“Don’t
fuck with me, Kiara!” Chris snarled. “What the fucking
hell are you doing with Swift and that bitch of a fox―doof!”
Kevin
and Lilian blinked when a black-furred tail shot out from underneath
Iris’ skirt, smacked Chris in the face, and then just as
quickly retracted. No one seemed to see it aside from them, but there
could be no doubt that everyone saw Chris stumble back.
“No
one insults my sister when I’m around, dickweed.”
“You
fucking cunt!” Chris held a hand to his now split lip. “Just
you wait! I’ll fucking murder you!”
“You
won’t be doing anything of the sort,” Kiara interrupted
the argument before it could become truly violent. “Go to
class, you three. I’ll deal with my foolish little brother.”
Iris
looked like she wanted to say something, but one glance from Kiara
had the girl hiding behind Kevin and Lilian. Kevin glanced at his
mate, who correctly interpreted the question within his gaze and
shrugged, stating quite clearly that she didn’t know what was
wrong with her sister either.
“We’ll
leave this to you,” Kevin decided.
Kiara
grinned and waved them off. “See you kids later.”
***
“Che,
can you believe the nerve of that guy?” Iris ranted on their
way to class. “I can’t believe he had the audacity to
insult my lovely sister like that. Who the hell does he think he is?”
“Definitely
not Simone the Digger.” While Lilian giggled into her hand,
Iris gave Kevin a very flat look. In return, Kevin waved his left
hand in a dismissive gesture. “Nothing. Just forget it.”
While
continuing to class, Lilian noticed a poster on the wall of a school
building. It showed two people dressed as zombies, a vampire that
didn’t sparkle, and someone wearing a really cheesy werewolf
mask, no shirt, and photoshopped abs.
“Hey,
Kevin, what’s this?”
Kevin
stopped and looked at the poster. “That? It’s for the
Halloween party. Every year, the school has a party celebrating
Halloween. We do things like dancing and bobbing for apples, and
there’s always a contest to see who has the best costume…”
He trailed off when stars appeared in Lilian’s eyes.
“Can
we go? We’re gonna go, right? We so have to go to this.”
Kevin
leaned back when Lilian invaded his personal space, her star-like
irises boring into him like a legilimens invading his mind.
“We
can go if you want to. I went to the one we had last year and it was
pretty fun.”
“Yes!”
Lilian pumped a fist into the air. “But wait.” The hand
dropped. “You said it was a costume party?”
“Well,
it’s a Halloween party. Everyone there will be wearing
costumes.”
“I
see.” Lilian bit her thumb in thought, then her eyes lit up.
“Kevin, we need costumes!”
“I’ll
see if we can go costume shopping some time this weekend,”
Kevin hedged.
“Okay!
So, what kind of costumes should we wear? Oh! Oh! Can we get matching
costumes?”
While
Lilian talked Kevin’s ears off about all of the different
costumes she wanted to wear, which included everything from
cosplaying as Lelouch and CC to dressing up as a schoolgirl and a
perverted priest, Iris looked back at the poster.
“A
Halloween party, huh?” A smirk that spoke of nothing good
caused her lips to curve. “Sounds interesting.”
***
Kevin
plopped down in his seat with a boneless flop. His head and torso
fell forward until his face planted itself against the desk, and then
he started to snore.
Lindsay
looked at Lilian as the redhead scooted her desk closer to Kevin’s,
while Iris sat directly behind Lilian.
“What’s
up with Kevin? He looks exhausted.” A grin spread across
Lindsay’s face. “Don’t tell me you kept him up late
last night with some sexy shenanigans or something.”
Lilian
smiled at her friend. “I wish, but no. He was training with
Kiara today.”
“Kiara?”
Lindsay looked nonplussed. “You don’t mean Kiara F. Kuyo,
do you? The owner of Mad Dawg Fitness?”
“That’s
the one.”
Lindsay
looked quite put out as she crossed her arms over her chest. “And
neither of you thought to tell me this?”
“It
didn’t seem that important.” Lilian reached out with her
left hand and ran her fingers through her mate’s hair. After
the initial stiffening, Kevin relaxed under her ministrations and let
out a low, pleased groan. “To be honest, the idea of telling
someone else never really crossed my mind. Kevin might have been
willing to tell you, but he’s been so busy with training and
learning kitsune culture that it probably slipped his mind.”
