It had been a while since that whole incident happened, but it refused to leave my mind.That stupid room. That stupid quiet. And her. The way she looked at me like I was something she wasn't supposed to want but couldn't stop reaching for anyway.
I couldn't get that kissing scene out of my head. Not the first kiss. Not the second one. Not the way she laughed after, warm and soft, like she had somehow cracked through the armor I swore no one could get past.
And it was pushing me back, slowing me down, dragging me off track from my plans. Every time I tried to think about the next target, the next move… My mind would wander back to her face inches from mine. Her hand on my cheek. Her breath mixing with mine.
It was annoying. It was distracting. It was dangerous.
And worst of all…
It was working. She was working her way inside my head, under my skin, into places nobody was ever supposed to reach.
I hated it. But I definitely, absolutely, completely couldn't let it get in the way of the plan… Not when the next step involved someone even higher on that list.
"Hey… you okay?"
She stepped into my room without knocking because of course she did and the moment I saw her face, I could tell she'd been worrying. Honestly, I didn't blame her. If I were her, I'd be worried about me too. I was pacing, thinking, overthinking… spiraling.
"Can you not," I snapped, rubbing my forehead as I forced myself to stop pacing.
She froze like I'd just slapped her with the words alone. A tiny flinch. Just enough to make guilt twist in my stomach, another feeling I wasn't supposed to have.
"Sorry," she said quietly as she sat at her desk, pulling out her homework like nothing was wrong. Her chair scraped softly against the floor, and then there was just silence, the kind that made the room feel smaller.
She kept her eyes on her papers, pen tapping once before she started writing. Meanwhile, I sat there staring at her back, annoyed at myself more than her.
I'd clearly been avoiding her since that day. I didn't want to get distracted again, not by her, not by the way she looked at me, not by the way she made me forget I had a plan in motion.
She shouldn't be the thing messing up my focus. But she was. And sitting there pretending to do homework wasn't helping me forget that.
"Why are you avoiding me?" she asked, turning her chair toward me. The wheels squeaked, and suddenly her full attention was on me, cornering me without even moving.
"I'm not avoiding you," I said quickly.
She raised a brow. I could practically feel her staring holes into the back of my head.
"I'm just…" I turned away, letting my eyes land on anything but her, my bed, the wall, the floor, the stupid file I still hadn't opened.
"…focused."
The word felt weak, flimsy, like even I didn't buy it. And judging by the way she went quiet, she didn't either.
"Really?" she shot back, and her voice wasn't angry just tired. Hurt. "Because ever since the day we kissed, you haven't spoken to me once. You've been avoiding every place you see me in."
Those words hit harder than I expected. I felt them in my chest, sharp and unwelcome.
"That is not true," I said, maybe a little too fast. Then I added, quieter, "But if you see it like that… then that's your problem."
The second it left my mouth, I regretted how cold it sounded.
She stared at me, and for a moment she didn't even blink. "You've been colder to me since, too," she said, and this time her voice wavered just slightly, like she hated admitting it.
This was exactly the problem.I didn't want her pulling me back into the feelings I'd been trying to cut out of myself.Avoiding her was supposed to make it fade, make it disappear but it wasn't working. Not even a little.
"I've always been cold to you," I said. "Why should it be any different now?"
She froze barely. Her jaw tightened, her eyes flickered for a second like my words reached deeper than she expected.
"I shouldn't have asked you that stupid question in that room," she murmured. "It was pointless."
It hurt more than it should have. Way more.
"Maybe it was," I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "I suggest you go back to just… watching me instead of liking me."
Before I said anything worse, I exhaled sharply. It sounded tired, even to me.
"You don't actually want me."
When I looked at her, my eyes were cold on purpose. The kind of cold that pushes people away. The kind meant to keep her safe… and keep my plan intact.
But for the first time, she didn't look scared of that coldness. She just looked hurt.
