Chapter 32

It has not been a good day for Sucy.

Apparently, fate had decided to be a jerk to her today. Her alarm clock had spontaneously died in the middle of the night, which meant that it hadn't rung on time, causing Sucy to wake up much later than usual, despite Loa's constant attempts to wake her up. Not having enough time for breakfast or a cup of coffee, she had scurried out of the house without even showering.

And just her luck, traffic had been utter shit and she was fifteen minutes late for work. She gasped at the sight of the place. Her manager, some journalists, and some police surrounded the entrance.

The place had been trashed by some delinquents. The sight of it irked her so much. Sucy refused to be interviewed.

After receiving an earful from her manager, even if she had the legal right to own the place now, the process of transfer hadn't been approved by the lawyers since Sucy's name was misspelled in the will.

"Since when was Sucy turned to Susie?" she growled, asking Loa. She didn't care if anyone could have heard her. For all they knew, she was merely expressing her frustrations to herself.

She had to stand outside in the cold and spend all day scraping the egg yolk from the pavement and removing the dick drawn at the window until her fingers cramped up. And just because fate disliked her that much, she had to go through all of that while having to endure whispers and mischievous taunts thrown her way by her coworkers which the manager called in for an emergency to help them clean the place up.

Needless to say, she was more than relieved when she's finally allowed to get back home. On her way, her mouth hung open. Like miraculously finding a needle in a haystack, she saw a familiar silhouette from the corner of her eye.

It's seven in the morning when Diana received an unpleasant shock. She lifted her head up from the phone she's been reading to call Carter to drive her to Amanda's loft.

Amanda was living with her best friends. Everyone had been busy doing their Sunday plans. Jasminka was baking, Constanze was playing some game that occurred in Ancient Greece with a female protagonist in her PS4, and Amanda was sleeping in.

They allowed Diana to wreak havoc inside Amanda's room.

"Amanda O'Neill, wake up." Diana snarled.

"HOLY FUCKING SHIT!" Amanda grabbed her blanket to cover her front. She wasn't wearing any bra, merely a tank top to cover her front.

Diana greeted her with a glare.

"What's wrong?"

Diana shoved her phone into Amanda's hand roughly. "Read it." She ordered.

Still bewildered, Amanda looked down at the UKN news page and began to read aloud. "'Alleged rapist nearly gets suffocated by condom because of an angry victim.'"

"Not that!" Diana groaned and pointed at a smaller article in the corner of the page. "This one."

"'Property damaged by violent reformists.'" Amanda's eyes widen. "'Yesterday evening, a flower shop suffered through great damage. Pictures obtained show that the structure had been vandalized severely, with mysterious graphics painted onto the walls of the building. Experts suggest that these illustrations could possibly depict warnings by gangs or even cults. Witnesses have stated that two people wearing white reformist masks were seen trespassing the property. Police speculate that these suspects were the remaining members of the reformist group led by Louis Blackwell and was seeking either revenge or salvation. They are the prime suspects of this case. If anyone has seen these suspects, please contact the authorities immediately.'"

Silence hung in the air between them. Diana's expression remained grave. "I listen to your ridiculous suggestion and we become wanted criminals."

"Well shit." The news killed what's left of Amanda's drowsiness. "Are you angry at me? Please don't be. We're not identified and we sure didn't leave any fingerprints."

"But we might have shed some DNA! It was pretty reckless! Though I have to say there are perfectly good explanations once it will be found." Diana sighed. "Promise me that from now on, we are not going to do anything that is considered criminal activity."

"I promise." Amanda raised her hand and crossed her heart. "Anything else?"

Diana took several seconds to contemplate before saying. "No, but you should get some breakfast."

As Amanda was making her way outside to the kitchen, Amanda's bathroom door busted open, revealing a newly showered Akko.

"Diana?" Akko said, cheeks slightly pink.

"A-AKKO?" Diana gasped. They both have the uncanny meetings where they would always find each other in places where the other shouldn't be. The only thing that separated Akko's nudity to her roaming eyes was a white towel. "W-what are you doing here?"

"I asked Jasna and Cons if I can crash the place tonight." Akko laughed awkwardly. "I don't feel safe in my flat alone."

"Oh? But you ended up in Amanda's bath?"

"She's got a bathtub!" Akko wailed before she saw the empty bed. "Speaking of the she-devil, where's she?"

"Shit Akko's here?" Amanda poked her head inside her bedroom carrying a plate of pancakes. "Where's Professor Ursula?"

