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"ALRIGHT, WE ONLY HAVE a few slots left for the sponsors," Sir Kai Barron announces while looking at his tablet. He then turns to the whiteboard showing the different committees the students must join for their upcoming Spring Dance.

     These committees are:

     Props Committee

     Food Committee

     Beverages Committee

     Invites Committee

     Program Committee

     Sponsors

     Since there was an "incident" in the stadium earlier, the students weren't able to sign up after the morning assembly, so now the class advisers were instructed to just conduct the assigning of the committee during their homeroom class.

     Such a task was something that Sir Barron found especially annoying.

     "Who wants to join the Sponsors?" Sir Barron asks, and almost everyone in the class raises their hands to volunteer, making their adviser sigh in frustration. He'd lie if he said he wasn't expecting this. After all, sponsors only have to "donate" money and call it a day. For a school filled with rich kids, this was the easiest job.

     "Alright, I'm going to choose two representatives myself," Sir Barron says instead, making the entire class groan in frustration.

     "What committee will you be joining, Max?" Ari asks while their adviser starts choosing his picks.

     Max stares at the board and thinks about it for a while. "Joon would probably choose Food Committee so I'll choose that," he then reveals, making Ari look at his seatmate like he was crazy.

     "You know how crazy it is for me to hear you call Kim Hee-Joon so casually like that? What the hell even happened to you guys when you were in St. George Academy?" Ari honestly asks.

     "Well, not much, really. But...I don't know. I've helped CJ and the others but with Joon, it feels different. It's like...it's like I see myself in him somehow. The old me," Max then admits, which only made Ari furrow his brows in confusion.

     "You see yourself in Joon? The Ice Prince? Well, you were friends with Jontell Rosario in the past so I guess I kinda see it too," Ari jokingly says.

     "I mean, for some reason, I see him like a little brother that I want to protect. And I don't want to admit this but I kinda see where Marcus is coming from too. His overprotectiveness...I somehow understand it now."

     "Max, you're making the hair on my skin stand for real," Ari comments. "And besides, Joon doesn't need fucking protection. If anything, having him protect you is way better. The level of protection he can give you is literally equal to fucking Krist and Hans combined," Ari explains next, but before Max can even say anything back, Sir Barron suddenly towers over them, making the two stop talking to look up at him.

    "Faulkner...Programs Committee," their adviser suddenly announces, already signing his name up in the tablet before Ari could even protest.

     "W-Wait! Programs Committee? I was planning to join invites!"

     "Then you should have kept your mouth shut," Sir Barron fires back before turning to look at Max this time. "Sinclaire, Food Committee."

     "No fair! That's what he wanted!" Ari complained even more, but Sir Barron ignored him and walked back to the front of the room, Felix and Ervin looking at him, trying their best not to laugh.

     The rest of the class was able to choose their committees, and for some reason, Ervin, Felix, Max, and Ari were all in different teams. It might have been a coincidence, but it seems like Sir Barron deliberately made sure that none of them were together.

     "I can't believe that devil put me in the Invites Committee," Felix complains while walking down the hallway with his friends.

     "Exchange with me! I don't wanna be in programs. I heard that when J.S High last hosted, the program was so bad that the Elites had to deduct their merit points," Ari worries, making Ervin and Max laugh, which made Felix and Ari glare at them since they both got what they initially wanted. Ervin in the Beverage Committee, and Max in the Food Committee.

     "Let's just enjoy what was given to us and do our best," Max optimistically says, and as annoyed as Felix and Ari were for their friend's positivity, they didn't say anything about it anymore.

     As the four reached the Keep so they could head to the Great Hall to have their lunch, Ervin stopped and said, "You guys go ahead. Master Joker told me to head to the base and meet up with the other Jacks. I think we're meeting up with Kim Hee-joon."

     "Really? Let me come with you," Max immediately volunteered.

     "Sure. I think things would go smoother if you're there."

     "Then let us come with you guys too," Ari says.

     "No Roses and Crazy 8 members allowed," Ervin instantly rejects. "You guys head to the Great Hall and we'll catch up with you after we're done."

     "No fair. You just want Max all to yourself," Ari complains again. "Let's go, Felix. We'll have our fun without them," Ari then says before dragging Felix away, Max and Ervin chuckling at their ridiculous antics.

