After a few hours, you awoke from your nap. It was an ungodly hour—but you tended to work better at such off timings. It was currently four in the morning, and classes started at eight. Which meant you had four hours to do some class prep.

This time, your class was apparently analyzing The Merchant Of Venice—the one with Portia and the ring, if you remembered correctly. It was quite a stabilizing, relaxing environment—rain poured outside, its tiny droplets dripping off the window in a slow motion. Lightning and thunder reverberated outside, and paired with the earbuds plugged in your ears playing New Jeans, you felt completely at ease for the first time since you had arrived at school.

In fact, even your home hadn't been as relaxing as this. You were thankful you could be away from home at such a moment—you heard that your mother was getting sent death threats from a very enraged neighbor who had played Dream songs as revenge. If you didn't know what the definition of torture was, now you knew.

"Write a paper on Portia's character..." you mumbled under your breath, "wait, pair work?"

Another issue: you had made absolutely zero friends since you had arrived. You told yourself comfortingly it was by choice; and you were ready to act mysterious and a cold, brooding loner, but damn, your cover was already blown.

"I can't even ask Jun. He hates me, and he's a level above me. So are Daichi and Saito..." you groaned, biting your lip so hard blood started to trickle out.

And why would you ask Saito, who had seemed so friendly at first glance before he had gone and pulled off that trick? Again, it had been nostalgic to you, but very, very annoying to clean up after. Plus, your fingers throbbed ever so slightly whenever you wiggled them.

I'll get a drink, was your final, defeated thought. Some caffeine would be good right now to make it through the day.

Making as little sound as possible, you grabbed a jacket, throwing it over your body before zipping it up. Jun was sleeping soundly—he looked relaxed, dare you say beautiful—and calm. He looked good, you couldn't deny, and it was his irritability and the constant fake smile on his face that threw you off. If only he was this cordial or calm when you two were talking, then you would have willingly become friends with him.

But as of now, the hatred—though subtle, and barely simmering—was still visible on his expression when he spoke to you. He disliked you, probably as you two were polar opposites. Jun had a strange fixation with rules that was made apparent, while you didn't care much for them. Of course, you knew there was a line you wouldn't cross, but silly rules never did much to stop you.

Maybe if I bought breakfast back for him, he wouldn't be so grumpy, you wondered. I wonder what he likes? Bagels? French toast? Donuts? To be frank, he seemed like the kind of guy who would go by a strict meal plan that only consisted of extremely well balanced meals. His physique was muscular, and when you glanced at him moving around, you could see his back muscles ripple.

Nevermind. You didn't wish to bring yourself to care for such a blatant asshole. The whole student council was radiating off fakeness; with deceit falling from their empty smiles, and indecipherable emotions swirling in their eyes. You would have rather not associate yourself with them, but it was too bad. They were after you, for whatever reason you just didn't understand.

The door closed with a small thud sound as you looked around the hallways. It was quiet outside, safe for the sound of tiny crickets outside the windows, and the pattering of rain. New Jeans's Ditto played in your ears. Gosh, you just loved their songs.

A small cafe was in the corner. Almost like it was a sign of just how prestigious Daisei Institution was, instead of the usual vending machines, there were twenty four hour cafes littered around the school. They served the usual—cappuccinos, frappes, but for now, all you ordered was a simple black coffee. It was an acquired taste, after you had destroyed your sleeping schedule by watching reruns of Modern Family.

You liked that show. It reminded you of your own family, except it didn't include the other things your family had done. Gloria Pritchett was the closest person your family could relate to.

"Oh, and cake too." You pointed at the red velvet cake by the corner. It was your favorite.

"[Name]." A familiar, wheedling voice broke you out of your thoughts, loud enough for you to hear even through the music.

You narrowed your eyes, your hands instinctively gripping tighter on your fork.

"Woah, woah," came a nervous laugh, "it's just me, Tanaka."

Tanaka?

"I thought you were in the hospital," You relaxed your grip on the fork and instead swallowed a bite of the velvety goodness—"after Terry bit you."

"Ugh, wait," Tanaka's voice was as whiny and obnoxious as you remembered, "is that snake with you like, right now?"