"If that's what you want, fine." Her voice was flat. The kind of calm that meant she'd already decided something. She didn't look at me anymore. Instead she pushed her chair back, stood up, and headed toward the door. I didn't even hear anger in her steps, just disappointment, which somehow hit worse.
She opened the door halfway, then paused with her hand still on the frame. "I'm gonna stay in Rosalie's room for a while," she said without turning around. "Since it clearly doesn't look like you want me here."
My chest tightened, but my mouth refused to move. And then she walked out completely this time. No hesitation. No second glance. Just gone.
The door clicked shut behind her, way too softly for the way it stabbed through the room.
I stayed frozen. The silence felt heavier than anything I'd ever caused on purpose. It pressed against the walls, crawling under my skin, suffocating. I hated it.
And worst of all… I hated that she thought I didn't want her here.
My fingers curled into fists before I could stop them. Damn it. This wasn't part of the plan. None of this was supposed to matter.
But somehow, her absence echoed louder than her presence ever did.
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, pacing once, twice. The room felt colder without her warmth, without her chatter, without her sharp eyes judging every suspicious move I made.
I sat on the edge of the bed, glancing at the door like it might magically open again.
"I'm sorry, but I need to finish my plan first" I said to no one this time but voice sounded really hurt.
even though lannie said she was going Rosalie's room but instead she went to her sisters room rei room. one knock, two knocks, on the the third knock she finally opened the door.
"took you long enough" lannie said and walked in.
Rei's room was darker than the others, blackout curtains half-drawn, soft music playing from a speaker, and the faint scent of citrus tea. It matched Rei perfectly: calm, quiet, a little intimidating without trying to be.
Rei raised an eyebrow as Lannie brushed past her.
"You don't usually barge in," Rei said, closing the door with her foot. "So it's either a crisis… or someone confessed to you."
Lannie rolled her eyes and dropped onto the edge of the bed. Her composure was slipping just enough for Rei to notice instantly.
"No one confessed," Lannie muttered.
Rei hummed. "So the crisis part."
Lannie didn't answer. Her hands were shaking in her lap, barely visible, but Rei caught it anyway.
"…What happened?" Rei asked, voice low, careful.
"She told me I should've just stuck to watching her instead of…" Lannie stopped herself, jaw tightening. "Instead of liking her."
Rei blinked once. Twice. "Oh."
"Yeah," Lannie said bitterly. "Oh."
Rei walked over and sat in the armchair across from her, elbows on her knees, studying her like she was a messy puzzle.
"And you didn't yell at her?"
"I didn't want to make it worse." Lannie rubbed her eyes with the heel of her hand. "She thinks I don't actually want her."
Rei's expression darkened. "That's ridiculous."
"She said the kiss was pointless." Lannie let out a breath that sounded too close to a sob. "And I believed her for a second."
Rei's voice softened not something she did often.
"Lannie. Look at me."
Lannie shook her head. Rei reached out, gently but firmly turning her face toward her.
"You care about her more than you want to admit," Rei said. "That doesn't make you weak."
Lannie's throat tightened. "Then why does it feel like it does?"
"Because you let the wrong person see a soft part of you," Rei answered. "And she didn't know what to do with it."
Silence.
Then finally. Lannie's voice, small. "…I shouldn't have kissed her."
"No," Rei said immediately. "You should've. You finally did something you wanted."
More tears gathered in Lannie's eyes, and Rei sighed softly, standing up to sit beside her this time.
"You can stay here tonight," Rei said. "No student council talk. No pretending you're fine."
That was the breaking point.
Lannie leaned into Rei's shoulder not crying loud, just quiet, shaking breaths.
Rei rested her chin on Lannie's hair.
"She hurt you," Rei whispered. "But I'm not going anywhere."
Back in the west courtyard, Yurie wasn't in her dorm anymore.
She stood behind the caution tape, arms crossed, watching students and staff rebuild the library piece by piece hammering, sweeping, replacing burnt sections with new ones. The smell of fresh wood and leftover ash mixed in the air.
