hung her head. She couldn't do that.

The move surprised Ava. Acantha looked surprisingly…vulnerable. Maybe she shouldn't have come here.

"Look," Ava sighed, "I'm just trying to look out for Othelllo. He's been acting a bit…strange…since his loss. It's not like he seems sad or angry, he just seems…flat. And he was asking Cannon whether or not he was really cut out for battling."

Acantha flashed back to the words Othello had asked her and the words she had told him. So it really was affecting him that much. She wished she knew more about the kid and how to get through to him…to be useful…it had been so long…

"He knows Cannon too?"

She blurted out the words, desperate to rid herself of other thoughts.

"A few of the Senior League members," Ava said, "We're looking out for him."

Suspicion arose in her again, "Why?"

"Not something to concern yourself with."

Ava's words were so sharp, they pierced through every other thought swimming through Acantha's head. The words clearly conveyed that Ava would rather kill than reveal what exactly was going on. It was enough to send a shiver down Acantha's spine.

"Y-yeah…"

"So you won't tell me?"

Acantha steeled herself and shook her head.

"Alright," Ava moved to leave her dorm, "Good luck with…that…"

She glanced at the fractured desk and Acantha's swollen hand before exiting and closing the door behind her with surprising softness.

Left alone to herself again, Acantha's mind wandered back to the news she had received and she buried her head in her hands, forgetting Ava completely.

"How many more?"