♝

"I REALLY DON'T MIND seeing Max sweep our base, but it honestly feels so wrong," Brave says, pulling the lollipop out of his mouth as he and the rest of the members of Jokers stood on the side, watching Omega Society do their job.

     "Max, we have another clogged drain here!" One of the omegas shouted, immediately making Max run to his side so he could unclog the drain with his own hands. The action almost made the jesters gag.

     "Should we like...help?" Rome asks, making Krist sigh.

     "What's the point of making them clean if we're going to help them anyway? This is their duty and they're doing it all with great honor and pride. We shouldn't look at them with pity," Krist tells them.

     The Jokers continued to watch them without saying anything else, but while they were watching, Krist's phone suddenly vibrated. He takes it out of his pocket and sees a message from an unknown number. The message wrote: Hush hush, and a link was attached to it.

     Krist furrows his brows in confusion before clicking the link, and as soon as he sees what it was, everything around Krist stopped. He stares at the screen of his phone a little longer, but then his legs weaken, so he quickly grabs hold of Brave's shoulder so he wouldn't fall.

     "Mj?" Brave confusingly asks, making the rest of the members of Jokers look back at their leader.

     Krist's body suddenly starts to shake, and that instantly made the jesters move closer to him.

     "Master Joker? What's wrong?" Van asks as they watch Krist try his best not to start panicking.

     "Mj, what's going on? What happened?"

     Krist doesn't say anything and just drops his phone on the floor. The members of Jokers immediately try to calm him down while Brave took his phone on the floor. Max and the rest of the Omega Society stopped what they were doing to check what was going on as well, but when Max saw Krist's state, he immediately dropped the cigarette buds in his hand so he could run to the jester's side.

     "What's going on?" Max asks, removing his gloves so he could hold onto Krist who looked like he was in a state of shock.

     "We don't know. He was just looking at his phone and this happened," Rome answers, completely worried about what was happening to their leader.

     Max looks back at Brave who was now holding onto Krist's phone. Brave looked at the screen of the phone to see what Krist saw. When he finally saw it himself, his face turned into complete horror.

     Brave covers his mouth, trying his best not to say a word, so Max hands Krist over to the other Jokers before running to Brave's side. He leaned toward him to see what was on the screen. He didn't know what to expect, but Max's stomach immediately churned when he saw what it was.

     Brave and Max couldn't say a single thing, because the thing that was on Krist's phone was a picture of two men kissing in bed. The faces were blurred, but you could tell that the other one is older while the other one is younger.

     Such a picture shouldn't have shocked Krist, but what really got their skin stand was the caption that said...

     Confession No. 1: I have a father who cheated on my mother with another man. My mother projected her hatred towards me so I ended up resenting those types of people. My father is still happy with his lover while I continue to suffer at the hands of my psychotic mother. Who do you think I am?

     Brave and Max look back at Krist who was still trying his best not to throw a fit, so Max immediately looked at his club members and ordered them, "Drop everything and head back to our clubroom."

     "Max, what's going—"

     "Now!" Max shouted, cutting Felix off.

     Felix was still confused about what was happening, but Payton grabbed him by the shoulder, reassuring him that his friend's got this covered.

     "We'll wait for you there," Payton says as he and the rest of the members of Omega Society ran back to their room. When they were already gone, Max looks back at the other members of Jokers and told them, "Bring Krist to the infirmary to calm him down. Make sure no one sees him."

     Rome and the others nodded as they helped carry Krist so Krist could walk properly. Brave was about to follow them, but Max immediately grabbed hold of his arm and told him, "As you are Jokers' right-hand-man, I ask you one thing. Do you wish for us to handle this situation or not?"

     Brave was still in shock, but he pulls his arm away from Max so he could touch his shoulder, "Please," he says, and Max nods his head, promising Brave that they'll do everything they can to clear this rumor before it becomes worse.

     Before following his brotherhood, Brave takes Max's hand and gives something to him. Max looks down and sees that it was Krist's phone.

     "You might need it. The password is C1A."

     "Thank you."

     Brave nods his head and finally runs out of the rooftop. Max doesn't say anything but takes out his own phone to see if the link was already passed around. And sadly, like what he suspected, someone already posted the link on J.S High's website. Max couldn't help but clench on the phone, but before he could end up breaking it, he puts it back inside his pocket and runs out to their clubroom.

     When Max arrived, all of the members were circling their table like last time. Max was afraid to see another body bag there, but when he got closer, he sighed in relief when he saw a note instead.

     "Max," Payton calls out before handing the note to Max.

     Good luck on your first assignment was what the note said, and that instantly made Max slam his hand on the table. Because not only does this involve Krist, but that secret, the same secret that suddenly became public, was something that only Max and a few others knew.

     For Krist, it wasn't just a secret. It was his pain, his regret, and his anger. And because he asked his club to not follow Sky's orders, this happened. Max felt like this was all his fault. He practically let it happen.

     "We saw this on the floor too," Felix then says, handing over the envelope that was left on top of their table earlier.