     "I'm glad those two haven't changed too much," Max starts as he and Ervin walk their way to the East Tower where Jokers' base can be found. "They're no longer the Ari and Felix that I met on my first day here, but they still have the same heart, as cheesy as that may sound."

     "I understand what you mean," Ervin agrees.

     But as they were walking, the air around Max suddenly became serious. Without stopping, Max adds, "But you seem a lot different now, Ervin. Something about you drastically changed. I can't pinpoint it yet but I instantly felt it when I saw you again."

     "Is it a bad thing?" Ervin asks, not even looking at Max.

     Max smirks, and then he shakes his head. "No, I'm just excited, that's all. Don't think about it too much."

     Ervin didn't know what Max even meant, but he wasn't able to ask for any further clarifications as they eventually arrived at the rooftop, a bunch of Jacks already waiting for Ervin there.

     The Jacks greeted their Master Jack first, and then they looked at Max and bowed to him too, to which Max happily acknowledged. Soon after, Brave arrives with their new recruit, Kim Hee-joon, who instantly makes everyone look uncomfortable by just being there.

     "He's all yours," Brave tells Ervin, tapping his shoulder before waving at Max and taking his leave.

     Max stood aside as Joon stood in front of all the Jacks. Everyone didn't say anything, but Ervin approached Joon with no hesitation and stared down at him with little to no fear. Ervin knows his title well, and Max couldn't help but hide a smile.

     "I don't care if you're Ranked 7. Half the Jacks here are in a higher year than me, some ranking above me. But despite those differences, they listen to me as the underling's leader," Ervin starts. "You are now a Jack, which means you will follow my orders, especially the orders of Master Joker. Is that clear?"

     Joon didn't answer. Instead, he looked at Max as if he was waiting for Max to instruct him on what to do. Max was confused, but then he mouthed the words, "Say something," so Joon looked back at Ervin and immediately answered, "Yes, I understand," which instantly made Max suppress a laugh. 

     "Alright, now that we're gathered here, I just want to make an announcement. According to Master Joker, we're going to abstain from the pranks in this year's spring dance," Ervin tells everyone next, and like they heard the worst news in the world, the Jacks started protesting.

     "But...why?! We've always set up traps during the Spring Dance. It's like tradition," one of the Jacks says, making the rest of the underlings agree, completely ignoring the fear they had of Kim Hee-Joon a couple of seconds ago. 

     Looks like pranking was a serious thing for them.

     While Ervin was trying to calm everyone down, Max noticed a light directly flashing in his direction. He was going to ignore it, but then the light went straight to his face. Max immediately looked around, and then he noticed someone flashing a light at him from the other tower.

     Max didn't know what the light was for, but he called for Ervin and gestured at him that he'd be taking his leave to not interrupt him. When Ervin nodded as a go signal, Max immediately ran down the stairs to inspect the strange light. But while he was running, he couldn't help but hear the extra footsteps running behind him as well.

     Max immediately turned around, and as expected, he saw Joon on his tail.

     "J-Joon! What the hell are you doing here?!"

     "You saw the light too, right?"

     "Well, yeah, but you're supposed to be with the Jacks. You can't just—"

     "Before I chose to be a Jack, I agreed to be a white uniform for you. Master Jack will understand," Joon explains, and the mere fact that Joon referred to Ervin as Master Jack instantly made Max forgive him.

     "Alright, but we have to be cautious. Who knows who was signaling for me," Max says, and Joon nods his head as the two of them make their way to the West Tower.

     When they got to the top floor of the tower, the first thing Max and Joon noticed was how empty the entire floor was.

     "Based on the window where that light was flashing, I can only assume that it was from the storage room there," Joon says, bravely making his way to the storage room without even inspecting the area first. Joon then grabs the doorknob, but Max pushes him aside and opens the door himself.

     Max enters the room first, Joon right behind him.

     The room was filled with boxes and old equipment. This was definitely a storage room like what Joon said.

     "Wow, these boxes seemed to have been sitting here forever," Max says, covering his mouth because of the amount of dust. He then pulled the curtains apart in one of the large windows, giving the room more light for them to look around. 