The principal had ordered her here as "punishment." Supervision. Labor. Observation.
As if putting her in front of the damage would make her feel guilt.
It didn't. But it did make her think.
She leaned against a tree, expression unreadable as always, eyes locked on the chaos she caused. From the outside, she looked bored, annoyed, even.
Inside, her thoughts were chewing her alive.
She's really not coming back to the room. She said she'd stay with Rosalie… but she didn't even text me. Good. This is good. Distractions gone. Feelings gone.
The hammering got louder. Someone dropped a stack of planks.Yurie didn't even flinch.
"Yurie," a teacher snapped from across the courtyard. "Quit spacing out and help carry the new beams."
She pushed off the tree, picking up one end of the heavy wood without a word, letting the weight bite into her palms.
I chose this. Pain is easier than thinking about her.
A first-year whispered to another, too loud. "Isn't she the one who burned this place down?"
Yurie shot them a look that made them shut up instantly.
When the beam was finally set down, she straightened up and wiped the sweat from her cheek, annoyed at everything, the work, the staring, the noise.
And then her mind slipped again.
Right back to Lannie's face when she walked out.
Right back to those words "It clearly doesn't look like you want me here."
Yurie clenched her jaw hard enough to ache. She shoved her hands into her pockets and walked to the far end of the site, anywhere away from people.
Anywhere she could breathe. But even from this distance, she kept glancing toward the path that led to the dorm building.
Waiting.
Even though she told herself she wasn't. Even though she told herself she didn't care.
as I was getting air as the world around me was crumbling she spotted someone axel Irwin. number five in rank of the student council.
He was staring at me. Still staring. Did he need something? Because I definitely didn't need him walking over here—
Too late. He started coming toward me anyway.
Axel Irwin. Calm. Quiet. Observant. Exactly the type I didn't want sniffing around me right now.
"You look… different," he said as soon as he was close enough. "For someone who claims not to need emotion."
I scoffed. "And what is a model student like you doing talking to a troublemaker like me?"
He didn't flinch. "Our president was crying earlier."
My heartbeat stopped.
Crying?
"But she only told Rei," he continued, "and she refuses to say anything to the rest of us."
…What?
I thought she was with Rosalie. Why would she go to Rei? And why the hell was she crying?
I kept my face unreadable. "What does that have to do with me?" My voice sounded like I didn't care at all.
I did. And that was the problem.
Axel watched me carefully. Too carefully. "I thought you knew something," he said.
"We barely talked these last few days." True. Because I avoided her like she was the last piece of humanity I couldn't afford to touch.
Axel didn't look convinced.
"Maybe," he said slowly, "but Lannie doesn't cry. Ever. Something happened. And everything lately seems to lead back to you."
His eyes narrowed.
"Do you want to tell me what that something is?"
His tone wasn't accusing.
"You think I know?" he snapped, not angry—worried. "I told you she wouldn't tell us anything."
His voice cracked slightly at the end. Great. He was genuinely stressed about his precious president.
"It's not like I care anyway." The words came out smooth, cold, perfect.
I turned to walk away because this conversation was already too close to the truth until he said something that made me freeze mid-step.
"You should care," Axel said quietly, "because the only thing she did say… was to not do anything to you."
My stomach dropped.
He wasn't lying. He wasn't smirking. He wasn't trying to trap me. He was confused. Trying to understand why the president, his president would defend someone like me.
He continued, slower this time, "Lannie told Rei, 'Don't let them touch her. Don't let them punish her.' That's all she gave us."
…She said that?
I kept my back to him so he couldn't see my expression shift because it did. More than I wanted it to.
"So?" I forced out. "That's her problem, not mine."
But my voice wasn't as sharp as before. It dipped. Just enough for Axel to notice.
"Yurie," he said, "whatever happened between you two… it's hurting her."