     Max doesn't say anything and opens the envelope, and to their surprise, the envelope was now empty. They weren't able to check what was inside the envelope, but no one else could have done this other than their club advisor who also had a spear key to this room. "Sky..." Max says as he angrily crumples the envelope.

      Max's anger could be felt by everyone so they couldn't really say anything, so the members of Omega Society just stared at Max, waiting for him to say something.

     It only took Max a couple of seconds to calm himself down. He knew that getting angry about this won't help him at all, but instead, he could do something to turn the situation around. He's a member of the Omega Society, so he has the means to take action now.

     "As a member of Omega Society, you already made an oath that you will keep the secrets of this club until the very end. Know that if you say anything that will expose and harm what we do here, I will be the first and the last person you'll be facing," Max suddenly declares, and for the first time, the omegas didn't just see a respectable upperclassman, but also a terrifying white uniform under the protection of J.S High's brotherhoods.

     "And I attest to that," Payton then adds, and every member, even Felix, nodded their heads in agreement.

     When everyone finally understood how serious this was, Max pulls out Krist's phone from his pocket and placed it in the middle of the table. "This is our assignment," he tells them. "Turn off the lights, lock the doors and close the blinds," he then instructs. And even though he wasn't the club leader, everyone followed him, even Payton.

     Max turns the projector on while everyone was doing what they were told. When it was now on, he connects the phone with it, showing the screen that Krist saw earlier.

     Everyone was surprised, especially Felix since he doesn't know of this story either.

     "This was sent to Master Joker at 9:15 PM. The sender is unknown so I want you all to do two things. One, find the sender. Two, delete this post. Who's willing to do that?"

     "I can try and find the sender," one of the first-year members said. Max nods his head to give him the go-signal, so he immediately wrote the number down and took his laptop from his bag so he could already start working on it.

     "Since we're considered a brotherhoods club, we can ask for other club's assistance. I personally know the senior student in the Computer Programmers Club. He might be able to delete the original post," Payton says before pulling Eren. "Come with me. Max, send me that link."

     "Alright, I'll send it to you," Max says, and Payton and Eren finally head out of the clubroom.

     "Max, just an update. The link that was posted on J.S High's website has now been deleted. Someone from the Elites must have done it," one of the omegas then announces, making Max sigh in relief.

     "Alright. For the rest of you, I want you all to go around the campus as a lookout. Make sure that the link doesn't spread even further. I don't know how you're going to do it, confiscate their phones if you have to, just make sure it doesn't become a big topic," Max instructs, and the 1st-years nodded their head before heading out of their clubroom as well.

     The only ones who were left in the room were the first-year omega who was trying to find the sender, and Felix was still confused about why this was happening to them.

     "Max, what do we do? Should we look for Sky?" Felix asks.

     "No, we have to think of something else. Looking for him wouldn't change anything at all," Max says, staring at the picture that's projected on the wall. Max continues to stare at it for a few more seconds until finally thinking of something.

     "We're heading to the clinic," he says as he disconnects Krist's phone on the projector. "Jacob, call us if anything happens or if you find the sender," Max then tells the first-year, and the freshman nodded his head in understanding.

     Max and Felix immediately got out and ran to the clinic where Jokers are. When they got to Krist's room, the members were there, as well as the leader of Cigarettes and Krist's long-time-friend, Cj.

     "How's Krist," Max asks as he and Felix approached the bed.

     "He's sleeping. The doctor gave him some medicine earlier to calm down," Brave explains.

     "Are you guys handling this case?" Cj, who was leaning on the window, then asks, and as ashamed as Max feels, he nods his head to confirm it.

     He thought Cj would be mad about it, telling Max that he's using this situation to acquire points. He even thought that he'd blame him for what happened, but Cj nodded his head instead and said, "That's good. No one else in this goddamn school can cover this up other than you guys."

     "I—" Before Max could even say anything, Brave stands from the sofa and asks him, "How's everything going? Do you guys need any help? Because I am fucking willing to do anything to whoever spread this."

     "No, that's the last thing that we want you to do," Felix then says, making everyone look back at him this time. "If you guys do anything, the students will suspect you. The post gathered a lot of views and attention, but the students are still uncertain about who was being referred to, so the best thing you could do is to let us handle everything"

     Brave wanted to complain, but he closed his mouth because he knew that Felix was right.

     "But what are you guys doing here then?" Rome asks.

     Max doesn't answer but pulls out his phone instead. He then shows the photo to everyone in the clinic to ask them, "I wanted to confirm who this person is. Is this really...Krist's father?"

     The members of Jokers were unsure, even Brave since he hasn't seen Krist's father before. But thankfully Cj — who was in the room with them — could confirm the authenticity of the picture since Krist showed him a picture of him once since Krist wanted Cj to find him before.

     "That photo purposely blurred the face, but looking at it more, he doesn't resemble him at all. Krist's father is shorter, and his skin is a little darker. It's obviously not him. Just two random dudes kissing," Cj explains, and that instantly gave Max hope.

     Just in time, Payton started calling him. Max answered the phone and put it on speaker for everyone to hear.

     "Max, we deleted the original post," Payton immediately says, and the members of Jokers instantly started celebrating.

