The Snake in the Garden Of Eden [Yandere Arlo]

Chapter 4

"Arlo! What are you doing?!" Holden shouted as he made his way towards the blond in the hallway, not caring how loud he was and how much attention he had gathered from the students around them. The blond turned around to meet Holden eye to eye, "Are the rumors true? Did you really threaten to expel students for getting involved with John? Have you lost your mind??"

The blond turns around to meet Holden's eyes, "Yes, they're correct, for once." His nonchalant answers surprised Holden, normally, something as controversial as this would get a bigger reaction, right? "Is that all you came to ask me? You're causing a scene over something so minuscule."

Holden's voice was caught up his throat, there was so many questions he wanted to bombard Arlo yet couldn't figure out how to say them all at once. "A-Arlo, are you serious? This is going against everything you've been fighting for! And that is the reason I stuck by you! Because I believed in your ideals of hierarchy and now you're telling me that you changed your mind?"

Arlo narrowed his eyes at Holden with a type of evil he couldn't decipher, "Holden, do not twist my words. I did not say that I didn't believe in hierarchy, what I did does not relate to my beliefs."

"But what you did for John, that is physical proof that you're changing your mind! How could you betray me like this? I've stuck by you through thick and thin, do I look like someone you can just toss around?" He asked, each sentence more desperate than the last. Most of the students left at the first sight of Holden rushing up to Arlo because they knew it would be trouble, but some of them stayed either because they were curious or going to use this to gain an advantage for various reasons. "Arlo, you've lost it! Why would you suddenly change your mind? Is it because of John?" The flicker of hatred in Arlo's expression towards him confirmed it, "It's because of him isn't it? Just what did he do to you?!"

"Don't overstep your boundaries." Arlo warned maliciously, "When I made you my right-hand man, I made it clear that you should never judge or be involved in my personal affairs. Isn't that right? You shouldn't get so nosy now, otherwise... I won't hesitate to put you under the same consequences."

Holden glares at Arlo, the tension between them is so strong, it's nearly suffocating the boy with blue hair. "Just tell me, what did he do to you? Does he have some dirt on you that you'd rather bring to the grave? Or is Seraphina using something against you? There has to be a logical reason why you're siding with John! Do you know how much controversy that's going to stir up just because you protected some loser?"

"Holden." Arlo said in a confident and commanding voice, "When I said that anyone who dares mess with John will face severe consequences, the same rules apply to verbal slander. So you better watch what you say."

Arlo was a natural leader, the way he looked down upon Holden nearly brought him to his knees. He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists with frustration, "Arlo, you've really gone crazy. You're protecting him like he's treasure, just what's so special about him? Both you and I know Rei's ideology was nuts!" The crowd around them expected a negative reaction towards Holden even mentioning the former King of Wellston, but surprisingly, his face remained stoic.

The blond sighed, "I already told you I'm not going against the hierarchy. I have never planned to and never will."

"But—what about your threat to others about messing with John?! Explain that!"

"Were you even listening to me? That's my personal affairs. He's someone important, I can't have some inferior Wellston students ruin him." His words were vague, hiding his true intentions like a mask. Though, he wasn't lying, just leaving out important and alarming details of his relationship to John.

Holden didn't know how to respond to that, Arlo always had a way with words—he couldn't even find a contradiction to argue about.

Seeing how silent he was, the blond turned around. "Next time, don't confront me in front of students, or you'll just be ruining your reputation." And he left just like that, leaving Holden in his own mess. Did Arlo ever consider Holden as his friend? Definitely, once upon a time, he had even considered Holden to be one of his closer friends, but after hearing his opinion on John—someone whom he was craving after for a while now—he realized that Holden was just like the others who was getting in the way.