"That's really not my problem," I said, turning just enough so he could hear the finality in my voice. "I told her a long time ago to stay out of my business. She didn't listen."
Axel frowned, like he couldn't understand how someone could say something like that so easily.
"You don't mean that," he muttered under his breath.
"I do." And I hated how natural the lie sounded coming out of my mouth.
"She's your responsibility," I added. "Whatever she's feeling is on her, not me."
Axel's jaw tightened. He looked like he wanted to argue, but he didn't. Instead, he exhaled sharply and said "You know, for someone who acts like nothing gets to them… you really don't hide it as well as you think."
My heart skipped. I didn't move. Didn't breathe.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked quietly.
Axel shrugged, stepping back. "She's hurting. And you—" he pointed lightly toward me "—you look guilty."
He walked away before I could respond. Before I could even deny it.
Before I could walk away, my phone buzzed.I pulled it out, expecting something irrelevant, maybe another pointless school-wide announcement.
But it was her.
Lannie:"Don't bother looking for me. I'm with Rei. And if Axel asked you anything, don't worry about it."
I stared at the screen. The message was short, clean, polite. It didn't sound like her at all. It sounded like someone trying to sound fine.
I hated that I recognized it.
My thumb hovered over the keyboard. I could've said okay. I could've lied and said I wasn't planning to. I could've asked if she was alright.
Instead, I locked the phone and shoved it into my pocket.
Seen. Left exactly like that.
If she didn't want me to look for her, fine. If she wanted to hide, fine. If she wanted to be someone else's problem, even better.
After my punishment was finally over, I still didn't go to my dorm. I wandered outside instead, pretending I was looking for peace when really peace had never been something I was allowed to have. peace was what my parents wanted. What they would've pushed me toward. I missed them. missed the way they always knew how to fix every mess I threw myself into.
I was staring off when Axel showed up again, coming around the corner like some annoying reminder I didn't ask for.
"Seriously, what do you want?" My voice sounded tired even to me.
"Calm down," he said. "I'm not here to interrogate you."
"Then please go away. I just want to be by myself right now." And for someone like me, the girl everyone thought needed constant surveillance so she wouldn't burn the school down again he knew damn well what it meant when I asked to be alone.
But he didn't leave. Of course he didn't.
"Why is it," he said quietly, "that your mind is cold… but your heart isn't?" I looked at him, annoyed that he wasn't wrong. He looked like he wanted to comfort me, which made it worse.
"If you're trying to comfort me, you've got the wrong person," I muttered. "Go comfort your president instead."
"That's exactly what I mean." He stepped closer, not threatening he was just… there. "Your mind is telling you to do all this dangerous shit, but your heart? Your heart just wants peace."
"You don't know me." My voice came out flat, colder than I meant it to.
"I don't," Axel admitted, "but I know Lannie. And your heart did care for her."
I clenched my jaw. Of all the things he could've said. He chose that.
"You don't know what you're talking about."
"I'm not blind, Yurie," he said, folding his arms. "You push her away, but the way you look at her? The way you react when she's involved? That's not nothing."
I looked away sharply, refusing to let him see anything in my face. "I told her to stay out of my business," I muttered. "She didn't listen."
"And that bothered you," he said gently. "Not because she ignored you… but because she stayed." I swallowed hard, ignoring the sting in my chest.
"You think that means something?" I said dryly.
"I think it means everything."
"You don't know shit, Axel," I snapped, sharper than before. "I'm doing everything for myself, not for her. And if she's upset about what I said, again that's exactly her problem."
Axel didn't flinch. He just studied me like he was trying to peel me apart layer by layer. "You can deny it all you want," he said quietly, "but I think she cracked your mask enough for you to be scared of the outcome."
My fists tightened at my sides. "You think I'm scared?"
"I think," he said, stepping just close enough to look me square in the eyes, "that you're terrified. Not of the student council. Not of getting caught. Not even of your plan."
He tilted his head slightly.
"I think you're terrified of what she makes you feel."