"She stayed in with a friend last night," Akko said. "And I wouldn't want to be there alone, especially since Sucy's basically stalking me now."

"She what?"

"I'm fine guys."

Amanda placed her free hand on her hips. "You must be famished girl, dress up and let's eat!"

Akko nodded and headed towards the guest room where she had spare clothes.

Diana was still shocked that she ended up staying alone in the room. She stood there for a short while before she felt something soft and furry brushing against her legs.

"Meow."

The sudden sound and contact surprised Diana and she jumped slightly. She quickly looked down at her feet and was surprised to find a small, black cat looking back up at her with big yellow eyes.

"Meow." It purred and rubbed itself against Diana's ankle, its tail tickling her calf.

"Why, hello…" Diana crouched down and slowly extended her hands, reaching for the cat. The feline doesn't approach Diana's open hands. Instead, it just stared at the girl and tentatively nudged her pinky with a paw.

"Are you Amanda's?"

"She's Akko's." a small robotic voice said.

Diana clenched her heart, surprised at Constanze's presence. "Oh? I… I didn't know she has a cat."

"She just recently got it," Stanbot replied. "Says she looks like her old cat back in Japan."

"Akko's cat, I see," Diana said.

Upon hearing the name, the cat's ears perked up. It meowed once more before approaching Diana, all of its previous hesitation dissipating.

Diana gently lifted the cat up at eye level. She can't help but coo at how cute the cat was. "Well, hi! I'm Diana. Your mother's still getting dressed,"

"Meow." The cat replied helpfully.

"Diana come here and eat brunch with us!" Jasminka called.

Diana and Constanze followed the sound into the kitchen and found Akko rushing out of the guest room with a scowl on her face, gripping her phone. Somehow, even with a twisted grimace, she still managed to look gorgeous.

"What's with the face, Akko?" Amanda asked. "Received any incriminating texts?"

"Meow?"

Akko whipped her head around with lightning speed. Her frown immediately morphed into a smile when she saw her cat, and her irked mood seemed to improve greatly. "Oh my god, Salem!"

Bemused, Jasminka placed her pan down her and walked over to them cautiously.

Diana looked down at the fluffy cat in her arms with a slight frown. She had no idea that Akko was a fan of witches.

But the cat in her arms meowed once more when Akko went near. Salem then proceeded to stand on her hind legs and peer, like some sort of majestic meerkat.

Akko hurriedly strode towards the cat, camera ready and exclaimed, "Oh my god, you're doing it again!"

"Constanze mentioned this cat reminded you of your old one. You named them both Salem?" she asked as she eases the cat into Akko's arms.

Akko rubbed a thumb across Salem's head then stared at her with a smile, her red eyes shining in amusement. "Yep! But this Salem is a girl."

Diana fought herself from crumbling underneath her stare.

Akko then looked at Diana dead in the eye, "Do you have any cats?"

She shook her head.

"Aw, that's a shame. Imagine how cute the cat play dates would be." Akko joked, grinning.

"I would rather imagine us going on a date." Diana blurted out all of a sudden as if she lost her inhibitions for a while. When she realized what she said, she restrained from kicking herself in the shin.

"Shit!" Amanda yelled. If it wasn't for Amanda's outburst, Diana would have forgotten the loft's residences were their spectators. "Have some self-control lesbian, damn it."

Akko's cheeks were a light pink but she doesn't offer any verbal response. Instead, she studied Diana with an unfamiliar look in her eyes, one that Diana failed to read despite her practice and knowledge. Akko then leaned forward and swiftly pressed a gentle kiss against her cheek.

Everyone watching hollered. Amanda was the loudest, she even wolf-whistled.

Diana's brain short-circuits. She now knew what heaven was like.

Glancing at her phone screen, Akko was reminded of something. "You know, Lotte encourages me I should go on a date with you."

"She did what?"

"I said I would if you would ask me out." Akko smiled, looking away bashfully.

"Then what are you guys still doing here?" Amanda asked. Beside her, Constanze was nodding while sticking a thumbs-up and Jasminka was holding her reddened cheek. "Go have brunch somewhere else!"

Akko looked down at her shirt before looking back at Diana. "Let me change to into more appropriate clothes then we can head out!" She gave Diana a parting wave and a smile.

