♝

"SOMETIMES I WONDER IF it's a skill of yours to always get kidnapped," Marcus manages to joke while sitting on Max's bed with his legs crossed. Max, who just got back from J.S High after a crazy and stressful day, laughs at his brother's statement while removing his necktie. He then looks back at Marcus through the mirror and tells him, "Honestly, I'm wondering about that myself."

     "Well, thankfully you weren't severely harmed or I wouldn't have let Siren off that easily. She's known to be very cruel, so I'm glad, and surprised at the same time, that she didn't do anything else to you. But what really surprised me is that Siren was actually your club leader all along. No one even suspected it."

     "Except for the Royals," Max points out as he starts changing his clothes to something more comfortable.

     "We were also surprised that Viktor's been searching for Siren's real identity, but it was somehow expected. After hearing about their plan to catch Siren, what Viktor said during the morning assembly made sense. Whatever shall be, will be. He was directly saying that to Siren all this time."

     "It's pretty obvious that we shouldn't be underestimating Viktor anymore. After what you told me, about how he was the one who wanted me to enroll here, I finally understood how clever and precise he really is," Max explains, and Marcus couldn't help but agree to it as well despite not being fond of the king.

     "That's why I'm not surprised that he found out about your memory loss. He probably found out about it as soon as he saw you. He's that sharp after all," Marcus then adds.

     After changing his clothes, Max walks to his bed and sits beside his brother. He then pulls out his phone and sees new messages in his group chat with Felix, Ari, and Ervin.

     "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you about this earlier, but my friends ended up telling me about the drug incident that happened before," Max reveals, surprising Marcus. "After the incident with Siren, they told me everything. Felix ended up crying and Ari and Ervin even bowed to apologize to me. I understood why they didn't tell, and I honestly never blamed them for it, but the fact that they were willing to risk it all just to tell me makes me feel...grateful."

     Marcus stares at his little brother and sees the warm smile he had on his face while Max continued to read his messages on his phone.

     Truth be told, Marcus also agreed to enroll Max in J.S High because he wanted Max to get back together with his old friends again, especially since Max changed after the incident with his mother, Luna. Marcus wasn't sure if Max would ever find real friends, but seeing him now with Ari and the others, Marcus couldn't help but be relieved.

     Max found friends that would support him like how Marcus would, and that's all Marcus could ask for.

     "It looks like I have to apologize to those three for forcing them to give you that drug. I shouldn't have involved them like that. It was all my fault, not theirs." Marcus then replies, making Max look back at him this time. "I'd be very thankful if you did," Max says, and Marcus couldn't help but smile before patting Max's head like he always does.

     "By the way, how's Krist?" Max then asks as Marcus pulls his hand away from him. But just as he was about to answer his brother's question, someone suddenly knocks on the door. Marcus pauses as Max stands from the bed to open the door, only to see his butler, Étienne, standing in front of him with a serious expression on his face.

     "What's going on?" Max asks.

     Étienne clears his throat and gives his reply. "An important guest is here to see you."

     Max was confused for a second, but when Étienne moved away, Max was surprised to see the exhausted vice president, Gavriil Alexeev, standing behind his butler while still wearing his white uniform.

     "Gav?!" Max asks in shock.

    When Marcus heard the name, he sighed and immediately stood from the bed. He doesn't say anything and just patted Max's shoulder before walking away with Étienne. As the two made their leave, Max awkwardly gestured inside his bedroom and says, "I didn't expect to see you here, but please, come in."

     Max heads inside first, and then Gavriil followed. But as soon as Max closed the door behind them, Gav grabs Max and embraces him, surprising the young heir.

    "You're okay...thank god you're okay," Gavriil says as he continued to tightly hug Max who's in between his arms. Max was left dumbfounded, but after a while, he smiles and hugs Gavriil back, resting his head on Gavriil's shoulder. "I'm okay," he repeats, letting Gavriil hug him until he felt better.

     After a few seconds of silence, Gavriil finally pulls away from Max and says, "During our meeting, I wanted to ask about you but the council wouldn't say a thing, so without thinking, I hurriedly went here to check on you. I'm sorry if I crossed the line. I should have called you first but—"

     "Hey, it's fine." Max quickly says before removing Gavriil's peak cap for him. "Thank you for coming to see me. You don't have to feel guilty just because you wanted to make sure I'm okay," he says with a reassuring smile.