My breath caught for half a second just enough for me to hate myself for it.
Axel noticed.
"And you can deny that too," Axel said, voice steady but low, "but just know, the more you hurt the ones trying to help you, the more it'll come back ten times worse on your part."
His words hit the air like a warning, but I refused to let them land anywhere near me. "I honestly don't care what you have to say," I muttered, looking away, arms crossed.
"But you do," he replied immediately. "If you didn't, you would've walked away already." I clenched my jaw. Damn him.
Axel sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You're not a monster, Yurie. You act like you are because it's easier. But the moment someone gets close, you panic and push them out. That's not evil. that's fear."
I didn't respond. Couldn't. Not without something breaking.
Axel stepped back a little. "Just think about it, okay? Before you destroy more than you intended to."
He turned to leave, but not before adding "And for what it's worth… she's still waiting for you."
"Tell her I'm not coming. Waiting for me is pointless."
Axel didn't argue this time. He just stared long enough for me to feel something tighten in my chest then turned and walked off. Good. I didn't need another lecture.
I shoved my hands into my pockets and started toward the dorms, steps slow, heavy. My punishment was over but I still couldn't bring myself to go back. The hallways felt too loud, too controlled, too full of eyes waiting for me to slip. I just wanted quiet.
I was halfway across the courtyard when a deep BOOM ripped through the air.
The ground vibrated under my shoes. A hot pulse of light flashed somewhere behind the dorm building. Students screamed, some ducked, some ran, but my body froze first like the sound punched straight through my spine.
Then I turned.
Smoke. thick, black, rising fast was pouring out of the windows of my dorm.
For a second I actually forgot how to breathe.
"No… no, no—" My voice cracked.
Flames licked up the side of the building, climbing higher, curling into the air like hungry fingers. People rushed around me, some yelling for teachers, others trying to record it because this school was full of idiots, but all I could do was stare.
My dorm. My dorm was the one that blew up.
A flash of realization, sharp and cold, sliced right through my chest.
This wasn't random.
My feet finally moved, carrying me forward even though I didn't remember deciding to run. The closer I got, the hotter the air burned, the louder the crackling grew, the more everything inside me twisted.
Someone grabbed my arm, maybe trying to stop me from getting closer but I ripped away without looking.
My bed, my bag, my notebooks, my everything… gone.
"My parents' files…" The words scraped out of my throat before I could stop them. "They were in there… I never— I never even got the chance to open them."
The fire kept burning, swallowing the last pieces of the only thing that connected me to them. Everything I'd done, every risk, every step of the plan it all crumbled with the cracking wood and collapsing ceiling.
My vision blurred for a second. Not tears. Just shock. That's what I told myself. "My plan… it just—" I couldn't finish. My chest tightened until breathing felt like punishment. "Everything I did was for nothing."
"Yurie…" Axel said quietly.
I didn't look at him. I couldn't. I stared at the flames like maybe, if I focused hard enough, time would rewind. Like maybe the fire would spit out the files untouched.
But it wouldn't. Nothing would.
"Why…" It came out again, even quieter. Broken in a way I never allowed myself to be around anyone. My voice shook humiliatingly. I sounded like someone who had finally run out of ways to be strong.
The heat stung my eyes but it wasn't the fire making them burn.
Axel stepped closer, but not enough to touch me he must've known that would be the wrong move.
"Whoever did this," he said slowly, "they knew exactly what they were destroying."
A laugh almost slipped out, bitter, hollow.
"No," I whispered. "They didn't know. They couldn't. They just wanted to hurt me."
And they did. More than they'd ever understand.
My mask cold, flawless, unbreakable felt like it was cracking down the middle, pieces crumbling away faster than I could rebuild.
"I can't…" I swallowed hard, forcing the words out. "I can't fix this. I can't… restart all of it again."
The fire popped loudly, mockingly.
Axel's expression softened, almost pained. "We'll figure something out."