Diana returned the wave, which was miraculous because her brain was still a little fuzzy. She turned her head around to stare back at the girls, grinning widely. It's the grin that only appeared whenever Akko was around. Diana can still feel the ghost of Akko's kiss on her cheek, the spot where her lips had touched still tingling pleasantly.

"Leave the cat, Akko! We'll catsit for you." Amanda called out loud before sighing. "Looks like Lotte won the bet this time around."

Diana has always been a dog person, but if being in the presence of a cat meant that Akko would kiss her cheek—Diana was three seconds away from calling Anna to help her adopt a hundred cats.

Diana was looking for Akko. It has been an hour since they started just roaming around town. Akko had a sudden inkling for something sweet so Diana offered to get them some food. Diana went off to buy their crepes from a nearby truck store when suddenly Akko wasn't where she left her. She searched around, looking for any indications where the girl had gone.

Maybe she was hallucinating the entire time.

She took a few steps forward when she noticed a trail of brown hair at the side of her eye. Akko was running towards her, scared for her life.

Diana jogged to close their distance. "Akko?"

"What were you doing, you idiot?" she shouted, skidding to a halt. "Don't stop—run!" she screamed, catching her under the arm. Diana almost yanked her off her feet by the sheer force.

Diana knew better than to argue when Akko was so incredibly terrified. All she can do is to get her feet under herself, reorient, and sprint as fast as she can, keeping pace at the Japanese girl's side.

"Who's out there?" she asked when they managed to find a good hiding spot. She was still holding both of their crepes, but some of the fillings had started to slump.

"It's Sucy!" Akko hissed.

Diana's world blanked. She never knew she would find herself in a situation where she would be running away from her date's ex-girlfriend. Yet again, it was Sucy and Akko was Akko. Diana had an idea that Akko was the type of girl who would run away from conflict, and it was proven today when Akko literally dragged her out of the way.

They hid on a dead end corner near a dumpster. The putrid smell was leaking off, but it didn't bother Akko as much as it did on her.

Akko's fear was clear as day. There was no denying that. Fear for herself or fear for Diana specifically, Diana had no way of knowing. She knew she should be mirroring the same fear from her date's eyes but all she could feel was warmth because Akko was too close to her personal space.

Akko unknowingly inched closer to her when shot an inquisitive glance from where they hid.

"She's coming this way!" she squealed.

Diana thought that her excessive blushing has somehow managed to damage her hearing. "Huh?"

"I'm so sorry... so sorry." It was the moment that Akko started shaking when Diana understood the gravity of the situation.

There was no more escape. No more routes to pass through. Only a few moments left, Sucy will turn to this corner and she will find them.

Reluctant but quick, Diana handed the crepes to Akko and plunged into danger. She raised her hands, meeting Sucy's eyes. "Just me," she panted.

Sucy looked at her, eyes tickling like a pendulum. A scale settling on balance. Diana's relief melted in an instant, realizing exactly what Sucy could be weighing—her life.

She could try to kill her, right here, and no one would know. Diana could just be casualties and Sucy would have her revenge. Sucy's hand stayed, but Diana found the same voodoo doll from her hip.

Diana held her shivering gaze, saying nothing, barely daring to breathe. Trying not to tip her in the wrong direction.

"You're on a date with my ex." Sucy simply said.

"Oh?" Diana taunted, she decided it was best not to worm her way out of this. "Is it obvious?"

"Let me talk to her, Cavendish." A desire washed over Sucy to push her out of the way.

"Again with the hostility, Manbavaran?" she asked, arching a delicate eyebrow.

"I don't trust you."

"The sentiment is mutual." Diana crossed her arms. "She prefers not to see you. As you can see how she quickly fled the scene like a rabbit from a fox."

"You're a wolf hiding in sheep's clothing. You're worse than a fox." Sucy scoffed before her eyes shot back behind Diana and still hasn't seen Akko. The Filipino started to take a few steps backward. "But don't worry, I'll still run as your vice president and I have friendly advice for you. Whatever connection you have found with her during this trysts is a lie."

When Sucy disappeared into the distance, Diana felt light-feathered. Akko might have felt it too because she came out from her hiding spot and exhaled loudly. The crepes were nowhere to be found. Although Diana spotted a little bit of cream on the corner of Akko's lips.

"You didn't have to do that," Akko said. "Thank you, Diana."

"It is nothing." She brushed it off. Diana was unsure why she did it, but she hugged Akko then, though she wasn't sure that the light placement of her arms around the shorter girl's shoulders could even be considered that.

