(edited - 2.6k words added)

As soon as I reach home, I go to my room and let myself drop on my bed with a big sigh of relief, every muscles finally relaxing and letting go of the tension.

Today was... different.

It was the same as usual, but also different.

The five new students are most definitely all vampires, that much is certain. They appear to be forming a coven, maybe mates, who knows, and there's that aura around them that seems to just pull everyone towards them.

They scream respect and authority and the world would be damned if they don't get exactly that, their reluctance in merging with the other students particular.

But then there's the one in my maths class, the one who helped me to solve the board first, then to get away from the teacher.

His presence felt so soothing to me, far from the intimidating aura they try to keep up and it's the same with Taehyung too, it felt right to have him so close. They both pay me attention, contrary to what everyone keep saying of them, that they won't talk nor look at anyone who isn't their coven.

I might not have had a full conversation with either of them, but unless my brain is deceiving me, I got a sort of interaction with them, it has to count for something, right?

Could it be because we're both quiet? Because I'm not always screaming? But in that case, I'm not the only one like that, it can't be for that reason, but I will admit that the silence that surrounds them feels nice from the usual loudness that comes from the people surrounding me.

It's not everyday you meet people who don't want to deal with others, so it's a little fascinating. A part of me wants to understand them, to pierce that shell that seems to surround their group.

But more importantly-

"I can't nap" I whine loudly as I roll to my side, eyelids parting and allowing me to see the door open, one that reveals a scary Rosé who stares at me like I'm a disappointment and I mean... I probably am.

"Then clean your room. I can smell it from the living room. Please".

And she closes the door, leaving me alone again.

I huff.

"Of course she's going to smell my dirty clothes, damn sensitive nose" I mumble, only to jump when the door opens again, but this time loudly.

I slowly look up to see her glaring at me, eyes narrowing, brows furrowing, lips into a tight pout.

"I'm not a dog" she blurts out, to which I frown.

"I didn't say that?". "But you thought it".

I don't retort.

She's right.

Her eyes flash yellow all of a sudden and I tense up, immediately feeling like I'm in danger, and as much as I hate to boast, my sixth sense isn't half too bad for a human, so that means I'm not wrong. Probably.

The thing with this colour is that I don't know what to expect from it. It can mean so many things. Is she simply happy? Curious? In a teasing mood? Is she just feeling friendly? What do I do?!

She starts walking towards me, feet kicking my clothes aside as she goes to create a path and I admit, I'm starting to be scared.

Her shiny orbs stare at me and then...

"I'll show you what a dog is truly capable of!" she screams as she jumps on me and I groan into my pillow when I feel her weight flatten me like a pancake into my mattress, her fingers then going on a tickling war, no forgiveness in the way she finds all my sensitive spots and the nightmare begins, my screams quickly erupting from my mouth, pained laughter that is nowhere near sincere.

"D-d-dogs don't tickle!" I cry out as I try to squirm away from her touch but she just follows me.

"You're right, but I do" she retorts before giving even more of her energy into draining me of mine, her soul clearly enjoying my despair and fueling off of it like a demon and when tears run down my cheeks, there's no doubt in my mind.

I'm going to die tonight, I'll be tickled to death.

Suddenly, pain makes itself known from my waist in a vicious way and I shout in pain, eyes shutting tight as my hands automatically dart to the bruise where the drilling that had subsided earlier resumes once more.

Rosé gasps and gets off me before crouching by the bed, her hands holding me still while she tries to understand what is happening, her confusion and shock clear on her face.

"What's wrong?! Did I use too much strength? Did I hurt you again?!" she asks with a panicked voice, her hands trying to be as soft as possible to not hurt me even though it's not her fault, not for this one, not really.

I feel her raise my shirt up to my chest and then she stills, eyes widening and turning a shocked orange with a mix of red.

"Y/N, what the hell! That looks really fucking bad! I did that earlier right? Fuck" she exclaims, anger in her voice, at herself, at the wound, at everything that's causing me pain right now, it's not often after all that she sees me hurt, I usually manage to stay out of harm's way pretty well but today, volley ball and a teacher were my downfall.