I shook my head, eyes locked on the burning remains of my room.
"No," I whispered, barely breathing the word. "You can't fix something that's already gone."
I walked away slow at first, then faster anything to get the flames out of my sight. But the moment I turned my back, the tears finally spilled over.
I wiped them away angrily, but they kept coming, slipping past my fingers and down my cheeks. I hated crying. Hated how weak it made me feel. My parents always told me crying didn't make me weak, that it was okay to feel things, that they'd always be there to help me through it.
But they weren't here anymore. And no one else could take their place.
My breath hitched as another tear slid down. I clenched my fists until my nails dug into my palms, forcing myself to keep walking, keep breathing, keep pretending I could still hold myself together.
"I'm alone," I whispered to the empty hallway. The words echoed back at me, hollow and true. "There's no one left to help me."
No amount of courage, chaos, or cold facade could fix the ache clawing at my chest.
No one could stop this hurt.
No one could bring back my parents.
And no one absolutely no one could make this pain smaller.
I leaned against the wall, sliding down until I was sitting on the floor, pulling my knees close just to feel something solid. Tears dripped onto my uniform, quiet and constant.
For the first time in years, I wasn't the girl who broke rules, or started fights, or walked with her head high like she feared nothing.
For the first time, I was just a girl who lost everything.
A girl crying alone in a hallway where no one could see her fall apart.
"Yurie?"
Her voice cracked a little when she said my name. I didn't have to look up to know it was her. Lannie was the only one who said my name like it mattered.
She rushed over, kneeling in front of me. "Oh my God… are you okay? Are you—Yurie, are you crying?"
Of course she noticed. Of course she cared. Even after everything I said to her. Even after I pushed her away. She still cared enough to say my name like it hurt her to see me like this.
I tried to wipe my face, but the tears kept coming on their own. "Lannie… it's all gone."
She froze, worry tightening her expression. "What is?"
"My room. My files." My voice cracked, the words shaking as they came out. "Everything. I can't fix any of it. Everything I worked for. I can't fix it."
I didn't recognize my own voice. It sounded small. Broken. I never sounded broken.
Lannie's breath caught. "Yurie… hey, look at me," she whispered, soft but desperate.
I shook my head, staring at the floor. "I can't. I can't fix it, Lannie. It's gone and I can't get it back—"
She reached out and hesitated for half a second like she didn't know if she was allowed to touch me. Then she gently placed her hand on my cheek, wiping a tear I didn't even feel fall.
"Yurie… you don't have to fix it alone."
Her voice was trembling now, just barely, the way it did when she was scared.
"I don't care what you said before," she continued. "I don't care how cold you act. I don't care how much you pretend you don't want anyone because I'm still here."
I swallowed hard as something twisted painfully in my chest.
"You shouldn't be," I whispered. "You shouldn't want to be."
"But I do," she whispered back. "And I'm not leaving you."
About two days later, me and Lannie finally got assigned new dorms. Our old one had burned down, and for once, the teachers didn't look at me like the walking disaster they usually saw. They knew I hadn't been anywhere near the building when it happened.
I was unpacking what little I had left when Lannie turned toward me. "Hey, um… do you want any—"
Before she could finish, there was a knock on the door. We both turned.
Lannie opened it only halfway before Axel peeked his head in.
"Hey," he said lightly, "I wanted to check up on you guys."
He gave Lannie a quick, polite smile… then stepped a little closer toward me.
Before he could take another inch, Lannie's arm shot out in front of him like a barrier. Her voice was calm, but the warning was clear. "Not too close."
Axel blinked. "Eh? what?"
I almost let out a giggle. Almost.The way her expression didn't change, the way she blocked him like he was some threat…
Yep. Jealous.
She must've heard from someone how Axel had gotten "close" to me while checking on me awhile ago.
Axel looked between us, confused. "I was just asking if she was okay."
"And you can," Lannie answered, still not moving her arm. "From there."