"Where I go, he goes." You shrugged your shoulders. That was a not so direct reference to Skyfall by Adele, which you only knew after that one edit. You played that edit religiously once every week. You played it multiple times a day at one point in your life, but since it soon became an unhealthy habit, you stopped.

"Er," He wrinkled his nose, his face immediately becoming paler. You noticed the place that Terry had bit was wrapped with gauze, and loads of bandages. "I need to pass something to you."

"To me?" You looked at him with confusion. "Are these the notes that I forgot in the lab? Wait, nevermind, you weren't even there."

"Well, I heard what happened," Tanaka sniffed, his annoying chattering voice started to resurface again, "I heard you caused a huge fire in the lab which made you stick your hand into it, before you poisoned a student with acetone—"

"I think such details are irrelevant," you interrupted. "I thought you were battling a situation between life and death? That's what some people are saying."

He had the decency to look embarrassed. "I might have been exaggerating." He muttered.

"So you're released from the hospital?"

"Well, er—someone—bailed me out." The way he said it, it sounded like he had committed a grave felony. "And thank god. It was beginning to be so stuffy in there. The food that sucked, there were millions of crazy people there who all looked at me like I was some dumbass for getting a snake bite, and—"

"Can you stop yapping?" You said in irritation. "My father taught me how to deal with chatterboxes like you."

"Um, what?"

"He named it the doll method." You placed the fork down after you finished the cake, and took a sip of your coffee. "By the way, it's very easy. You take a needle and a thread, and you sew the person's lips together. It's surprisingly not very painful—my niece still has the scar from when I did it, but—"

You paused. "you look nervous."

"U-Uh," Tanaka stammered, "I'll just pass you the er, letter he told me to pass you."

"Who is the he you are referring to?"

"Some student." Tanaka said vaguely, "I mean, since you're close with the student council members, a student wanted you to pass a love letter to a member in his stead."

"A love letter?" You whistled. "Ooh. Yeah, I can do that. Jun hates me though, so it better not be him. But I haven't really met any other members besides Daichi and Saito..."

"Oh, well," Tanaka coughed awkwardly, "it's the welfare head. Kaen. You're in the same class as him. The one in a few hours time."

"So you woke up at five to help deliver a love letter from one of your friends? To a council member? Who was the someone who bailed you out of the hospital?"

"The secret admirer?" Tanaka said unsurely. He was definitely lying. "Point is, my friend really likes Kaen and wants you to pass this letter to him."

"I can do that." You repeated, pocketing the letter as you let out a sigh. "Now can you stop bothering me? My coffee is still hot. Do you want to hear the method my dad taught me to people who linger around? It's called burning—"

Tanaka skedaddled. He was surprisingly agile for someone with a snake bite. Sure, they weren't painful to you: but that was only because you had an extraordinary amount of pain tolerance to the funny situations you found yourself in. Like the time you had a playdate with the minister's son and you two found yourself nearly killed by a sniper. You had forgotten his name, but that child and you had been rather close.

You finished the rest of your coffee, silently contemplating what Tanaka had told you.

Another council member, huh? You didn't know if this was all planned of sorts. Who would bring Tanaka out just to pass a letter to you to deliver it to a council member, who didn't even know you? Did people really see you and the members as close?

Riddled with these thoughts, you found yourself unable to concentrate on your lesson prep.

.

.

It was now seven fifty, and you dutifully filed into the room, your eyes straining to search for Kaen's desk. Unlike the lab, this lesson had a specified and fixed sitting arrangement which was good for you, in a way. It meant no sabotage whatsoever, which you were relieved for. Though it could be pretty fun...

And...

He's sitting at the back? Do all council members sit at the back?

Considering you were still early, the room was thankfully empty. You held the note in your hand, making your way over to his desk. The note was starting to slip from the envelope, and hastily, you adjusted it.

Gosh, why does it keep slipping? You gritted your teeth in annoyance.

Then it fell at last, and you picked it up. Kaen's desk was right in front of you, and the note had fallen beneath his chair.

"So there are people who confess to the student council members," you muttered to yourself, smoothing the note out, "well, they are good-looking, if only they weren't such assholes..."

"—[Name]? You're the new student, aren't you?"

An amused, smooth voice dragged you out of your thoughts. You blinked.