     Gavriil looks straight at Max's eyes and reaches out to touch his cheeks. "When I heard from the others that Siren took you, I almost lost it. There had been several instances where I only had to wait whenever something like that happened to you. I didn't want to be so useless again."

     Max sighs and touches Gavriil's hand that was holding him. "I know you helped earlier with the power you had as the vice president, and that's enough for me. And look...I'm not hurt at all thanks to Ian and the rest of the Elites," Max tells him with a bright smile this time, forcing Gavriil to just smile with him.

     "Alright, let's get you off this thing first so you could rest," Max says as he helps Gavriil remove his coat for him. "I don't think my clothes would fit you. Do you want me to ask someone to buy you one just for today?" Max asks as he puts the coat aside.

     "That wouldn't be necessary Leigh. I wasn't planning to stay long anyway," Gavriil answers.

     "Is that so?" Max asks as he walks back to Gavriil so he could start removing his necktie this time. While he was doing so, Max looks at Gavriil who was now intensely looking back at him. "Are you sure you're not planning to stay long?" Max asks next, slowly pulling the necktie from Gavriil's collar.

    Gavriil curses underneath his breath as his composure completely breaks. With no hesitation, he grabs Max by his waist and pulls him close to him before finally pressing his lips on his. Max doesn't push him away, but instead, he drapes his arms around Gavriil's neck so their bodies could touch.

     "Only when we're alone, right?" Gavriil whispers close to Max's ear, making Max chuckle before leaning towards Gavriil to kiss him back. The two lock their lips with each other, feeling the heat of the moment. Soon after, Gavriil carried Max, holding onto his thighs tightly before walking towards the bed.

    Gavriil sat on the edge of the bed, making Max sit on top of him. The two continued to kiss passionately, but before things could go any further, Gavriil pulls away and asks, "Shall we stop, or do you want to continue?"

     Max gulps after hearing the question, but despite being tempted to continue, he buries his head on Gavriil's chest in embarrassment and says, "This is enough. I'm sorry Gav."

     "Idiot, why are you apologizing?" Gavriil asks with a chuckle before kissing the top of Max's head. "It's fine. If it's enough for you then it's enough for me too."

     Max nods his head, and then Gavriil forcefully makes Max look back at him so he could see his expression. When he saw how red Max was, Gavriil couldn't help but laugh.

    "Why the hell are you laughing?" Max angrily asks. He was about to move away from Gavriil's lap, but Gavriil grabs a hold of him and hugs him again so he wouldn't be able to escape. "I'm sorry. I'm just really surprised that the great Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire is blushing over a kiss. You do know that this isn't our first time, right?"

     "Don't push it, Mr. Alexeev," Max says as he finally stands from Gavriil so he could sit on the bed instead. Gavriil then moves closer so he could lie down on Max's lap.

     "Today was really tiring, but thanks to what happened, we're finally done worrying about Siren," Gavriil says, closing his eyes so he could rest.

     "By the way, how did the meeting go?" Max asks him.

     Without opening his eyes, Gavriil answers, "President Janus was there, so everyone was pretty tensed. After the deliberation, Payton was expelled while Sky was only given three weeks of suspension. But after the meeting, Sky told us that we didn't have to suspend him. He was going to leave anyway."

     "What? Sky's leaving J.S High?"

     "It seems like it. He never told us his reason, but president Janus respected his decision anyway."

     Max wasn't expecting Sky to leave, but thinking back, it's pretty obvious that he wouldn't want to stick around anymore. After what Siren did, and after doing such a thing to his twin brother River, it would make sense that Sky would rather choose to leave than to stay. It would only do him more harm than good.

     "Well, I guess it's the better decision. But what will happen to River? Is he going to be the new leader of Crazy 8, or are they disbanding the brotherhood?" Max asks, but when he looked back at Gavriil, he realized that Gavriil actually fell asleep.

     Max smiles and reaches out to touch Gavriil's face. "I'll make sure my brother doesn't kill you, so rest well...my sweet vice president," Max whispers, leaning close to kiss Gavriil's forehead before dozing off too, officially ending their tiresome day.

...

"I'll see you later at lunch," Marcus says, patting Max's head before heading out of the car. As soon as Marcus closed the door, Max immediately looks at Étienne and asks him, "What time did Gav leave? Does Marcus know he slept in my room?"