     "So, how's your first day as a white uniform? I bet everyone was avoiding you," Max teased as he looked around the room.

     "Ian talks a lot," Joon suddenly answers, making Max smile because he wasn't expecting Joon to actually respond to him. 

     After that quick chit-chat, Max approached another window and saw a flashlight on the floor. "Joonie, look. It's the flashlight," Max says as Joon approaches him. 

     The prince stands beside Max and grabs the flashlight. While inspecting it, they suddenly heard a noise behind them. Without a second thought, Joon pulls out the gun that he's hiding under his coat before immediately turning around. Max turns around as well, and to his surprise, standing before them is the Revels' leader, the new Marquis, Meirion March.

     "You..." Max says as Joon slowly puts his gun down. Or rather, Viktor's gun down.

     Meirion wasn't even surprised. Without saying anything, he immediately went down on one knee and touched his chest. "My prince, I did not know you'd accompany Sinclaire. I should have welcomed you better."

     Max turns to Joon to check his expression. He thought Joon would look angry, especially since Meirion and his brotherhood are the reason why he's wearing an eyepatch now and why he's no longer a prince in J.S High, but Joon didn't look angry at all. In fact, his expression was completely blank.

     "So you were really calling for me from the rooftop," Max says instead, and Meirion finally stands back up to look at Max.

     "Yes, Siren sent a message and told me that you were hoping to meet us. I was following you when the bell rang, and then I overheard you and Ervin Walker heading to the rooftop so I ran here," Meirion explains, which surprised Max because he didn't even notice nor sense Meirion following them. 

     He's also surprised that Siren already talked to him about his request. Max literally just told Felix about this a few hours ago. He wasn't expecting them to be this quick.

     "Well yes, I was hoping to speak with you," Max answers. He then looks around at the dusty storage room before adding, "But, can we talk somewhere that's not filled with cobwebs?"

     "Oh, I'm sorry Sinclaire but I'm not allowed to be seen by the other students. Viktor would kill me," Meirion explains. "If it's alright with you, I'll look for another room that I can—"

     "N-No, it's okay. Don't bother."

     Max pauses and looks carefully at Meirion. The last time Max saw him was during the Reranking. Meirion looked like a powerful leader. He looked cunning and confident. But now, he looked exhausted and weak. Whatever fire he had in him has long been gone. Max couldn't help but feel pity towards him.

"Since we're already here I don't want to waste more of your time. I wanted to meet you because I wanted to know more about the previous Siren, Payton Wolfe. How did you meet her? And how were you able to do that job for her?" Max asks, and looking at Meirion's expression, it seems like he already expected Max to ask him that question.

     "I'll tell you what I already told Viktor and the others..." Meirion says, and both Max and Joon give his ears to him, making sure to hear everything he has to say.

     According to Meirion, they were a rookie brotherhood in the House of Pawns. One day, when the Annual Brotherhood Reranking was approaching, someone approached them and made them an offer. That someone was none other than Payton Wolfe.

     Payton told them that she could make them a well-known brotherhood that the five houses would respect. She said she could help them enter J.S High like how Crazy 8 did in the past.

     Revels, who had been bullied and criticized at Thomas L. High School for being the lowest rank, was desperate and agreed. Payton trained them herself and taught them everything that would make them endure till the last battle. And as evil as Payton may be, she transformed Revels into a strong brotherhood that got to the top thanks to all the intel that Payton also gave them.

     Of course, that all came with a price.

     "We knew all of the brotherhoods' strategy. Payton taught us all about them from the Pythons, Blue Ravens, the Gallants, and up to Checkmate. She told us all their weaknesses that would help us win against them. But Payton couldn't teach us about the brotherhoods in J.S High. She didn't know how to defeat them, but we believed otherwise," Meirion explains, Max and Joon now sitting on one of the boxes as the leader continues with his story.

     "On the fourth battle—the one that was set here in J.S High—Payton told us about the bullet. She said that it was a bullet that was brought here by an accomplice."

     "That accomplice was Magnus McKay from Westminster College, right?" Max asks.

     "Yes, or so I heard. I never really knew who he was. The new Siren only told me about it when I got here," Meirion answers.