Before you was possibly the finest man you had seen on the earth. He was on par with Daichi's prettiness, except he was more handsome, and gosh, his muscles. His face. His eyes were dark, and so was his hair—coal black. He wore a basketball jacket, and his arms were tucked in his pocket. Kaen's features were defined, model-like. He could have been on a cover page for a magazine.

Was this Kaen? His looks could have rivaled movie stars'.

"Oh." You stood up, "you know my name?"

"I would think the whole school knows your name after the two incidents, cutie." Kaen smiled. "What's that you have in your hands?"

You faltered for a moment. Good-looking people and nicknames were your weakness.

"Er, it's a letter," you said honestly.

"A letter?"

"It's for you." You told him. And you very dumbly didn't specify that it wasn't from you.

"Ah." Kaen smirked, his eyes going over the note. "The note says that you like me."

Your brain lagged for a moment.

Wait—wait, this wasn't how it was supposed to play out. This was going completely wrong!

"No!" You said hastily, "it's from someone—Tanaka told me to pass the note to you from someone else. Apparently they think I'm close to you guys; okay, that's irrelevant—my point is, it's not from me."

Aggravatingly, Kaen didn't seem to have listened to a single word you had said.

"How sweet," he cooed, "the transfer student likes me."

Yup, he wasn't listening to you at all. You might as well have just sewn up your own mouth, considering none of your words were even entering his ear. Selective hearing much? This was getting a teeny bit annoying.

"No, no—"

The teacher walked into the class, smiling with a big grin on her face. "Ah, that's you right, [Name]? I hope you're okay. I heard what happened. Your seat...''

Oh, thank god. Your seat. You could sit somewhere else from this delusional council member who thought you liked him—

"Oh, you're sitting next to Kaen! You're already seated in the right spot. Kaen, take care of him, all right? As you know, he's injured. You two will also be partners for the project.'' The teacher named at you, oblivious that she had already set your dismal fate in stone.

You deflated. You really wished you were where your mother was right now—who cared about your neighbor's rage? You would have gladly eaten Lily again if not for the fact you seemed to have landed yourself into a huge mess. And where was Terry and his bites when you desperately needed him?

If only I could shoot myself and get to the hospital, you thought mournfully. You did that last time to get out of a family reunion that included your annoying uncle who had sold out family secrets. Didn't matter, he was now six feet under.

Meanwhile, as you were sulking, you completely missed the smirk on Kaen's face.

Score, he thought quietly.

.

.

—

.

.

"For what?" Akio crossed his arms, looking at Kaen with sheer disbelief, "what is your plan? How the hell are you even—you made a letter to yourself and got someone to deliver it to [Name]—before pretending it was [Name] who sent it to you? For what?"

"I told you already," Kaen looked up from his phone, smiling. "I thought he was cute."

"Ugh, you're insufferable." Akio groaned. "Maybe my next course of action should be blackmailing [Name]. Maybe I'll dig up some secrets, post them on the social media page...all of you have a head start. I haven't even met [Name] yet. Meanwhile, Daichi has his number, Jun is roommates with him, and you, Kaen, sit next to him, and you two will be all buddy buddy doing a project."

"That sounds like a you problem." Kaen replied.

"Inei hasn't done anything yet, right? Good to know that lazy ass is still behind me."

"Don't say that too fast. He's capable of anything."

"Right, that's true too." Akio sighed. "I underestimated Mr. President greatly when I first met him. But he was the one who went wild in the game three years back. Looks are so deceiving. Weren't you the one who went all crazy last year, too?"

"I'm going to take it easy this year," Kaen said, relaxed, "I'll start only if [Name] does something stupid I don't like. Right now, he's adorable. Do you know he went all frozen when I took the letter from him?"

"Sly bastard." Akio snarled. ''And no, I didn't know, and I didn't want to know.''

"Vindictive blackmailer."

Akio narrowed his eyes.

"I still can't believe you like the scholarship student."

"And?" Kaen raised an eyebrow, "what are you going to do about that? Post it on social media? He will hardly be deterred, considering how in the first few days he has sustained numerous injuries."

"He's unbelievable."

"He's insane." Kaen stated calmly, "and I thought you would have been more excited than that, you insane freak."

Well, Kaen certainly was interested in you.

So the less competition, the better.

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