I struggle to sit up, but with her help, we manage to make me sit so I can rest my back against the bed's headboard and I take a moment to catch my breath before tilting my head to have a better look at her as her body hovers close not knowing what to do.

"I'm fine, Rosé, it looks worse than it is, it's just sensitive. Get me two painkillers please, that will help until the pain goes away" I request and she hesitates, orbs flickering back to the bruise before I cover it up with my shirt.

"What you need is treatment, let's just go-" - "Two painkillers please. We'll see after that".

She nods and runs out of my bedroom, her feet almost tripping on a pair of socks, a reminder that I will really have to clean my room and I sigh, so not in the mood for that, the simple thought of it weighting a ton on my shoulders but I've been pushing the task back for two weeks now, I guess I reached the limit.

She reaches the kitchen where I can hear her fumble around and after letting out a noise of victory as she finds what she was looking for, she comes back with a glass of water and two pills that she gives to me.

I grab them, then take hold of the glass before swallowing everything with a grimace, the cold liquid flowing down my throat taking with it the awful taste that medicine can have, I hate it but it's the only way to get the pain gone so I bear with it.

Once sure that I'm done, she gets the glass from me before setting it on the bedside table and turns back to me, her worry still nowhere ready to dim when she parts her lips to insist again.

"Y/N, you really need to go see a doctor. What if I broke something? You know that's possible, I hate to say it, I would feel absolutely terrible if it's true, but it can happen, especially with what I did today" she tries again but I shake my head in dislike, I hate going to the doctor.

"Like you could break one of my bones with a ball" I say but her gaze tells me that she won't give up on that one so I sigh and relent just a little. "If it still hurts tomorrow, I'll go after school, okay?".

She bites on the inside of her cheek, eyes appraising the middle-ground offer I'm giving her, head tilting to the side as if she's about to refuse and insist but thankfully, she eventually nods, the orange in her eyes slowly starting to subside but not completely fading away.

I smile and wrap her hand in mine, relieved that she's not going to force me to go now because I just don't have the strength for it today, nor will I have it for tomorrow but that's a matter for tomorrow's me.

"It's already starting to hurt less, the painkillers are really effective so don't worry, okay? I promise that if I feel like I need to go see a doctor, I'll let you know".

She gives me a tight smile but her eyes eventually go back to their regular color. "Okay... is there something you want to eat tonight? I'll make it to apologize for hurting you" she whispers and I grin, a sense of victory filling me because I really wanted her food tonight.

"I miss your special soup, you know, that one you always make me when I get hurt. It hasn't happened in a long time now" I tell her and her eyes crease before she nods with a chuckle, it eases her mind a little, the fact that she can do something for me.

"Of course that's the one you'd choose. I'll make it extra special just for you then. In the meantime, try to rest, I can deal with the smell one more day considering your state".

I roll my eyes at her teasing but nod nonetheless, glad for the permission.

I feel a bit drowsy anyway, laughing earlier seems to have done the trick to get me to manage a little nap and she can see it too so she helps me lay down properly on my bed before drawing the blanket over my body.

She takes one last glance at me as I sigh in contentment, head sinking into the softness of my pillow and when satisfied with what she's seeing, Rosé leaves my room and closes the door behind her.

In the newfound darkness of my room, I stare at the ceiling with a soft sigh.

I really hope nothing's broken. I hate dealing with this kind of stuff, it's such a pain in the butt and it sucks that I have to deal with the weakness of a human body. Vampires don't have that problem, I call it injustice.

I let my eyes close once more and sleep quickly takes over, the pain a far away memory as darkness envelops me into its arms.

---

I get woken up by the delicious smell that seems to come from right next to me, in my bedroom.

I open my eyes to see Rosé setting up the bedside table into a tray for sick people, it's got bread, the magical soup, juice and cutely cut fruits, a sight that tells me she really took her time on it.

I try to stay silent as I observe her focus on making it all look perfect but I guess my breathing gives me away because soon she turns her gaze to me, orbs flickering between my face and the food before she bites on her bottom lip.

