TWO CAN KEEP A SECRET ( xavier thorpe )

rude interruptions at the weathervane

GWEN HAWTHORNE
VOLUME I, Chapter One
rude interruptions at the weathervane

Gwen rubbed her thumb against the cool glass of the vial, turning it over in her palms as she observed it. The blue liquid inside her could kill her if consumed carelessly—or even carefully, considering the lethality of it. A knock on the stained glass window made her jolt and she quickly stashed it in her drawer, messing it up by throwing other random things on top. Turning around on her chair rapidly, she rolled her eyes, recognising the face shivering in the cold outside.

Going over to the window, Gwen pried the latch open as she unlocked it, letting Xavier in. "You better have a good reason to be sneaking into my all-girls dorm—after hours, no less."

"I'd count myself lucky that I ended up getting in while Yoko was out," Xavier retorted slyly, smiling cheekily at Gwen, who only rolled her eyes and again and took a seat on her bed. Closing the window, Xavier took a seat at the edge of her bed as his expression took on a more solemn note.

"I had another dream."

That managed to peak Gwen's interest. Recently, Xavier had been having these types of psychic visions in his dreams—and Gwen didn't know why. Neither did Xavier, evidently. It was incredibly rare for an Outcast to have more than two abilities—and Xavier already had the ability to bring his drawings to life. If Xavier was psychic, it would make him all the more complex—mentally.

"What was it about this time?" Gwen asked softly, shifting so she was closer to him. She gently placed a hand on his—it was cold to the touch, but it became more and more bearable as her palm heated it up.

Xavier didn't look up. "It was... Rowan."

"What happened in the dream?" she asked softly.

"It was him... and you—"

The doorknob twisted, but didn't open. Gwen was grateful she had thought of locking it before taking out the vial. A series of knocks and banging on the door could be heard along with Yoko's voice asking why the door was locked. Gwen bit her lip and nearly shoved Xavier off the bed, pushing him out her window. Before she closed it, she said, "Look, meet me at the Weathervane tomorrow at two in the afternoon—skip your classes if you have any."

Xavier nodded and disappeared behind the wall and Gwen jumped towards the door to unlock it.

Yoko's unimpressed face stared at Gwen, already demanding an explanation. "Any reason you'd lock your own roommate out of your shared dorm? Don't tell me you snuck someone in here."

Actually, that was exactly was Gwen had done—but she wasn't about to go and explain that she'd been meeting up with her best friend's ex-boyfriend behind everyone's back. Gwen rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, her eyes glancing towards the drawer in which she kept the vial of poison. "Sorry. I was changing and I just forgot."

Yoko looked down and back up, narrowing her eyes. Gwen was grateful that she had indeed actually changed out of her uniform and into her pyjamas before Xavier or Yoko came in. "I'll believe you—this time."

Gwen breathed out a silent breath of relief, taking a seat on her spinning chair while Yoko collapsed onto Gwen's bed, sitting in her stomach while resting her head on her hand so she could talk to Gwen. "Anyway, have you heard about the new transfer coming in next week? Apparently she's dorming with Enid—looks like her lucky streak with that single dorm ran out."

Raising an eyebrow, Gwen stared at Yoko disbelievingly. Nevermore never took in students in the middle of the year—mostly because of their specialised curriculum mandated specifically for Outcasts. For a random girl to be coming in in the middle of the year already made her much more interesting that normal. Poor thing would definitely have eyes following her for the first week or two.