Diana's words seemed to lift the invisible weight off Akko's shoulders. But although Akko was partially relieved, she still was mortified and felt horrible. "I'm still so incredibly sorry this happened. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

Still smiling, Diana shook her head and said, "You can make it up to me by continuing today's date."

Diana lingered for a moment as she cupped Akko's face. She gulped softly. Akko looked so beautiful right now. Her big red eyes scanned her curiously. Diana swore she saw them flit down to her mouth. She was uncertain whether Akko was biting her lip a little bit while blushing.

"What are you thinking about?" Diana asked softly, practically a whisper.

Akko stared that soul-piercing stare. "You," she said without a single stutter.

Diana leaned in first. Their lips close, but still not touching. The gravity was too much; however, she wanted her lips to take Akko's in a gentle flourish.

"You are so beautiful, Akko," Diana whispered, emphasizing each word. Her hands held Akko's face in place as she leaned in closer. Akko closed her eyes and placed her hands on Diana's waist.

"Diana," Akko breathed, tangling her hands into Diana's honey blonde hair.

She wanted to fucking worship her. To please her in a way she hadn't before but... Akko stopped her.

"Oh," Diana panted in surprise when Akko grabbed her shoulder to stop her from pressing herself against Akko's lithe figure.

"No," Akko whispered, a soft smile on her face.

"Oh," Diana said again, catching her breath. She gulped to wet the sudden dryness in her mouth. "I...I'm s—"

Akko interrupted her again with a finger to her lips. "Shhh... You are not ready," she said.

Diana blinked in confusion, "What does that mean?"

Akko shook her head, "You're not ready," she repeated. "For me, and I you," she added.

Diana smiled tiredly and nodded. She didn't fully understand but she knew that whatever Akko was trying to say meant she definitely did not want this right now. Diana would wait. She'd wait a lifetime for Akko. "Did you happen to eat all the crepes I bought?"

Cursing words so crude that she could've made a sailor blush, Sucy has no other choice but to leave after using an invisibility spell to witness everything when she made it seem she left earlier.

She turned around on corner and undo the spell when Loa started preaching again.

"You know we could kill them. You have no need for those people."

Sucy's eyes were red and itchy from all that crying. No matter how many times Loa pressured her into killing them both of the spot, Sucy refused. A plan for Cavendish was settled prior to this. Lotte was right. There was an act of far better revenge than murder.

"NO! It will make me more suspicious. The noose around my neck is pretty tight already, so no!"

When she has finally arrived at her flat building, she quickly scurried inside and ignored the dirty looks thrown at her inside the lobby.

Because it's her lucky day, one of the elevators is out of order—again.

"When was the elevator even functional?" Loa asked.

Sucy sighed and impatiently tapped her foot against the tiled floor as she waited for one of the remaining two elevators to descend to the ground floor.

Five minutes later and the elevators still have yet reached any floor with a single digit.

Sucy was getting more and more exasperated by the second. She shifted from foot to foot, weighing her options. On one hand, she was absolutely irritable and exhausted and has no desire to waste her remaining energy on flights of stairs. But on the other, she desperately wants to rush back home and take a hot bath.

She really, really doesn't want to climb her way to her floor but she also has no desire to become explosive in a public area.

Holding back a frustrated scream, Sucy reluctantly began to ascend the stairs, her shoes stomping heavily against the concrete. She mentally chided herself for living on a high floor throughout the tiresome journey.

Once she finally reached her floor, she was grouchier and wearier than ever. One would think that the strenuous activity of climbing up flights of stairs would energize her or at least warm her up a bit, but of course, it did neither. She absentmindedly made her way down the hallway, walking past the other identical doors until she gets to hers. Sucy was certain that her frigid feet are numb at this point.

Reaching her front door, she pulled out her key ring from her pocket and the chain abruptly snaps in half, sending her keys to the ground. Sucy closed her eyes and groaned. There was no way this day can get any worse. After retrieving her key from the floor, she slips it into the keyhole and quickly turned it to unlock the door.

Except it doesn't turn.

Sucy furrowed her brow, bemused.

"Umm Sucy..." Loa began.

"NO, SHUT THE FUCK UP!" She turned it again firmly but the key remained immovable. Convinced that perhaps it needed to be positioned in a better angle, she wiggled it around a bit before turning once more. But still, the door remained locked. Muttering a series of profanities under her breath, Sucy gave her key another sharp jerk to the right. Instead of unlocking the door as it should've, the head of her key ends up bending.