"I thought about letting you sleep for longer since you seemed like you really needed it but then you wouldn't be able to sleep tonight and you'd be exhausted tomorrow, I hope you don't mind" she says softly before taking the bowl of soup from the table to gently blow on it to reduce the heat of the liquid.

"Here" she says as she hands it to me and once in my hold, she sits by my side in silence to watch me eat, the first few spoonful hitting the right spot instantly, I simply cannot stop the hums that leave me because just as I remember, it's absolutely delicious.

"Truly the best soup in the world, you've outdone yourself" I praise her and she grins shyly before looking at her feet, fingers twisting together in concern.

"How do you feel?" she asks, I move a little on my spot of the bed to see if it hurts again and hum in satisfaction when I don't feel anything anymore, the painkillers did their job well.

"I feel fine, like nothing was wrong to begin with. I tell you, I'll recover quickly, it's just a nasty bruise so no need to worry so much, stop biting your lips or they're going to bleed" I tell her with a smile, she nods at my words and does as told, relief apparent on her face when I look confident.

"There's more soup if you want, eat a lot okay?" she states and I give her a thumb-up before nearly drowning myself with the soup, bowl tilted down as I raise it up until there's nothing left in it.

With a pleased sigh, I hold out the bowl to her and she smiles proudly before grabbing it and then hurries out of the room to fill it once more in the kitchen.

In the meantime, I grab the juice to drink a little only to realize that it's homemade too, something that warms my heart, she gave this meal her best, she must have felt really bad if she's doing so much for me.

She quickly comes back with a bowl filled to the brim and I chuckle at the sight, that's a little bit too much but I'm gladly going to eat it all again if it can help her feel better about today, she seems relieved to be able to do something for me and I won't take that away from her.

I start drinking the second serving of soup as soon as I receive it in my hands, dip the bread into the liquid from time to time with a hum of delight whenever it melts on my tongue and she keeps watching on the side with a pleased nod of the head whenever I take another bite.

I'm so thankful for having such a good cook as a friend, I wouldn't mind eating like this for the rest of my life and I intend to let her know. I turn my head to her after emptying the bowl, wait until her eyes meet mine before popping the question.

"Rosé, will you marry me?" I tell her in all seriousness and she giggles cutely, hence feeding my belief that she might agree but her next words have my hopeful smile falling in seconds. "Of course not, you silly girl".

The betrayal. "You don't like me? Is that it? Your love for me has gone? Am I currently in a one-way relationship?" I ask her in disbelief and she pinches my cheeks before grabbing the empty bowl and glass to take back to the kitchen.

"Would I do this much for someone I don't like?" she asks from the doorway and I shake my head. "Nah, definitely not, you're too proud for that, there's only me deserving of this treatment with you".

She huffs a small laugh and disappears to the kitchen without retorting, it leads me to believe that I was wrong once more and I don't know how to feel about it. What happened to my best friend? To my wife?

Oh well, I bring my attention to the remaining fruits besides me and start snacking on them while the sound of the water running in the sink fills the apartment, she takes cleaning so seriously and it makes me feel bad because I don't, I really need to do better, not only for her but also for me.

I promise I'll clean my room, and I'll clean behind me from now on, you'll see, Rosé, I'll make you proud!

The rest of the night goes by rather quickly after that and we both fall asleep early compared to the usual with her in my bed, something that never happens unless she feels particularly anxious.

I suspect it's from her being afraid that I might get hurt in my sleep even though it won't happen since I don't move much in my sleep but I indulge her anyway, it won't kill me and her body heat is warm and soothing, it makes me sleep better.

And so, it's with her arm safely cradling me close that I fall asleep once more to the sound of her breathing.

---

This morning, we actually leave on time compared to usual, a voice in the back of my mind that tells me the nap had something to do with this.

I mean, I even cleaned my room before leaving, Rosé couldn't believe her eyes when she entered inside and even now, she appears in disbelief, we're walking along with other students, when was the last time this had happened?

