Priest. (Nevermore Academy/Xavier Thorpe x Reader)

Chapter 10

Dormitory in the Clock Tower
October, 2021

***

Y/N had fallen asleep slumped over her a stack of books and her open laptop, which died halfway through the night. She woke up to the unfriendly and unwelcomed sound of her phone's morning alarm, which prompted her to jolt awake. She quickly grabbed her glasses and put them on, and checked the time — six a.m., two hours until class starts.

She pulled herself up and went into the kitchen, dumping the cold coffee and starting a fresh pot. