After we all set up our rooms, my mom had dropped us off some homemade burritos and freshly made lemonade. Mania had left by then, we heard her leaving while we were all in the kitchen. My mother seemed disappointed she couldn't meet Mania King. She says the King family ancestors were very powerful elementalists who could even use multiple elements. They also are said to practice magic, being the eyes and ears of darkness. Just like how those who are the eyes and ears of Light are very into science. I don't buy any of it, but if it is actually true then holy shit are they not to be messed with.
We end up sitting in the kitchen, all talking to one another, greeting Elena as she comes in to make herself a sandwich before heading back to her room to unpack her stuff. By now it's eleven am, and we have an hour before we have to be back at the academy. An announcement was made via email, and according to Mr. King, classes after 12pm are optional for the next two days. We have settling in to do, and teachers to meet. Wednesday will be our first real lessons, starting at 9 and finishing at 4. There are classes at 5 but apparently, those are extra credit classes.
Yue and Alice have both said they want to take all the optional classes so they can get through the hard part as quickly as possible. Jason and Nick are on a video call to us, talking with us as well. Their dorm isn't nearly as nice, but then again their boys. They will probably take the extra classes, but that's because optional classes are worth 2 points rather than 1. That means they can sleep in longer and not have to attend as many lessons, but I have no doubt that at least Nick will pass with flying colours, if a little later than the rest of us because he wants to stay in bed. Jason will probably struggle a little, but Cleo will attend as few classes as physically possible till she has to sit her exams. Yue is hoping to motivate Cleo at least a little though so that she at least has decent attendance unlike in highschool.
"Like I said, Cleo. You need 48 hours to graduate any classes other than Drama, Art, Music and IT... You need 12 to graduate any of those, should you want to but obviously the final project will take time and then everything has to be graded. IT classes start after you graduate a class, and life skills classes aren't graded. There are optional classes you can take to graduate early or make up for absences and stuff" And Cleo is flipping through her textbooks, trying to find a way to graduate as early as possible. She still has no idea what she wants to do in the future, but she knows she needs to pass.
Cleo suddenly gives up and slams her hands on the table "What I want to know is what the hell our creepy roommate was talking about when she said kids have been going missing! Who's gone? Why are they trying to hide it from us?! Where are they going? Why are their families not freaking out?!" She's wound up over something, but this always happens. I don't believe it's true but Cleo usually lets things go after a few weeks so I'll either let her tire herself out or investigate and take our concerns to the appropriate members of authority.
Yue excuses herself to use the bathroom, and we hear the front door open. Next thing I know I have a Snapchat of Mania and Cye making out in our hallway. I can hear the thudding of the bed against the wall too. Talk about rubbing it in... And ten minutes later, I can hear the door open. During this period of time, Yue, Alice, and Cleo are all awkwardly silent. Now sitting beside me, Yue glances over at me and puts her hand on mine gently. Cleo bolts up and is about to pound the door, having already started a live stream. Alice is just really confused at this point, not sure what to do other than make us all some herbal tea. Alice is a more affectionate person but knows I'm a little less ok with hugs than she is. So, when she wants to hug me she makes my favourite kind of tea instead.
Yue has the livestream loaded on her phone and I've decided to watch. Cye's dark brown hair is messed up, and his neck is covered in bite marks. His clothes are shrivled and hanging off him... He's six foot five, and Mania pokes her head out, mascara running down her cheeks, eyes wild and hair messed up. It's been removed from how she put it up before and just hangs down in front of her. It reaches her knees... Jeez, that must be a lot of work. She wears nothing but an oversized black shirt and combat boots, and upon noticing the camera, she gives us a peace sign. Now she's not covered in black clothing we can see that from the neck down she's covered in cuts, scrapes and bruises.
These bruises are deep and purple, but there are old ones too. Greens and yellows litter her skin. Scars of all kinds on her arms and legs, and under all that makeup I can see a long scar across the length of her cheek and a deep bruise in her jaw. She waves Cye out and glances over at Cleo. The tall man she has just shoved out of her room looks surprised. I know he's not used to girls wanting rid of him. He's so dreamy after all. I can also see that she has a tattoo on her outer thigh of a switch blade. Huh.
It's kind of funny how my new roommate just slept with my ex and yet I find myself wondering how she got a tattoo so soon.
And the nerve of this guy? He pulls out his phone and texts me to tell me he misses me. I've had enough of the passive-aggressive bullshit so I get up and step out into the hallway to face the man who broke my heart "You fuck my roommate and then seriously have the nerve to tell me you miss me?!" Mania steps out into the hallway and looks between me and him and can see I'm more than a little pissed. After leaning up against the now closed door, she smirks at me.
Oh god I want to hit her. "At least Mania puts out" and I can feel my blood starting to boil "I told you, you were so pushy all the time that I didn't want to" Mania glances over at me with what I think is mock sympathy. It hits hard. "And I told you I can't wait that long!" Mania steps forward at this point and looks over at me "He's your ex? What else has he done then? Hey, ginger! Block his exit. I wanna hear this shit" Alice is startled but does as this woman asks. "My name is Alice!" And the scary goth shrugs at her "Nice to meet you, Alice. I'm Mania Carmilla King, and right now I'm trying to figure out if this dude is as big of an asshole as he seems to be. Now tell me, pinky, what else did this dude do to break your heart?" Her voice started loud, but did actually get softer as she turned to look at me. I'm still in shock. I feel angry and numb and cold and upset and yet I still don't manage to speak.