     "Anyway, what happened after that?"

     "The members and I became confident. You might not believe this but I secretly planned to not use the poisoned bullet. We believed we might have a chance after the previous battles," Meirion explains further. "But as soon as the battle started, and when you all started teaming up, we got scared. It hurt our ego, so instead of battling fairly, I told my members to use the bullet."

     "How did you even find the bullet?"

     "Payton told us the exact place where we'd find it. She instructed us before that the bullet was only for Viktor. He was our target from the start, but Payton also warned us that Kim Hee-joon would definitely take the bullet for him."

     "Wait, so you knew Joon would intervene?" Max asks in shock, glancing at Joon before looking back at Meirion.

     "Payton calculated it. That's why when we found the aluminum casing, we were surprised," Meirion shares. "There were two bullets. It wasn't just one."

     "What?" Joon and Max ask simultaneously, surprised to hear about this new information.

     "That can't be. Chairman Val made it clear that he only sold one bullet to Payton. But then again, he said he only sold it to three different people. Could Payton have bought it twice but with a different name?" Max wonders.

     "That may be the case," Meirion agrees. "But we noticed something when we saw the other bullet. It was different. It was as if someone else made it. We weren't able to observe the other bullet thoroughly, but you could tell that it's not as high quality as the other."

     "Someone remade it," Joon guesses, which was something that Max thought of too after hearing what Meirion said.

     "Wait, don't tell me...the bullet you shot Joon...it was the defected one?"

     "Is that the reason why only one of my eyes got affected?" Joon asks, slowly reaching out to touch his eyepatch. "If I was hit with the bullet that Chairman Salvatore made..."

     "The effects should have been worse, right?" Max finishes for him. "Chairman Valor said it was only a prototype, but if you shot the defective one first, it's only obvious that the other one would be—"

     "That would be the case, but we made a mistake that day," Meirion interrupts. "I think Payton planned for us to use the defective bullet on our first shot because she knew someone would take the shot for Viktor. But we panicked...I used the real one on you instead," Meirion says, now looking at Joon.

     "The real bullet was the defected one? Then what was the other bullet for?"

     Max was confused for a while, but soon after, the confused look on his face changed into complete horror. Max realized something that never crossed his mind before, but putting Payton into consideration, only she could have thought of something cruel.

     "The other bullet wasn't a defect. It was remade to be stronger. They modeled Chairman Valor's prototype and made a better version of it," Max says with his eyes wide in realization. "The other bullet was supposed to kill someone...it was supposed to kill...you," the young heir reveals, looking at Joon who was just as surprised as he was.

    "Me?" Joon asks back, not certain if he should even be surprised.

     "Payton works with Paradox. Joon, you might be the only person in this entire house who is deeply connected to them. Whatever you know...they wanted to erase it," Max says, making Joon shake his head in denial.

     "That day, Viktor wasn't the only target. Payton was so sure you'd take the bullet for him. They knew you'd—"

     "No," Joon immediately says, standing up and looking at Max angrily. "Paradox won't...they have no reason to do anything to me anymore. I have given them everything I could..." Joon stopped, and Max noticed he was already burying his nails against his palm.

     Max takes a deep breath and stands up as well, turning to Meirion to cut their meeting short.

     "Looks like we'll end it here for now. Thank you, Meirion."

     "No, thank you for wanting to meet with me. If there's anything else you want to ask, just let me know," Meirion says before turning to look at Joon again. "And I know this won't mean anything to you, but I'm sorry. I truly and deeply am. I talked to President Janus once and told them that we cheated. We tried to get you back but the Brotherhood Association—"

     "It doesn't matter," Joon cuts off, not even looking at Meirion who also had his other eye covered. "I have no interest in holding grudges, especially on a pawn. But let me ask you this, black uniform...after everything is resolved, if it ever will, what are your plans for Revels?"

     Max looked at Meirion who seemed to have been surprised by the sudden question. Max wasn't sure why Joon was asking about that either, but Max knew Joon enough to know that his questions always had a purpose. Whatever Meirion would answer now would definitely mean something to Joon in the future.