Axel sighed. "Okay, okay relax, President. I'm not trying to steal your girlfriend."
her face heated up at that moment.
"She's NOT—" Lannie started, then shut her mouth so fast it was almost audible.
I raised a brow at her. Interesting.
Axel just smirked like he discovered gold. "Uh-huh. Anyway, if you two need anything, I'm in my dorm."
He stepped back, giving me one last glance that definitely wasn't helping.
Lannie immediately shut the door. Hard.
She turned around, her face still slightly red.
"…don't look at me like that," she muttered.
I crossed my arms, leaning against the wall. "Like what?"
"You know what."
"Jealous?"
She threw a pillow at me.
"Hey, um… I'm sorry for what I said. I know it hurt you. A ton," I muttered.
"Oh, look at the troublemaker apologizing," Lannie teased, giggling. "But… I forgive you."
"Good." I stood up.
She barely had time to react before I stepped closer, close enough that her back met the wall and she realized she was cornered. Her breath hitched, eyes widening just a little.
"Because," I said quietly, tilting my head as I closed the distance, "there are other things I want to do to you."
Her face flushed instantly.
I smiled slow, intentional and gently cupped her face with my hands, tilting it up so she had no choice but to look at me.
Her heartbeat was practically echoing off the walls.
Before she could react any further, I closed the last inch between us and kissed her quick, decisive, the kind of kiss that leaves no room for doubt or hesitation.
She froze for half a heartbeat… then melted into it, her hands instinctively gripping the front of my shirt like she was afraid I'd pull away too soon.
When I finally did break the kiss, her eyes were wide, breath uneven, cheeks warm. "…you really can't warn a person first, can you?" she whispered, trying, failing to hide the smile tugging at her lips.
And I just smirked, thumb brushing lightly across her cheek.
"Why would I ruin the surprise?"
before we went back to kissing we heard a knock on the door and it was axel again. "can I come in or what?"
I looked back to lannie, my lips still red. when she went to open the door my smirk didn't erase from my face. "come in" lannie said clearly annoyed.
Axel stepped inside like he owned the place, but the second his eyes landed on me and also on my still-red lips he stopped mid-stride.
"…Huh."
He didn't say anything else. Just stared. Then stared at Lannie. Then stared at the space between us, like he was connecting every single dot.
Lannie crossed her arms hard. "Do you need something, Axel?"
"Uh… yeah." He blinked, still suspicious. "I forgot to ask if you two were settling in your new dorms but… clearly you're both… busy."
I raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing," he said, a little too fast, eyes darting to my mouth again.
Lannie stepped in front of me like she was guarding a treasure and snapped,
"Stop looking at her like that."
Axel put his hands up in surrender. "I wasn't—"
"You were," she said.
I tried so hard not to laugh, but the smirk was glued to my face.
He cleared his throat. "Anyway… president, we have a council meeting in twenty minutes. Rosalie said she'd drag you by your hair if you're late again."
Lannie groaned, loudly. "Fine."
Axel nodded, but before leaving he gave me one last extremely suspicious look.Then he whispered to Lannie way too loudly.
"You know this is against the rules, right?"
Lannie kicked him out and slammed the door so hard the frame rattled.
Then she turned around, cheeks scarlet, eyes narrowed.
"…Stop smirking."
I only smirked harder.
I closed the distance slowly, savoring the way her breath hitched the closer I got. My hand slid up to her cheek again, thumb brushing over her warm skin.
"Where were we?" I murmured.
Her voice came out soft, breathless, "Somewhere…" That was enough.
I smirked and tilted her face up just a little more before pressing my lips back to hers. She kissed me harder this time, like she'd been waiting for it, like Axel interrupting us only made her want it more.
Her hands curled into the front of my shirt, pulling me closer like she didn't care about rules, council meetings, or the entire school.
Just me. And I deepened the kiss, letting myself forget everything else too even if only for this moment.
