In the end, I won more matches than him, the score being 8-4. I cheered as I placed down my last card, winning for the ninth time.

He grumbled as he threw his three cards down, revealing them to be two wild cards and a green seven. "So fucking close to winning, and this brat just has to steal it from me."

"Watch your damn mouth. Fucking hell, dude." I said in response to his swearing, holding back a smirk.

I could feel his annoyed gaze on me as I grabbed the cards and shuffled them. "Hold on." He mumbled, making me stop and watch carefully as he began to dig through his bag again. He pulled out a chess box, making my lips form a frown as I put the cards away.

Hoody definitely knew he was gonna win when he pulled out this board because I can confidently say I can't play chess. "You are most likely going to have to explain to me how to play because I can't remember."

"Alright," there was definitely a smirk on his lips because you could easily hear it in his voice as he began to set up the board. "This piece is a pawn; you can go forwards with one space, but the first move with each one can go two spaces. It attacks diagonally." He put the pawn on the board with the rest of them before picking up a horse-looking piece. "This is a knight. It moves in a capital 'L' shape, and attacks in that same way."

"This is confusing."

"You'll get the hang of it eventually." He pulled out a piece that looked like a tower and placed it down on the corners of the board. "That is a rook. It moves vertically or horizontally and it moves anywhere in the four cardinal directions until you take out a piece, or you stop it." He pulled out a strange piece that looked like it had almost been like a fish's head with its mouth open. "This is a bishop. It moves diagonally on the color it is set on."

"I have a question that'll make me feel dumb." I slightly raised my hand, and he turned his attention to me, tilting his head, as if telling me to go on. "What are the four cardinal directions?"

"North, south, east, and west." He deadpanned as he placed down the bishops before grabbing out two pieces. "The King," he held up the one with the cross on its head in his left hand, "and the Queen." He held up the other piece in his right hand, and allowed me to study the differences between the two.

"Please tell me the Queen is more powerful than the King."

Hoody nodded as he set the pieces down. "The Queen can move anywhere, really; vertical, horizontal, diagonal. The King can move one square in any direction, unless the move puts it in check, or a friendly piece is already there. Do you understand how to play?"

I gave him a bright grin before answering. "Nope!"

A sigh was audible as he shook his head. "I'll teach you as we play."

The final score between wins and losses was 7-1, Hoody easily beating me. The only way I won once was because he guided me on how to win.

A pout placed itself on my lips as I flopped back against the floor. "I'm tired now."

"So go to bed."

"I can't go to bed now. It's not even that late yet." A glance at the clock told me it was only about 5:15, which meant I shouldn't really even be tired yet. My stomach rumbled as I remembered I hadn't eaten since yesterday. "Are you hungry? I am, so maybe we can get some food together."

He was obviously very hesitant as he shook his head. "My mask." was his reason, making me sit up and reach my hand out. "What?"

"Give."

Hoody seemed like he wanted to run at the command. "You wouldn't want to see my face. It's quite ugly, and not something someone should see."

"Hoody, you are literally a murderer, and yet I just played Uno and Chess with you. I really don't care what your face looks like."

He gently nudged my hand back towards me as he shook his head. "How about you go get food, and then bring it back here, so I don't have to take my mask off fully?" I nodded at his suggestion, standing up and grabbing all the things necessary.

The sound of the door unlocking made me turn towards it with wide eyes. "Shit." I swore under my breath, turning back to Hoodie. He was nowhere to be seen, which made me raise a brow. The window was shut and the exit was so sudden that it made me raise a brow.

The door opening and the giggles coming from it made me immediately turn back to face it. The pair walked in, obviously having enjoyed their day. A certain joy appeared in their eyes once they saw me.

"(Y/n)!" Katie sang as she skipped up to me, taking my hands into hers. I tensed as I felt my foot knock into a certain chess piece still on the floor. Looking at it, I saw it was the white king; the piece Hoody used. Her eyes followed mine down to the piece. "Were you playing something for smart people? And were you doing it by yourself?"

I hesitated for a moment before playfully shoved her back, earning a laugh from her. "I had a friend over, but you scared them off."

Carrie raised a brow before a smirk placed itself on her lips. "You don't have many friends, and none of us really know how to play chess, of all things, so I wonder about something. Was this 'friend' your soulmate?"

The question made a smirk come onto Katie's lips and a frown tug at mine. I narrowed my eyes at her, and shook my head before pushing past them, done with the teasing already. I loved those two and all, but the constant teasing was a bit annoying.

"If you tell me, I'll buy you dinner." The thought of being bought food was enough to make me stop in my tracks. My phone buzzed, making me look down and unlock the thing to see the message clearly, although it was from an unknown number.

'Don't tell them about me. Them knowing you've met your soulmate is enough.'

I sighed to myself before I kept walking, shutting the door behind me as I walked to go to a nearby fast food restaurant. As I walked, I deemed that it was probably a good idea to put Hoody's number as a contact in case he either texted me again, or I needed to text him.

Hoody

May I ask why you don't want them to know about you?

You knowing about me already is bad, trust me.

Why should I trust you exactly?
We've only really just met last night, and I have no reason to really trust you

Do you want your little friends dead or alive?
Your choice.

His words struck a pang of fear within me as I stared at the messages. Thoughts began to race through my head as I shakily typed out an answer.

Alive.

Then watch yourself. We may be soulmates, but I won't hesitate to harm anyone.

Alright, sorry

I have to go. Do not text me unless absolutely necessary, or unless I text you first.

Okay okay
Goodbye

Goodbye.

I let out a shaky breath at his words as my mind mulled over them. Letting my feet carry me to the closest McDonald's, my thoughts were consumed with thoughts of Hoody killing my friends.

He'd already proven to me that he was capable enough to kill someone, seeing as how my neck was still bruised and he had held a gun to me. A sigh left my lips as I pushed the doors open, the smell of their food blasting into my nose.

I surveyed my surroundings cautiously with blank eyes. The place was pretty empty, save for a family, a couple, and a single man in a tan jacket. He gave off a bit of a weird vibe, but I just ignored it.

Going up to the counter, a worker greeted me in a cheerful tone. "Welcome to McDonald's! What can I get for you today?" She asked, a bright smile stretched across her face. I gave her my order and she put it in the computer or whatever before telling me the price. I handed her cash and she gave me my cup and receipt.

I took both before heading to fill my cup while waiting for my food. Ice filled the cup before my drink of choice followed after. I turned around to see the cashier from before placing a brown bag on the counter while letting me know it's mine.

I mumbled a thank you as I grabbed my food and sat down in a secluded corner. Opening up the bag, I brought out all my food before beginning to eat, mindlessly scrolling through my phone while doing so.

There was something off, though. The feeling of eyes watching me made me tense up as I quickened my pace. Something felt off about the gaze. Questions ran through my head as I gripped my phone, clicking on the messages app.

Is it that tan jacket guy? He seemed off, so maybe.

Taking a glance at him, we locked eyes. His brown gaze pierced my soul, making my breathing quicken. I tore my gaze away from him as I shut off my phone to hurry and eat my food.

Once I finished, I got up and threw away my trash before rushing out. That man really creeped me out. Like, why the fuck was he staring at me for?

I took a breath to try and calm my brain and heart down. It still felt like there were eyes on me, so I began to run back to my dorm, adrenaline and fear coursing through my body.