A Fool's Guide to the In-Between [A Twisted Wonderland Fanfic]

Chapter 13

For once, Mostro Lounge was quiet. Eerily silent. Save for the sound of the bubbles of the aquarium slowly popping as they rose to the surface. There was no laughter from students as they mulled about. No students were working behind the counter, no students working on whatever homework they had been given, and there weren't even any students simply walking around or chatting with their friends. Mostro Lounge was abandoned.

"Why did you ignore my summons yesterday," Azul asked, reclining in a push violet armchair. A crystal glass was held delicately in one hand, the golden contents of the drink swirling about as he tilted the glass from side to side. "It seems you do not understand the position you're in right now."

Sitting across a small wooden table was an Octavinelle student, shivering as he tried to focus on his dorm head rather than the twins standing on either side of him. Both stared at him with steely glares, their hands resting on the arms of the sofa, making sure that the boy didn't move an inch while their dorm leader interrogated him.

"Y-yesterday," the boy choked out, his eyes flickering to the girl sitting on one of the arms of Azul's chair. She had a stare identical to the Leech Twins, and as her tail swished back and forth, the boy realised that this was the famed Y/N Pinker, the most recent addition to Azul's team of elites. He swallowed and gripped the ends of his blazer, unconsciously wrinkling the fabric. "Yesterday I wasn't feeling good... M-my stomach was upset..." He didn't dare look Azul in the eye and instead focused on the candle in the centre of the table. The flame danced before him, almost mockingly, as he waited for the dormhead's response.

"Really," Azul asked, taking a sip of his drink. He handed the now empty glass to Y/N, who sent it off to the counter with a gentle wave of her hand. Her black and violet nails sparkled in the dim light of the lounge, the sparkles in the purple catching the light perfectly. The boy shivered. 

"Y/N," Azul asked, turning to the girl, "do you think he's telling the truth?"

Y/N tilted her head to one side, her f/c curls falling over her shoulder. Her lips slowly curled into a grin and the boy felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Why, no. I don't believe the little guppy is being truthful with us," Y/N purred.

Azul turned to the boy. "Lying won't help you, you know."

"I-it's true! My stomach really hurt..."

Azul cut him off by raising his hand. "Jade. Please give him the push he needs to be truthful with us." 

The boy froze as he felt a gloved hand cup his chin, turning him away from Azul. He found himself staring up at the more calm of the two Leech brothers, though the malicious glint in the boy's eyes terrified him. 

"No need to look so frightened," Jade hummed. "I'm not going to hurt you." His eyes glittered dangerously. "Shock the heart."

As a tingling sensation filled the boy's veins, he pulled himself away from Jade, nearly throwing himself into Floyd. He gripped the edges of the seat with pale knuckles as he stared at his shoes. There was something wrong. He could feel it. "W-what did you do?!"

"I will ask you again," Jade said, rising to his feet and striding over to where Y/N was sitting. He wrapped an arm around her waist as he turned back to face the boy. "Why did you refuse to answer Azul's summons yesterday?"

"About that..." the boy grit his teeth, trying to keep the answer at bay. The answer that he knew could lead to terrible consequences should he succumb to the urge to be truthful with the dormleader and his elite. 

But his mouth didn't listen to his mind. "I've had it with being used for Azul's underhanded schemes!" He shot out of his seat, anger radiating from his body. "Of course, I feigned a stomachache!"