I can't deny it, being part of this... it feels great, it makes me wonder why I let myself fall so low, maybe it's really time I start trying a healthier way of living.

We reach the University's gates, fancy metalwork that glows under the early sun rays, the architecture here has always amazed me, the bricks of the buildings a deep brown that either inclines towards red or purple depending on the outside light.

It's an expensive environment that offers an education of high standard and it's not uncommon that vampires having already completed their education come back here simply for the thrill of it.

Having the name of this University under your name when you apply for a job almost certainly guarantees you the job of your dreams so many families will often beg the school board to have their children sent here even when their grades aren't above the minimum requirements.

Rosé and I make a move the enter the campus when whispered chatter catches our attention, the gathering of a crowd nearby directing our attention towards a fancy car that parks right in front of the gates, and then we watch as the five mysterious and handsome new guys step out of it, their smiles fading as soon as they close the doors so that whoever is left inside may go.

Taehyung discreetly waves goodbye towards the front window and I briefly notice the shadow of two other men seated inside who wave back before the car drives away, after which the traffic disperses now that there's nothing to see anymore, the five men already advancing towards the building to reach their classes.

"Seeing how close they are and the way they behave with one another, I'm pretty certain that they are mates. It's rare for covens to be that big otherwise, vampires are usually more reserved, it's been proven that 80% of the current covens are actually composed of mates nowadays" she starts sharing her thoughts out loud when we resume walking and I hum, I guess it makes sense.

"It's good for them then, they already have people who would do anything for them, people who love them as much as they love. As a human, I'm ready to accept the possibility that I will never have one" I let out and she wraps an arm over my shoulders in silent understanding.

It's indeed possible.

We enter the building and walk to our first class without saying another word, our minds wandering wherever as we walk through the echoing corridors, barely anyone walking by yet as we're earlier than usual.

It feels good, peaceful for once, to not feel like there's literal fire biting at our bottoms and so, we reach the empty classroom in contentment, door opening so we can head to our seats and take it easy until the rest of the students come in as well.

I could take it easy, or I could get my notes and study some more maths since the next class will be a nightmare if I don't... I guess the choice is rather easy, I heave a sigh before getting them out of my bag under Rosé's bored eyes.

I try to solve the problems that the girls made me work on yesterday but I eventually have to come to the conclusion, no matter how much I want to avoid it, that I am screwed. I drop everything to my desk and sigh deeply.

"I already forgot everything, it just doesn't stay in my mind, you know? At this point, today might truly end badly for me" I mumble in despair, feel her hand on my back before she rubs soothing circles onto it.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Y/N, just take your time and read the notes again, I'm sure it'll be fine" she says, voice soft to try and give me hope but it only serves to make me feel more miserable.

I give her a tight smile and fall back into my notes with the mindset that if I at least try, I can't blame myself for not doing enough even if the end result is already written in the sky.

After a while, the door slides open and a new pair of feet walks into the room, the sound staying at the front of the class before a chair slides and a bag drops on the floor, then it's silence again if not for the occasional sighs that leave me from time to time as I flip through my notes.

It doesn't take long before I feel a stare burning a hole in my head but when I look up to glance around, it's to see that we're only three in this room, all of us focused on our own stuff, there's no one staring at me, was it just my imagination?

Maybe it was the new guy? He seems to really like being at the front because he took the same desk as yesterday, that's something I'll never understand.

Hopefully we get to put a name on the new students soon because other than Taehyung, I don't have anything else to call them and it sounds awfully unfriendly, 'the new guy', 'the new student', I don't like it.

Not that I intend to get close to them, there's way too much attention on them, it's just... too cold.

There's no more incident happening in the classroom for the next few minutes until the time comes for the other students to finally arrive and from there, the room fills rather quickly and I eventually put my notes back in my bag when I know that I won't be able to focus anymore.

When the teacher comes in next, his eyes look around the room to see who is here, who isn't and then fall on me with surprise, I gulp quietly, getting his attention on me is nerve-wracking, he scares me sometimes.

"Here early this morning, miss Y/N, consider me surprised. Is it going to snow today?" he asks and the class falls into laughter while I resist rolling my eyes at him. Yeah, very funny.