     Étienne tried his best not to laugh at how his master looked, so he cleared his throat and looked at Max through the rearview mirror before saying, "Rest assured, I told your brother that your guest left early last night, but as for sir Gavriil, he really left at about 4 in the morning. I offered him some tea, but he insisted to leave as soon as he could."

    Max sighs in relief after hearing what his butler has to say, making Étienne tease his dear master a little. "I didn't know you had someone close and special enough to sleep in your own room all night. No wonder the wine I hid last Christmas went missing," Étienne reveals, quickly making Max choke on air.

    When Étienne saw his reaction, he couldn't help but smile like a proud parent. "You've really changed Leigh. You have friends who support and adore you, and you even have a boy who has the ability to make you smile like that; an expression that I never saw from you before. As someone who helped raise you, I can't help but be relieved."

     "W-Why are you suddenly saying that?" Max awkwardly asks, and Étienne just smiled before parking the car in front of the Keep. "I'm happy that you are surrounded by people like that Leigh, but I hope you won't be too careless. That are still people who are after you. I might not have been able to protect you in the past, but I hope now I can change that," Étienne then tells him.

     "You said the same thing as Gav," Max says before reaching out to touch his butler's shoulder. "Thank you for always being there for me Étienne. I'll be careful, don't worry."

     Étienne doesn't say anything anymore and just nodded his head before heading out of the car to open the door for Max. Max thanks his butler as Étienne bowed to him. "Have an amazing day, master Leigh." He says, and Max nods his head before finally walking up the steps.

     While he was walking, he suddenly sees a figure waving at him from a distance. Max walks closer and sees that it was actually his dear friend, Felix.

     "Max! Good morning!" Felix greets, stopping in front of Max who happily smiled back at him.

     "Good morning, Felix." Max greets back, and the two start walking inside the main building together.

     "How are you feeling Max? Hopefully, you're not hurting anywhere," Felix says as the two continued walking down the hallway.

    "I'm fine, don't worry. How about you? Any news with your...you know," Max then says, trying his best not to mention Crazy 8 since Felix's identity is still very much a secret. And despite what happened yesterday, the Elites kept quiet about the whole thing, so no one knows that such an incident even occurred.

     "A lot of things happened, but as the new right-hand man, I would like to personally thank you for what you did for us. You don't know this, but the fact that you were willing to help us already speaks volumes, so thank you, Max. I mean it," Felix says, making Max nod his head to accept the gratitude given to him. But as they were walking, Max's eyes suddenly widened when he realized something that Felix just said. "W-Wait a minute, did you just say...right-hand man?"

     Felix grins, but instead of answering, he stops and gestures at the door behind them. Max turns around and sees that they were actually now in front of their clubroom. Felix opens the door for him, and when Max went inside, he was surprised to see a man standing in front of the window, wearing Siren's mask while holding a cane.

     "R-River?" Max asks in shock as Felix closed the door from outside the room.

     "Good morning," River says before removing the mask, revealing River's scarred face that he no longer tried to cover up with makeup.

     "Good morning?" Max says as he puts his bag on the table. "What brought you here? What did Felix say about being a right-hand man? Are you—"

     "President Janus made me the new leader of Crazy 8. Starting today, I now have full control of the marquis," River reveals, instantly making Max rejoice.

     "Really? That's great!"

     "Well, it wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for your help, as well as the Royals. I actually wanted to thank them first, but the kings and princes told me that they didn't do it for me so there was no need to thank them," River says, making Max chuckle since it was a reaction that he'd expect from Busters and PHD.

     "So, you're the new leader now huh? Siren is finally gone."

     "Actually... that's not the case," River says, making Max furrow his brows in confusion.

     "What do you mean?"

     "I pretended to be Siren and became the very face of Crazy 8 without even noticing. Siren is someone who I will keep close in my heart. I heard from Sky that Payton chose the name Siren because of our sister, almost like she was making fun of her, so I want to give the name a different meaning. I want to continue being Siren, not just for Crazy 8's sake, but for myself as well. Besides, a lot of students still don't know who Siren really is, so I'll keep it at that," River explains, and Max finally understood what River meant.

     "I'll keep wearing the mask too, not because I want to to keep hiding my identity, but because that's what Crazy 8 is about. Wearing that mask makes me become a different person; like a persona. At least now, I am seen by the people who are worthy to see me, and that includes you...Max. Thank you for helping me despite not knowing who I really am. I will forever be grateful."