Cye is silent. Like a deer in the headlights, seemingly trying to plot his escape. But there is none. Alice is starting to get pissed off now the confusion is wearing away. "You fuckin broke her heart?! I thought you split up because you wanted some time to deal with your shit at home! But Yue just told me there isn't any shit going on at home other than what you cause, ya fuckin waste of space!" Cleo has already decided to throw hands upon hearing Alice lose her shit, letting out what I assume is her attempt at a war cry.
She goes for Mania, but the scary woman turns Cleo's body and her hand slaps Cye on his chest and then Mania steps forward with a sigh when Cye tries to strike Cleo in return "You wanna fight, boy? I'm more your size than this feisty little mama is, and I promise you I can fight just as good as I can fuck. Go on, Pinky. Talk"
I take a moment to process it all, only now realizing that I'm crying. "I wouldn't sleep with him, so he cheated on me... And then he got all psycho and wanted me to kill one of my best friends just because he's a guy and is my friend..." Yue now joins us too, blocking his way into the kitchen too. So five girls have one man cornered. He's crying too, but I know those are fake.
Mania slaps this man right across the face, those green eyes seeming to pierce his very soul as she forces him to look her in the eyes. Without heels or platforms, this girl seriously is six foot three. "Chen, c'mon bro. I thought we were bros!" And Yue seems to take a minute to step back at Cye's nerve. The bruised beauty queen slaps him again, this time hard enough for this man to stumble backwards "Honey, what's your name?" She asks my tiny white haired friend and Yue obviously gives her an answer. "Her name is Yue, dude. She's a she. A lady. A very pretty one at that. And you wanna disrespect her like that? No way in hell"
Cye drops to his knees and looks up at me, still crying though I assume it's helped by the red handprints on his cheeks. "Please... I love you. Alicia was a mistake. I was stupid and horny, and- I- Can we please just talk? You and me? At least for old times sake" my savior steps in once more "Hang on, she wasn't finished" I'm not sure how she knew that, but everybody is staring at me now and I can't help but sob.
Taking a few deep breaths, I look down at Cye and nod. I owe it to him to at least hear him out "Sure... We can talk in private. Can we go for a walk?" I ask him softly and he nods. Immediately Cye is on his feet and offers me his hand.
I don't take it, but he's kind enough to let me go first. All the girls in the hallway are pissed at him but I don't look back. My phone is in my jacket pocket so I'll be fine. I wave them off and all except Mania head into Cleo's room. Cleo is still in amazement at the strength of just one woman, and everybody wants to process what the hell just happened.
Cye tries to take my hand but I don't take it and as we're getting into the elevator to go down to the ground floor, I can't help but want to scream.
Cye hurt me really badly, but that doesn't mean he deserved what happened in the hallway. He got hurt. It's my fault. I can at least talk with him and be civil while I set boundaries.
The elevator takes us down far too slowly but not once does he even look at me. What is going through his head? What the fuck is going on?
But we step outside and Cye leads me off to the side where he leans up against the wall and motions me closer.
I stand arms length away, crossing my arms and waiting for an explanation. "Maya, I know I hurt you. And I was more than a little psycho. I get that. But since then I've had therapy. I know that what I did was wrong. I don't want to be without you, Maya. No no... I fucking love you, baby girl. You're not yourself either. I miss your long hair... Can we at least try and be friends for a while?"
He seems sincere enough. I suppose I could at least try and be friends with him. It will make things a hell of a lot less awkward... "What about Alicia?" Cye tilts his head with confusion at that. I've always been able to read him like a book. I know he can't fake it and he knows that too. "Who's Alicia?" really dude? "Alicia. Alicia Townsgate. The girl you cheated on me with. You admitted it after sleeping with my roommate. You told me that Alicia was a mistake"
He tilts his head and his hand drifts to his neck to rub the nape of it, maybe in some vain hope to make himself remember something or maybe just because he's internally panicking? Or this is all just one very good bluff "wha... Who's Alicia? I seriously don't know who that is, Maya. And I- I get it if you don't believe me but I don't know anybody called Alicia Townsgate. Hell, I don't even know who your roommate is" there's this look in his eyes. He's at least a little afraid. I'm confused and so is he. He seriously doesn't remember Mania? "Yeah... My roommate, Mania King" his eyes widen upon hearing that name "I slept with Mania King? Holy shit... Maya, I gotta tell you, I really don't remember! If I had known-"
I cut him off. He's being genuine and I grab his wrist to feel his pulse. It's slightly elevated but he doesn't seem nervous about me checking so I assume it's just anxiety "What did you take? Ketamine? Xanax?" he shakes his head " Nothing, I swear! Maya, I'm willing to go get tested. I'm not high. I haven't taken anything other than a tiny line of coke at a party three months ago" He is a little frantic. I'm only slightly suspicious. He may be a great liar but I know his tell.
I always beat him at poker for the same reason. He bites the inside of his cheek when he lies. "Alright... Have you hit your head recently then or something?" he shakes his head at my question, the hand on his neck moving to run through his hair "I must have... I can't explain why I don't remember a whole person other than I must have hit my head pretty hard. I can't even remember what she looks like..."
It's weird. I'll keep quiet about this for now, the last thing I want is to make Cleo go even deeper off into her conspiracy, though I do think she would make an amazing journalist.
"...Alright, we can be friends. Just- No touching me unless you absolutely have to. None of that possessive bullshit either. I don't belong to you anymore" he nods in response as he brings his arms to rest by his sides "Of course! Just friends. No touching, no possessiveness"
Wow. He really has changed. Therapy must have done him some good. "And uh... Before I go, I'm not sure if you'll get them but a lot of people I know have recently been having horrible nightmares. Just watch out And take care, ok? I'll see you around" he raises his hand as a little goodbye and I return it before heading back up to my dorm.
Maybe there's hope for us after all. He's such a sweet guy deep down... He just has some serious control issues.