"I'd like to say that you're finally learning but you're probably going to be late again tomorrow" he adds and when the laughter subsides a little, I let out a little insulted huff because, for the one time that I'm early, he really has to ridicule me?

I don't want to fall into an argument with him, but I hate being prey to mockery, I have enough from one teacher in particular, still, I remain quiet because speaking up wouldn't change anything.

He frowns lightly at my silence but then quickly decides to concentrate on what really matters - his lessons, and so he starts talking.

He starts by talking about a writer whose goal is to make people understand about both vampires and humans by shining a light on what's wrong with today's society, its theories and rumors.

Instead of focusing on all the bad that people believe exist without any proof, the writer focuses on the beautiful part of helping each other and the results that come alive from uniting both races, something that is starting to happen more and more today, although it's sometimes still a taboo subject.

He shows us a few pages from the book while explaining its contents and then tells us to write about them and to explain our opinion based on the writer's own, whether we agree or disagree with them and why.

That's one homework that is going to be easy as well as interesting and I know Rosé thinks the same when I glance at her to see a light yellow glow to her eyes, meaning she's very happy right now.

It was her who brought the book home one day after all, amazed by the words of truth and visions it dearly hid inside.

A hidden treasure, she likes to call it, so for the homework to be about it, she's very excited.

"I want five pages written on one of the pages chosen and I want them on my desk by next Monday morning. I'm giving you six nights to work on this so you'd better not give me something blank, and don't forget to write your name! You know I don't grade papers without names".

At his words, whispers fill the air and nearly every students raise their hands to plead for either less pages to write or for more time, some are lazy, others have the difficulty that I have when it comes to maths, I kind of feel bad for those.

The teacher sighs, already done with them because he knows what will be asked, he's going to hear it often today. "Yes, what's wrong?".

"Sir, how are we supposed to write five pages about something that took only one to write?".

The teacher's eyes stare at the student with much disappointment and this time, I feel it too.

"I'm not going to answer that question, it's just plain dumb. If you straighten one strand of hair on your head, is all of your hair suddenly straightened?". The class falls quiet and he sighs again.

"Thought so. Five pages, no less, but you can write more, as long as it makes sense. Don't do it only to show off or I'll remove ten points".

The class ends and my heart starts beating faster in overwhelming nerves, my hands already sweating as I come to process that my time of suffering is coming closer with every seconds that tick by.

Shit, I won't even be able to hold my pen without it slipping from my fingers at this pace.

I feel so hot, as if someone installed a heater right next to me and when I look down at my arms, it's to see my skin discolored and decorated with random spots of red skin throughout the white, a clear sign of my anxiety. I'm not just anxious, I'm terrified.

Rosé looks at me after getting her bag but when she sees my current state, her eyes widen and she comes to kneel by my side, my hands pulled into hers, something that only alerts her more when she feels how cold they are.

"Y/N, it'll be fine, okay? It's just maths, you'll be fine, you studied a lot for this, I'm sure everything will come back to mind once you see the questions, breathe, I'll be right by your side, you'll be alright".

I did study but I forgot everything, I can't recall a single thing no matter how much I push my mind to remember, I wish I could tell her that, that it's not fine, it's terrible but I'm not even able to speak right now.

I don't miss the multiple eyes that stare at me, some of them who will follow us to the next class, it makes me feel pitiful, they all know what I know, they all know that her words are a good-natured lie, there's no hope for me.

She softly pulls me to my feet and then wraps a secure arm around my back before leading the way out of the classroom, both of our bags on her shoulders as we walk to the cursed destination.

It's not failing the test that scares me the most, it's what will happen once the teacher sees that he's gaining the upper hand on me.

We arrive in front of the door that separates my body from my fated doom and it feels so wrong to enter right now, I feel like I'm in a flee or fight situation. I know I'm blocking the way but I just can't move.

When an arm suddenly appears by my side to open the door from behind me, Rosé takes the hint and pulls me inside with her before making us both sit at our seats, her hand rubbing my back up and down to calm me, which doesn't work, I feel like puking.

