━━━━━━

    "OH HELL NAW!!", Juliet screamed, as not only was the Ramshackle Dorm dusty as hell, but ghosts were trying to snatch her mask and shit.

     "How entertaining! We haven't had guests in a very long time!", Ghost A chuckled.

"Actually, there was once a—"

"Shh! We don't talk about her", Ghost C interrupted.

"MYAH!! LEAVE, YOU PEKSY GHOSTS!!", Grim shivered, trying to put up a tough front, as Juliet silently cursed Crowley.

     "Come on, don't be such a stick in a mud. Play with us!", Ghost B pressured.

     "Ugh, can we just do this tomorrow?? I have class early in the morning and I don't even know my way around campus yet", Juliet groaned.

     The three ghosts glanced at each other, before shrugging and dispersing.

     "Fine, but don't forget to play with us tomorrow!", Ghost A shouted.

     "It's a date!!", Juliet joked, as she went back to sleep on the musty mattress.

     "Seriously, I ought to complain to Mr. Crowley tomorrow about how yucky this place is", the eighteen year-old coughed.

     Grim just stared at the girl astonished.

     Was she a ghost tamer? A monster discipliner? Perhaps even a magical being trapped inside a human's body and just waiting to be awakened?

     Regardless, Grim had to be sure to keep his guard up. After all, humans were greedy, ferocious, inferior bein—

     An arm hastily slumped across Grim's petite body, causing the cat to hiss on instinct, only to realize that it was an unconscious Juliet.

     "Mm...fluffy...", Juliet mumbled, as she snuggled the cat closer to her.

     Okay, maybe humans weren't as despicable as he thought.

     "Mm...cotton candy...", the girl drooled, biting down on Grim's arm, as the cat screeched and cursed the human.

     "I TAKE IT BACK, YOU TRASHY HUMAN!"

♛

     Juliet lazily made sure that her mask was tightly tied around her head as she trudged towards the cafeteria, where everyone stared at her and her pet cat.

     "Yeesh! They actin' as if they've never seen a human before", Juliet scoffed, "HEY DORKS, AT LEAST PAY IF YOU WANT TO MARVEL IN MY HANDSOMENESS!"

     Everyone immediately went back to eating, to which Juliet had just frowned.

     "Myahaha!! They hate you~", Grim teased.

     "Oi! New guy, over here!!", a voice suddenly interrupted, causing Grim and Juliet to shift their attention towards a pair of twins and their house-warden.

     "Over here!!", one of the Leech brothers ushered with a bright grin.

     "They look sketchy...", Grim whispered, scrunching up his face in disgust.

     "I thought cats liked fish", Juliet retorted, as she took her tray of piled food and sat in front of the trio.

     "I—"

     "You called us over?", the girl interrupted, to which Grim had started saltily nibbling on the tuna that was pushed to the side of Juliet's tray.

     "Say, I heard you're human! What's your name? How'd you get here? Can I call you Shrimpy? I'll just call you Shrim—"

     "Floyd, please, you're overwhelming our guests", the other boy with teal-colored hair kindly intercepted.

     "Pardon his abrasive personality. I'm Jade Leech, the Vice House-ward of Octavinelle, and he's my twin, Floyd Leech".

     "And I'm Azul Ashengrotto, the House-warden of Octavinelle", a boy with glasses and a beauty mark introduced.

     'Ahhh, so they're basically Ursula and her two leeches...okay, but why are they all kinda...' 

     "Nice to meet you! My name's Jul—"

     Grim's pitchforked tail smacked the backside of Juliet's head, causing the girl's (mask) beak to slam onto the table before her head had resurfaced.

     "Romeo, just call me Romeo. Ah, and this is Grim", Juliet choked out.

     "Aww, what a lovely name, Shrimpy! Say, have you grown accustomed to Night Raven College yet? You know, Floyd caused a bit of an uproar during our entrance ceremony as well. Just like you and Grim. Heheh~"

     "Sir, this is only like my first day, like chile. Ask me that question again once it's been a week or so, but to be honest, other than the ghosts living in our dorm, everything's been fine I guess...", Juliet replied.

     Jade was genuinely impressed that the girl could catch up with his twin's overly curious personality, for sometimes, it could be a bit much.

     "Ghosts?! You have ghosts in your dorm?? What dorm did you get sorted into?", Floyd gasped, now interested.

     "Bro, you won't believe it! There's like three of them in the Ramshackle Dorm, and they kept asking me to play, so I promised them that I'd play with them after school tomorrow, which is today I guess", the girl informed, oversharing every detail of her life like always.

     "A play date with ghosts?! Hey Jade, how about we join them after school?", Floyd excitedly suggested.