     "What are my plans?" Meirion wonders himself. "I...I don't..." he stops for a while, unsure of what to say. He probably hasn't even thought of that after everything that happened to his brotherhood. But after thinking about it, Meirion suddenly looked determined, the fire in his eyes returning just for a quick second.

     "I want us to be given a chance. I want to prove ourselves, but in the right way this time," Meirion says.

     Joon becomes quiet for a while, and without saying anything anymore, Joon walks out, leaving Max and Meirion alone in the storage room.

     "Well, I guess that's it. I actually wanted to scold you, but Joon is right. There is no reason to hold grudges on someone who was only used. And looking at you, I can tell you've already paid your price,"  Max says, approaching the leader who unconsciously touched the white patch covering his eyes.

     "J.S High will either make you or break you. Everyone here is hungry and desperate, which is why you can't even compare them to the others. Our lowest-ranking student here outranks hundreds of students in the lower houses. That's why the desperation you had with Payton Wolfe...it's truly a disappointment," Max says with a serious expression, his aura almost suffocating. 

     "You're only a brotherhood in a pool of other brotherhoods in the House of Pawns whose names may never be remembered. Instead of using your desperation to prove that you are a gem among the trash, you ended up doing the exact opposite," Max coldly says this time, his words firm that it started making Meirion's heart beat faster and faster.

     "But if what you said to Joon is true then know that I will watch you closely from now on. And as a member of the House of Kings, one day...if you have redeemed yourself and realized what a true brotherhood is...we will welcome you here. Walk with your head held high, Meirion March. Your next shot...will definitely be in your favor."

     As soon as Max was done talking, the room became completely silent. Meirion didn't even know how to react, but then his eyes suddenly became watery before he could even notice it. He couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the only person in this house who showed him true kindness.

      Without saying anything else, Max turns around and walks towards the exit. But just as Max is about to grab the doorknob, Meirion stops him.

     "Wait!" he shouts, making Max turn back around to look at him. "Sinclaire...I know I don't deserve this. I know that more than anyone. But Viktor...he has one of my members. His name is Ersin Çagri. He's my right-hand man. Please, I'll do anything. Can you please bring him back?"

...

"You're not stupid," Joon says as he and Max were walking back to the rooftop. "If you asked Viktor to surrender that Revel, he'll want something in return, and Viktor would definitely ask for me."

     "There has to be a way. Meirion said they hadn't seen him for days. Who knows what Viktor has been doing to him? Don't you think this is too much? Viktor is—"

     "If Meirion March said you jump off a building will you do it?" Joon suddenly snaps, stopping in the middle of an empty hallway as he looks at Max with irritation.

     "Joon..."

     "The fact that Viktor has a member captive means that they did a Russian Roulette Trial. There's nothing you can fucking do about that," Joon explains, making Max remember what Cindy told him before during the Brotherhood Ball. The Russian Roulette Trial is Busters' custom, which they also call the nine-level punishment. He hasn't encountered it yet, but seeing what it did to Meirion, Max couldn't help but be worried.

     "Is it that impossible?"

     "You know, you have a way of trying to help everyone and it's getting annoying, Sinclaire," Joon brutally tells him. "If you didn't have that trait you wouldn't have wasted helping that useless house."

     "Hey, helping St. George Academy was not a waste and you know it."

     "I don't fucking care!" Joon shouts, surprising Max. "And earlier...how dare you associate me with Paradox like you know my story with them. They no longer have business with me. That extra bullet was a coincidence," Joon says next, and Max finally understands why Joon is angry. It's not about Meirion at all.

     "Okay," Max surrenders. "I won't assume anything about you ever again, especially when it's related to Paradox. And I won't help Meirion March either. I won't entertain his request or meet up with him anymore. I won't do anything that will upset you."

     As soon as Joon heard Max's decision, he finally calmed down, his angry expression turning into annoyance, and then embarrassment. "You're doing this on purpose." 

     "I'm serious," Max insists. "So don't be mad anymore, okay? Let's go back to the rooftop. Ervin will be looking for you."

     Without any warning, Max grabs Joon's wrist and pulls him away. While Joon gets dragged by the young heir, Joon bit his lower lip, holding down the tears that he swore would never fall again. No one has ever handled him the way Max does. And the thought of it made Joon feel scared for the very first time.

- END -