She pulled away just enough for our lips to barely separate, her breath still warm against my mouth.
"I really have to get to that meeting though," she whispered, sounding like she hated admitting it.
I didn't move my hand from her cheek. Didn't step back. Didn't even try to hide the annoyed sigh that slipped out of me.
"Do you?" I murmured, brows raising like I was daring her to say yes.
Her eyes flicked to my lips, then to my eyes again hesitating, wanting.
"I'm the president," she said, trying to sound responsible but failing miserably. "If I don't show up they're gonna think something's wrong."
I leaned in just enough for my nose to brush against hers. "Something is wrong," I said quietly. "You pulled away."
she looked at me like she wanted more. exactly what I wanted.
She swallowed. "Yurie… I'll be late."
"So go," I teased, though my fingers trailed down her jaw slowly, deliberately. "But don't think I'm done with you."
Her face turned red instantly, and she stepped back… reluctantly.
"I won't," she whispered, then grabbed her folder and practically ran out the door before she could change her mind.
I smirked to myself. Meeting or not. she'd be thinking about that kiss the whole time.
When Lannie stepped into the council chamber, the room fell into a sharp, heavy silence. Every council member stared at her with a mix of confusion, suspicion, and impatience but Lannie kept her spine straight, her expression perfectly composed, as if she hadn't just been pinned against a dorm wall with Yurie's lips on hers.
Rosalie tapped her pen irritably against her clipboard. "President, you're late."
"I had to take care of something," Lannie replied calmly, sliding into her seat. Her voice didn't waver, even though her heartbeat was still embarrassingly loud in her ears. "Now what's on today's agenda?"
Axel crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair with a pointed look. "Your old dorm burning down and figuring out who did it." His eyes scanned her face for a reaction. "We know it's not Yurie since she was nowhere near the building."
Rosalie adjusted her glasses. "Security footage confirms that. The flames started in the west wing at 6:13 p.m. Yurie was still on punishment for what happened to the library around that time"
The entire council turned to Lannie again, waiting almost expecting her to panic. But she didn't. If anything, her face grew unreadable, colder, more like the Lannie Ravens they were all used to.
"Has the cause been confirmed?" she asked, fingers laced neatly on the table.
"Not yet." Axel leaned forward. "But whoever did it knew the blind spot in the cameras."
"That," Rosalie added, "doesn't narrow it down. Half this school knows about that blind spot."
A quiet murmur ran through the council.
after that meeting lannie went back to her dorm then her memory of that kiss came back she knew if she opened that door something was bound to happen. she got to the dorm and opened the door.
Lannie stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. She barely had time to breathe before she heard Yurie's voice low, teasing, dangerous in that way only she could pull off.
"I'm back," Lannie said, trying to sound neutral… and failing.
Yurie didn't even pretend not to notice. She leaned back on the edge of her bed, arms crossed, eyes locked on Lannie like she'd been waiting the entire time.
"Took you long enough." Her smirk grew slow and deliberate. "You know I wasn't done with you."
Lannie's breath caught.
She knew it Yurie knew she knew it. That comment was intentional. That tone was intentional. And the way Yurie looked at her… like she was the only thing in the room worth paying attention to…
That was intentional too.
"You—" Lannie cleared her throat, trying to gather her dignity. "We… can't just pick up where we left off. I have responsibilities."
"Mhm," Yurie hummed, hopping off the bed and walking toward her with lazy confidence. "And I'm sure all those responsibilities thought about you as much as I did while you were gone."
Lannie's face flushed instantly.
Yurie stepped close. Too close.
"So tell me, President," she murmured, eyes flicking to Lannie's lips, "do your responsibilities kiss you back?"
Lannie exhaled shakily, her composure crumbling. "Yurie… knock it off."
But her voice wasn't firm at all. Yurie smiled because she heard it, heard the weakness, the want.
"Yeah," Yurie whispered, tilting Lannie's chin up with two fingers. "Didn't think so."