     "It's not over yet," Max states, directing it towards Payton and the jesters, making them stop cheering. "This already became a buzz so even if we delete it, everyone will still try and put the puzzle back together, trying to connect it to a brotherhood member. We have to make sure this topic dies down."

     "And how do we do that?" Payton asks on the other line.

     "Since you're already with the computer club, ask them to search for the people in the picture. We'll be needing that for later."

     "Alright. I'll call you when we find it."

     Payton ends the call and Max hides his phone back inside his pocket before looking back at the others. "Everything is surprisingly going smoothly. Don't worry, we'll make sure that no one finds out that this is about Krist. I'll bet my entire life on it."

     Brave sighs, but then he smiles and pats Max's shoulder. "Thank you, Max. For your entire club...thank you."

     "Don't thank us yet," Max says, and then he smiles back and tells him, "Besides, the crown brooch on my collar isn't just a prop. I've got your backs no matter what."

     Brave nods his head, and Max and Felix get ready to leave the room when Cj suddenly grabbed Max's arm to stop him. Max looks at Cj, and with a menacing aura, Cj asks, "The person who did this...is it your new club advisor? Is it the Sky that you mentioned to us yesterday?"

     "If you're thinking of doing something to him outside J.S High then I forbid it. You can't do anything that will jeopardize your title as a Count," Max seriously warns, but Cj just chuckles as he says, "I don't need to be outside of J.S High to be able to do something to him."

     "So you're going to ignore the White Uniform protection code again?" Max asks, pulling his hand away from Cj. Even Jokers could feel the tension between the two.

     Max understands Cj's anger, but they currently have no solid evidence to push the blame on Sky. Sky did tell them to spread what was on the envelope, but Max and the others never really opened the envelope so they don't know if the supposed secret was even about Krist. They don't have any proof that Sky also made that post either, so if Cj tries to do something to Sky outside his brotherhood custom then he can get suspended again.

     "I thought those crown brooches aren't just props, " Cj says, making Max take a deep breath.

     "It isn't, that's why I'm trying my best so you don't get kicked out," Max firmly answers. "I know you're mad at whoever did this to Krist, but acting upon it out of anger causes nothing but problems. That's why we're here. That's why the Omega Society is doing its very best to handle this so that no brotherhood would take the fall. We will gather all the evidence and give what is due. Is that understood, Mr. Charles Justin Mills?"

     Everyone in the clinic became quiet as they continued to stare at Max.

     No one said a thing, but they all had the same thought. Max definitely changed, not for the worse but the better. Unlike before where Max was just thinking about conquering brotherhoods left and right, gaining points so he could rank higher, and getting everyone's recognition. But now, Max was starting to act more like a leader.

     He makes quick decisions and acts accordingly. He doesn't just do what he wants anymore and follows the rules that every student must follow. He thinks about all the possible scenarios and makes sure to leave no mistakes. It was terrifying how they could just watch Max transform into a capable president in each passing day.

     "Little Maxy really has grown up. He doesn't even want to play with me anymore like before," Cj jokingly says, but then he sighs in defeat and nodded his head in understanding.

     "Alright, I won't do anything. Just make sure that whoever did this gets paid for it, or at least let Jokers give him a jack-in-a-box," Cj finally says, and Max bows his head, swearing on it.

     When everything was now settled, Max and Felix discreetly heads out of the clinic, making sure no one saw them.

     "Where are we heading now?" Felix asks.

     "I'm heading to the Elites office to talk to the vice president. If Payton finds who the real person is in that photo, the Elites might be able to do something about it," Max says, and the mere mention of the vice president automatically made Felix look uneasy.

     "Do you want me to come with you?" Felix asks.

     "No, you should head back to the clubroom to check on Jacob. He might have already found the sender. Just call me if something comes up," Max says.

     Felix was about to say something, but Max already turned away from him, running down the corridor so he could head to the 5th floor of the Keep where the student council office could be found.

     Max was panting heavily when he arrived. He tries to calm himself down, fixing himself before finally knocking on the door.

     "Come in..." a voice from inside the room says. Max takes another deep breath before finally heading inside. He was expecting to see Gavriil, but to his surprise, he was nowhere to be found. Instead, the school representative, Dustin Griffiths, and the treasurer, Heaven J. Carter, were the only ones there.

     "Sinclaire," Dustin says, surprised to see him. "Are you on your club duty?" He asks, staring at what Max was wearing.

     "I apologize for my sudden appearance but I'm here to talk to the vice president," Max says, not answering Dustin's question at all.

     Dustin puts down the file that he was holding and tells him, "The vice president isn't here. He's at his club. Do you want to—"

     "Every one of us here is busy. If you need to tell him something you can just say it to us. We can pass it on to him," Heaven rudely interrupts even though he wasn't the one Max was talking to.

     Max wanted to just leave, but then his phone vibrates. "Excuse me," he says, pulling his phone out to check. 

     It was a message from Felix.

     Max read the message in silence. "Jacob was able to track the original creator of the post," was the first sentence written on the message, but what came next was something that Max did not anticipate at all.

     "It was Cj...Cj made the post and sent it to Krist."

- END -