     River stood straight, and soon after, he bowed in front of Max, surprising Max.

     "Please, River, you're giving me too much credit. I barely did anything, and I even got drugged."

     "No...the fact that you listened to me, and were willing to help me, was enough to make me grateful. You also stood against Payton when she was making fun of my sister, so I thank you for that. Now, because of what happened, I can finally look for the people who killed my sister," River says with complete determination.

     Max takes a deep breath and swallows the lump in his throat. He wasn't sure if he should say anything, but after making his final decision, he says, "River...I might know what really happened to your sister."

     "W-What? How?" River asks, obviously surprised to hear this from Max.

     "I can't say anything now, but please, give me some time to talk to someone first. I promise you will know the truth eventually. Will you be able to give me and my friend this chance...my marquis?" Max asks, bowing to River this time.

     River was surprised, but then he smiles and nods his head before putting the mask back on.

     "If you can fulfill such a promise, then I might have something that you might like as well," River says, casually touching the brooch that's in his collar, making Max chuckle.

     "I'll wait for you Sinclaire. I hope we can talk soon," River says, patting Max's shoulder and finally heading out. As soon as he was gone, the members of Omega Society—who were actually waiting outside since Felix didn't let them in—hurriedly goes inside, surprised that they saw Siren come out of their clubroom.

     "T-That was Siren, right? That was the leader of Crazy 8, right? What the hell was he doing here?" One of the omegas asks Max, and Max just shrugged his shoulders before looking at Felix who was trying not to smirk.

     "By the way, where's Payton? And do we have any news about our club advisor after giving us that crazy assignment yesterday?" Eren then asks.

     Felix clears his throat and goes in front of them to announce, "Actually, Max and I handled the situation with Sky yesterday, and Ian agreed to remove him from our club."

     "What? Really?!"

    As soon as they heard of the news, the omegas instantly started cheering. They no longer have to endure Sky's rumors that did not only stress them out but also put them in great danger.

     "And Payton? Where is he?" Another member asks, making Felix and Max look at each other.

     "W-well, Payton...he had to leave J.S High. It was a short notice, but from what I know, he had to study abroad. He didn't have time to say goodbye, but he hopes you all do well since you're all freshmen students, and he also thanks you for reviving Omega Society." Felix lies, surprising and confusing the other members.

    Despite everything that Payton did as Siren, these white uniforms knew Payton as a respectable senior who taught them the ways of their club. Payton was their club leader, while Siren was a greedy brotherhood leader. They're the same person, but Max and Felix would rather consider them as two different people for the sake of their club members too.

     "Well, if that's the case then I hope he does well with whatever he's doing now," Eren says, and Felix just nodded his head to agree to it.

     "But now that we don't have Payton...who's going to be our club leader now? We don't have a club advisor either," one of the members pointed out, making everyone start talking amongst each other. But as everyone was discussing what they can do now, Eren suddenly points at Max and tells him, "How about Max? How about we make him the club leader?"

     Max and Felix were surprised, but then everyone in the room started to agree with it.

     "Yeah, Max has always been the one who really made Omega Society what it is today. Let's be honest, we wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for him."

     "And besides, I think Max's rank is high enough for us to not even have a club advisor. Don't you think?"

    The members of Omega Society started telling Max more reasons as to why he's the perfect club leader for them to the point where it made Max embarrassed, so he quickly settled everyone down and said, "Alright alright...let's all calm down for a second. If you're all okay with it, then I'll be your club advisor. No need to leave such flattering words."

     As soon as Max agreed to everyone's plea, the members started cheering, making both Felix and Max laugh.

     "Well, as your club leader, I'll look for an assignment for us so you guys should get ready," Max says, and everyone started heading to their lockers to get changed.

     While everyone was doing so, one of the members looked at Eren and suddenly asks, "Hey Eren, is that...a purple kiss mark? On your uniform?"

     "W-what? Where did I get this?"

     Max, who overheard their conversation, widened his eyes in shock. He then looked at Felix and mouthed the words, "Are you fucking serious?"

    Felix chuckles and just shrugged his shoulders, and everyone continued with their club activities like nothing happened, not even knowing that Crazy 8 just recruited another unfortunate member.

- END -