Inside the living room area of Dia and Lisa's dorm, sitting on the white plush couch with checkered print pillows sat the two best friends, while Alice occupied the love sofa.
"So this party... are you really going?" The tallest of the three asked their auburn-haired friend. The dorm had as much space as one would expect from a two-room apartment. Furnished with the basic necessities. Simple and comfy with the walls a mixture of white and pale pink. On the white coffee table, an unfolded sheet of parchment paper rest, covered in old cursive writing.
"Refusing is futile. I gotta go, or I'll only make things worse for myself. Hopefully, what awaits me isn't too bad." Alice's voice lacked confidence, eyes glued to the letter.
"That's it! We're tagging along with you!" Lisa stood on her feet.
"Huh? Wait, I can't just have you guys tag along! What if they do something dirty? Knowing Sarah, she's definitely got something evil planned for me, which is why I can't let you guys get involved!" Alice in good faith couldn't allow the two girls to be involved in her mess.
"Alice, we just can't turn a blind eye to something like this! You are a good person, and we can't just stand by and do nothing while you're bullied. So whether you like it or not, we're coming!" Dia's display of bravery surprised Alice.
A light-hearted laugh came from Lisa, filled with amusement and pride. "My Dia may be shy, but she's also got guts!"
"While I appreciate the gesture, I can not in good faith allow you to tag along, but something in my guts tells me no matter how much I refuse, nothing is going to stop you two."
"Correct!" confirmed the two girls as Alice's shoulders slumped in defeat.
"So when does this party take place?" asked Lisa. Picking up the letter, Alice searched for the date and time.
"Tonight at eight, and I believe this ticket is key to getting inside." Inside the letter was an old school move ticket with Alice's name printed on the front.
"It also says the theme is Gothic Glam!" Leaning against Alice's shoulders, Dia spotted this detail in the letter.
"So it's official! Girls, we're crashing a party tonight!" excitedly exclaimed Lisa, only for Alice to put a damper on her excitement.
"Technically, I was invited. You two are the crashers." She pointed at Dia and Lisa.
"Alice, why you gotta ruin my fun?"
"Hey, I'm just stating a fact!"
--
Inside the vast school library, Dia had mistakenly fallen asleep. In her dream, the skies were dark, and cold winds brushed against her cheeks as she ran for dear life. The only light source she had came from the half-moon that illuminated the giant maze garden. Chasing after the terrified girl was scary-looking shadows with bat wings. Pushing her feet to move forward, she stumbled inside a greenhouse with glass walls and saw nothing but rhododendron in bloom.
Trying to catch her breath, Dia felt her heart was about to beat out of her chest. The palms of her hands were sweaty and damp, eyes searching the building. Desperate to find a safe place to hide, when the scene in front of her changed. Dia saw the silhouette of a woman that looked oddly familiar, wielding a long blade sword, gliding through the air with grace, fighting against a scary-looking shadow.
The girl put on a brave fight, but the shadow still overpowered her, embedding its long blade-like claws deep into the girl's arm and grinned wickedly when she screamed in pain.
"What a sweet sound." The voice of the shadow was that of a man. A grasp escaped Dia's throat when she watched the shadow rip its claws from the girl's arm. Turning its head towards her, she felt her heart pound when those blood-red eyes gleamed evilly, triggering old memories that escaped from their seal.
"You're next!" The shadow swooped at Dia.
"NO!" Dia awoke with a scream. The terror in her eyes soon disappeared when noticed that she was in the library and was happy that no one was around.
"What was I dreaming again?" Dia's confusingly stared down at her trembling hands. Drenched in a cold sweat, her heart beating as if she had just run a marathon.
'Usually, I have them a night, but never during daytime. It's getting worse, and honestly, it starting to scare me.' Dia close her eyes and counted to ten, calming down her beating heart. Once she got her bearings together, she gather her bookbag and left the library.
When Dia entered her World History class, she saw Ethan with a bored look on his face. Until he spotted her and saw a faint smile appear, but she refused to meet his eyes. Not wanting to draw attention to herself was hard since Ethan wouldn't stop staring at her throughout the class again. The trio, who seats were assigned on the opposite side of the classroom, were vacant.
At the end of class, Dia gathered her stuff and left the room but could sense someone trailing behind her. She walked into the same isolated area hidden behind one of the school buildings from yesterday, shaded by a large oak tree.
"Why do you keep following me?"
"Because you're cute." Ethan's straightforward response was starting to grow on Dia, but that still didn't stop her cheeks from heating up.
"I'm being serious here! Haven't you noticed all the strange looks we've been receiving?" Dia didn't mean to be rude, but she was a little frustrated with these weird dreams that left her feeling afraid for her life despite having no recollection what happened.
Ethan shoved his hands into his pockets, icy blue eyes stuck to Dia. "I don't pay attention to flies that annoy me. I only have you in my sights."
"Well, you should because I have been warned to stay away from people like you."
"People like me?" A raven eyebrow lifted in confusion.
"Yes! I believe you're called 'Gifted Students'? I've seen firsthand what lays in store for me if I continue to be seen with you." Scenes of what happened to Alice replayed in her head, and she had no time to deal with headache highschool drama over some extremely handsome good-looking guy.
"Hmm, then how about we date in secret?" Ethan closed the distance between the two of them, Dia back touched the truck of the tree as Ethan had her cornered, head tilted to peer down at her. "It can be our own secret affair." A glimmer of mischievousness lit up his icy blue orbs.
"Affair?" Dia bristled at the offensive word. "But we're not cheating!"
"Yes, but affair sounds more naughty and has a better ring to it."
"You're impossible!"
"And you're irresistible."
Dia hated how his words affected her heart. She was aware that arguing with him would only put her in a dangerous situation and decided to stomp away, ignoring Ethan chuckling in the background.
"I hope you think about what I said!"
- -
Inside a loud, noisy nightclub that was almost entirely dark, flashes of red light dimmed down on various people. All of them were wearing skin-tight black leather outfits. Some more revealing than others. Punk rock music blasted from the speakers as various actions took place in the dark that normal human eyes couldn't see.
"Skipping your first day back to school? Won't this little stunt only make the duke further displeased with you?" calmly asked the girl with coral pink hair from yesterday, sitting next to another girl whose figure was hidden in the darkness.
A sucking sound came from the hidden figure, fangs deeply embedded in a handsome boy's neck whose face displayed nothing but utter pleasure. His eyes close to rolling to the back of his head. A black collar was worn around his neck, and attached to it was a long silver chain held in the hidden girl's hands.
Removing her blood-soaked lips from the boy's neck, the girl licked her raspberry-pink lips before answering. "Daddy dearest will be okay. Besides, I'm not in the mood for boring lectures from those old stiffs at the academy."
"But Lee, there's this new girl and for some reason, Ethan has been acting all weird around her! We saw them getting all close the other day after class!" said the feisty pigtailed girl. When the girl in the shadows heard this statement, her expression hardened, eyes ablaze with fury.
"What?" Her voice was cold enough to freeze a person.