     "I don't think we should just invite ourselves over to someone's dorm like tha—"

     "Nahhh, it's fine!! As long as you don't mind the crusty dusty shelves, floors, beds, and...and everything..."

     "See?! Shrimpy already said that it's fine! Let's go!!", Floyd poorly persuaded.

     Jade sighed, as Juliet had noticed that Azul had kept quiet throughout the entire conversation.

     "How about you, Azul?", Juliet questioned, not bothering to repeat his long ass last name.

     "Invite me to your dorm? If you don't mind", the (light) gray-haired boy stated, "In fact, I can probably even help you out a bit".

     "Oh word?! Thanks man!", Juliet widely smiled, as Azul had just politely nodded.

     The twins casted each other a glance, as they sensed that Juliet was their new target for the day.

     "By the way, what class do you have next? Maybe we can walk you there", Jade offered.

     "Oh, for real? You all are so nice. I actually have the history of magic first period. It's with...Mozus Trein??"

"Ah, he's a strict one", Floyd cautioned.

"Damn...I guess no morning naps for me...", Juliet sighed, as the twins had escorted the girl to her first class since they shared the same period as well.

♛

It was evident to Juliet that Trein was modeled after the evil stepmother from Cinderella. I mean come on! He even has a black cat named Lucius.

"Nice to meet you, Professor Trein!", Juliet warmly greeted, for her mother has always told her to make a good first impression regardless of the rumors you've heard about that person.

Glancing down at the girl who was holding Grim, Trein simply hummed in acknowledgment, as he didn't spare the new student another thought.

"Hurry to your seat. Keep up the timely punctuality", Trein stated, to which Juliet had just smiled and did as told.

Taking a seat beside Floyd, who was beside Jade, the eighteen year-old was bantering with Grim, until he had walked in.

"Woah...who's that?", Juliet breathlessly questioned, eyes wide and mouth gaping open like a goldfish.

"Hm? Oh, Malleus Draconia? He's the House-warden of Diasomnia", Floyd answered.

"Descended from fae, he is one of the most powerful mages in the world. He is highly respected on campus, yet his demeanor is less than approachable", Jade briefly explained.

"Okay, Mr. Encyclopedia!", Juliet laughed, causing Floyd to join in as Jade just politely smiled like always.

"Why thank you".

As Malleus made his way up the aisle to find a seat, Juliet had the bright idea of catching the fae's attention and inviting him to take a seat beside her.

"Hey hot stuff! Why don't you take a seat beside me. We can be friends...or maybe something even more?", Juliet grinned, resulting in Floyd to choke on his spit and Grim to hold back his disbelief.

     "Did you forget that you're disguised as a boy right now?!", Grim harshly whispered.

The dark-haired boy narrowed his eyes with dubiety, as he could not see past the crow-like mask and whether the girl's expression was genuine or not.

"What'd you just call me?", he inquired.

Everyone tensed up, as the air around them suddenly felt stuffy.

"F-Friends??", Juliet softly repeated, cursing herself for not looking like the aftermath of a hot girl summer.

"No, you clearly said hot stuf—"

Floyd instantly covered Grim's mouth, as Juliet could feel the intense glare from the Malleus Draconia.

"Friends, you say...I don't need those", the emerald-eyed fae proclaimed, as he took a seat elsewhere.

Juliet sunk into her chair, as Floyd just sympathetically patted her back.

"It's alright! At least you didn't die, because I totally thought you would've", he joked.

"No worries! Soon I'll become the strongest mage and then we'll see who's still cocky!", Grim huffed, accidentally meeting Malleus's gaze, as he shrieked and momentarily retracted his statement.

Juliet pouted, as she wondered where she went wrong.

'Does he not like being called hot stuff? Why's he so emo? Unless...'

"I see the gears in your head turning. What've you got in that simple mind of yours?", Floyd playfully insulted.

Juliet gasped with offense, before agreeing with the more out-of-pocket Leech twin.

"He said he doesn't need friends, but he never said anything about not being more than friends", the light-haired girl grinned.

Jade had to contain his amusement, as Grim was utterly astonished with how the human had gotten to that conclusion.

"I like the way you think, Shrimpy!"

"Thanks! I like the way I think too", Juliet proudly smiled, as she was determined to break down Malleus's walls.

Because after all, she had nothing better to do while waiting for Crowley to find her a way back home.

'Might as well flirt with some hot boys while I'm stuck here. Sorry not sorry, mom'.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I would sell my soul to the 3 of them, no hesitation,, like contract? Nah, just take my soul bestie <33

Credits: @nixiedus || Reddit

AND MALLEUS?!??? HELLO??? THIS MAN—😮‍💨

He can take it all. Period.