Lindsay’s
cheeks swelled like someone had shoved grapefruits into her mouth.
“It’s still mean of you guys not to tell me about
something like this.”
Lilian
didn’t stop her actions, but she did look at Lindsay. “Then
how about I tell you something to make up for it?”
“Like
what?”
Lilian
made Lindsay lean in. Iris, curious to know what was being said, also
leaned in.
“Like
the fact that Kiara isn’t human. She’s an Inu.”
Lindsay’s
eyes widened. Iris’ eyes also widened, but for completely
different reasons.
“That’s
why I felt so nervous around her,” Iris muttered harshly, her
face pale. “Damn it, Lily-pad! You’re supposed to tell me
these things!”
“Maybe
I will when you stop calling me ‘Lily-pad.’”
Iris
grimaced, but didn’t say anything.
“Are
you serious?” Lindsay leaned back when Lilian nodded, her
expression was akin to someone who’d been shocked by lightning.
“I can’t believe it. I mean, I can, but I certainly
wasn’t expecting it.” She took a moment to gather her
thoughts. “Wow. That’s just… wow. To think that
one of the women all the girls on my soccer team admire is an inu is…
that’s, I don’t even know what to say.”
“Uh,
Lily-pad” With her pale face and jittery limbs, Iris appeared
quite nervous. “Are you sure you should be telling her this? I
mean, isn’t she…”
“Lindsay
already knows that yōkai are real,” Lilian informed her
sister before frowning. “And what have I told you about calling
me Lily-pad?”
“Sorry,
sorry, you’re just too cute when you get all moody and pouty
like that.” Iris winked at the redhead. “Better be
careful, sis. Keep looking so adorable and I might just gobble you
up.”
“W-whatever.”
Lilian turned her head to better hide the blush staining her cheeks.
At
that moment, the doors to the classroom opened again and Ms. Vis
walked in. She looked just as stern and no-nonsense as always—at
least until she made it to the front of the classroom and saw Kevin
sleeping on his desk.
“What
is wrong with Mr. Swift? Is he alright?” Her eyes peered at
Lilian, and the young vixen had to blink when she saw the honest
concern in them.
What
in the name of Inari’s tails is going on?
“Uh…”
Lilian found herself at a momentary loss for words. “Y-yes,
he’s just tired from, um, working too much…”
“Working,
she says,” Lindsay mumbled under her breath.
“Oh,
the poor boy!” Ms. Vis blubbered. “Ms. Pnevma, why don’t
you be a dear and take Mr. Swift to the nurse’s office, so he
can get some rest? In fact, why don’t you stay there with him?
That way he will have a familiar face to greet him when he wakes up.
I think he would like that.”
Lilian
stared. Lindsay stared. The entire classroom stared. The only people
who didn’t look like something had struck them between the eyes
were Iris and Kevin. Iris because she didn’t know how unusual
this attitude was for Ms. Vis, and Kevin because he was asleep.
“Lilian?”
“Yes,
Lindsay?”
“I
think something strange is going on with our teacher.”
“Me
too.”
“Also,
the world seems to have suddenly gone dark.”
“We
seem to be experiencing an unprecedented solar eclipse. I think the
celestial bodies might have also been knocked out of alignment.”
“Uh
huh.”
“Ms.
Pnevma? Are you feeling unwell?” The concern Ms. Vis irradiated
for her well-being made Lilian wonder if this person might have been
a doppelgänger. “Do you also need some rest?”
“Um,
no, I’m, ah, fine.”
The
relief Ms. Vis exuded was a palpable thing. It disturbed Lilian
greatly. “I see. That is good. Do you think you can get Mr.
Swift to the nurse’s office, then?”
“Uh,
I think can do that. Yeah, I’ll definitely do that. Lindsay,
can you, um, help me get Kevin to the nurse’s office?”
“Help?”
Lindsay blinked several times, her mind still clearly undergoing
severe mental trauma from the sudden shift in their teacher’s
emotional paradigm. It took her mind a second to realign itself with
reality. “Um, right! Help! Yeah, I can help you!”
She
and Lilian both stood up and moved to Kevin’s desk. Iris stood
up as well.