"What the..." She let out an annoyed huff and tries to turn her bent key again only to be faced with failure once more.

Sucy grabbed the doorknob and twisted it forcefully multiple times but it also refused to turn.

"Why won't you open?!" She lunged forward and slammed her shoulder against the door in a desperate attempt to bust it open.

The door barely moved. She undeniably had underestimated her own strength and the sturdiness of the door because it hurt. Wincing from the impact, she is also sure that she might've pulled a muscle. Her lack of success left her with no other choice but think of using voodoo magic. But then, another thought came crashing in. She backed up slightly, Sucy steadied herself and raised a foot, prepared to kick the door down.

All of a sudden, the door swung open and Sucy found herself staring at the end of a knife, the edge of it barely brushing the tip of her nose. She flinched slightly, taken back by the unexpected surprise. Perplexed, she tore her eyes away from the bat, looked behind it and nearly choked.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Lotte demanded, her blue eyes flaring brightly.

"Uh…" Sucy blinked. She blinked several times more and then realized that the knife's sharp object is exactly half an inch away from her nose. She moved her gaze back onto Lotte and despite the current situation, she can't help but feel her chest flutter. "Lotte?"

"Sucy?"

"Y-Yeah." Sucy stammered. The knife in her face and it definitely was still terrifying.

Sensing her uneasiness, Lotte slowly lowered the blade. Eyebrow raised, she asks, "Not that I don't like seeing you, Sucy, but why the hell were you trying to break into my apartment?" Her tone is softer, less hostile.

"Uh…" Sucy quickly turns her head to the doorplate on the wall beside the door. "Since when do you live here?"

"Just two days ago. I found that the amenities here are far better than where I lived before."

Then, realization her Sucy hard all at once. Lotte might as well had stabbed her: she had been too caught up with her thoughts and had mistaken her neighbor's front door for her own. Instead of entering her flat room, she'd practically tried to break down Lotte's door.

Or more importantly, she had made a fool of herself in front of her in the absolutely worst way possible and will probably never ever redeem herself.

Horrified by her own imbecile actions, Sucy began stammering, "Shit, I'm so sorry, Lotte, I didn't—"

"If you wanted to visit, you could've just knocked, you know," Lotte said drily. A small smile is playing on her lips like she's finding Sucy's stuttering amusing.

"No, oh my god, Lotte, it was an accident! I didn't mean to- I mistook your door for my own. I swear that I—I'm such an idiot." She smacked her own forehead with the palm of her hand and groaned.

"I've been trying to tell you that this isn't your room, genius," Loa growled.

Lotte laughed softly, interrupting Sucy's rant. She noticed that Lotte's icy glare has softened tremendously and has been replaced by a bright sparkle. "It's alright. It was an accident, you didn't mean to do it. It's fine."

Sucy was utterly baffled. "You're not mad?" She asked, tentative. Lotte shrugged, her smile widening. "I mean, I'm definitely surprised—and a little amused—but no, I'm not really mad at you. I guess that if it was anyone else, I'd defend myself with this." She waved the knife. "But it's you, and I know that you'd never intend to do this on purpose. Besides, accidents happen."

"But—"

"It's perfectly okay, Sucy. Just go back and rest. My door is nothing compared to your health." Yanking the key out of her door with a little difficulty, Lotte reached over and took Sucy's hand before leading her towards her apartment.

Lotte's hand was warm and soft and Sucy can feel thousands of rainbow-colored butterflies fluttering in her stomach.

"She's bewitching you again," Loa whispered.

"What I'm doing is called reassurance," Lotte said, sharply. "Something I'm sure you haven't heard of."

The shorter girl unlocked Sucy's door and handed her back her key. "Take a hot bath, change your clothes, and go to bed early. I'll see you at school whenever, okay?" Lotte wrapped her arms around Sucy in a brief but warm hug and then proceeded to give her a swift kiss on the cheek.

All Sucy can do was a nod. Lotte seemed to have taken away her ability to speak.

Flashing her a little smile, one that made Sucy feel warm and fuzzy inside, Lotte waved goodbye and returned to her own apartment.

The sound of the door clicking shut snapped Sucy out of her daze. She still felt like an idiot.

She's been embarrassed enough for a lifetime.

A/N: sorry for the delayed chapter, I figured I would post it around this time. Happy New Year to Everyone!