I notice the vampire who helped me twice yesterday sit at the desk next to Rosé and the fact that he's not the one staring at me right now scares the shit out of me because that only opens the door for one other person.

I turn my gaze to the front to see the teacher grinning like a madman, as if he knows that he's already winning this battle, as if I'll give up and let him do whatever he wants with me after this defeat on my side.

"I hope everyone is ready to face the truth... and the inevitable" he says with a chilling voice and I feel shivers of disgust run down my spine at the way he stares at me, a few students look concerned when they notice and it really doesn't bode well for me.

To face the inevitable.

He already sees me like a possession.

I get my pen and eraser and grab both tightly between my fingers like my life depends on them and I mean, I guess it does in a way. They won't make me smarter but they're the tools that will help me show just how stupid I am to the one person who I should avoid as much as possible.

Rosé tries to help me calm down as much as she can but it doesn't register anymore, my brain isn't only scared that something bad will happen, it knows that something bad will happen.

I clench my jaw and accept the paper from the desk in front of me, and when I look down... fucking hell, the bastard has really gone for it, hasn't he?

"This should be easy for everyone, half of this test is stuff from last year's final exam, just to see if you all remember it well since we're going to be using the formulas often from now on. You all passed so it should cause no problem, right?".

His smirk is directed right at me because he knows, he knows this is all very far in my mind, locked under triple locks and completely out of reach.

A few people complain but he shushes them with a wave of the hand. "Now, now, I never said it was going to be only about what we learned yesterday, did I?".

Did he? Did he not? I can't even remember what I ate for breakfast, did I eat something?

I have no idea how I passed last year's final math exam when I obviously should've failed, everyone called it a miracle but to be honest, I suspect that it was the teacher's doing, he's always had an eye on me but it got worse this year.

I should've claimed to have cheated and drop out, it's not like I really needed to come here, I just didn't like the idea of not having a diploma when everyone around me kept boasting about theirs.

"You have an hour, then we're going to look over the questions and those who pass may leave, those who fail miserably may stay. Begin".

So in other words, he's making sure that I'll be stuck alone with him.

I look down at the paper and take in all the questions spread over the sheet. As expected, I understand none of these, maybe I can solve a few, the very easy ones but that's it, he did it on purpose, I know he did.

I glance around me to see that everyone's already writing answers, words and numbers flowing out of them freely while I stay here, hands shaking and unable to do anything, ice would melt on me without any problem at the moment.

Come on, get a grip on yourself, Y/N, don't make this easy for him, you need to try.

I grab my wrist with my free hand to stabilize my writing hand and then start focusing on the problems I can fix. Get points where you know you can get them first and then focus on the harder ones.

One question at a time, you can do it.

---

"All those of you who passed, you may leave".

I look down at my desk as I hear everyone stand up to get ready and leave, everyone except for me.

Of course, he had to give extra points for some answers to make sure I'd be alone at the end, he gave a chance to the other struggling students to get me alone, he had this all planned.

Rosé frowns, she looks like she wants to stay with me, she definitely would if she could but the teacher's eyes are so harsh and threatening that she doesn't dare go against him and so, she leaves the class with the others after telling me that she would wait for me with the girls.

I fight the tears that threaten to rise and nod at her as she closes the door behind her, I know very well that she would like to stay but the teacher was very clear that this was going to be a 'revision' and everyone knows this is a codeword for punishment.

Anyone that doesn't need to stay behind actually staying would only make things worse for me, she knows that, we all know that.

So, once the room empties out so that only the teacher and I remain, I keep my gaze locked on the desk, not ready to face the atrocious monster just yet, it takes me everything to not stand up and run, I'm reaching my limit.

Except that it appears I'm not alone when I hear the teacher ask something that doesn't make sense to my ears. "Young man, what are you still doing here?".

I raise my head in confusion because who else could have possibly failed the way I did with all the bonus points that were given?

"I obviously failed, sir".

That voice...

So... who do you think he is? Who is the smart, handsome student who 'failed' the test?