“What?”
the raven-haired girl asked upon seeing the two stares directed at
her. “You didn’t think I was gonna let you two go off
without me, did you? I can help too.” More stares. Iris
actually began to feel uncomfortable. “Why are you two staring
at me like that?”
“You’re
offering to help.” Lilian scrutinized her sister. “You
never offer to help with anything, and considering how much you
dislike Kevin, I’m inclined to believe you’re up to no
good.”
Iris
clutched her chest, as if she was experiencing heartburn. “You
don’t really think I would do something like strip naked and
climb into your mate’s bed while he’s unconscious,
thereby instigating a sexy situation in which you would discover us
in a most compromising position in order to create tension between
you and him, do you?”
“That
was an awfully specific scenario you presented, and yes, I do think
you would do something like that.”
“That’s
a harsh thing to say.” Iris pouted. “I promise, the only
reason I am doing this is because I want you to be happy. Fox’s
honor.”
Lilian
exhaled a soft breath before letting herself smile.
Her
sister was abrasive, rude and way too arrogant for her own good, but
she was also a good person—at least to her. To other people?
Not so much.
***
Kevin
woke up feeling refreshed. He didn’t know how long he had
slept, but he’d clearly needed it. Who knew fighting against
someone who was short and had buck teeth could be so hard?
Wanting
to know where he was, he opened his eyes… only to be met with
another pair of eyes.
“Lilian…”
“Hey,
sleepyhead.” Lilian smiled at her mate. Kevin smiled back. “How
are you feeling?”
“Better.
How long was I asleep for?”
“You
missed first period.”
Kevin
winced. “I bet Ms. Vis didn’t like that.”
“Actually,
she was surprisingly concerned.” The look on Lilian’s
face was half-amused, half-disturbed. “She was the one who
suggested we take you to the nurse’s office.”
“Nurse’s
office?” It was only after she had spoken that Kevin realized
he was lying on his back, on a bed, and that they were, indeed, in
the nurse’s office. How had he missed that? “And you’re
saying Ms. Vis suggested you bring me here? Wait.” He stared at
Lilian, confused. “We?”
That
was when he noticed the other two people with them. Lindsay and Iris
stood off to the side. Iris had her arms crossed under her bust,
while Lindsay’s were clasped behind her back.
“Yo,
Kevin!” Lindsay greeted him with a cheerful grin. “Glad
to see you’re back in the land of the living.”
Kevin
smiled uncertainly. “Um, good to be back.”
“Great,
you’re awake and everybody’s happy,” Iris
interrupted the moment between friends. “can we go now?”
Despite
the rude words, the others decided to heed them and, together, they
left the nurse’s office and traveled to their next class.
Kevin,
Lilian and Iris all shared classes together. Lindsay had PE. After
saying their goodbyes, they parted ways with the tomboy and headed
off to their French class.
“K-Kevin!”
A
squeak like that of a frightened mouse caused the group to stop.
Christine stepped out from behind a locker, her hands wringing
together and her cheeks stained with the color of a frozen tundra. As
she walked toward them, steam poured out of her ears, and whenever
one of her feet touched the ground, an icy footprint was left in its
wake.
“Hey,
Christine.” Kevin wondered if he should ask the girl if she was
feeling alright, but then he remembered what happened the last time
he asked that question and decided not to. “How are you
doing this morning?”
Christine
took a deep breath and tried to calm her boiling emotions. She could
do this. She could.
“I-I’m…
g-g-good. H-how is―I-I mean, how are you doing this, um, this
m-morning?”
Damn
it.
“I’m
doing alright,” Kevin replied warily. There was something
horrifyingly familiar about this scenario, though he didn’t
know what. It made him nervous for some reason.
“R-really?
T-that’s good. So, um, uh… d-did anything interesting
happen, you know, recently?”
Kevin
thought about telling Christine that he had started sparring Kiara’s
jabronis, but then remembered how those same jabronis―or at
least one of them―had beaten the crap out of him and didn’t
think his pride could handle her knowing.
He
shook his head. “Not really? What about you?”
“Oh,
uh, um, no-not really, no.”
While
watching the awkward duo stand around like a pair of idiots, Iris
leaned over and whispered into Lilian’s ear. “This girl…
she’s into your mate, isn’t she?”
“Yep.”
“Why?”
“Because
he’s the main character, obviously.”
“Hm…”
Iris pondered that for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, I guess
that makes sense.”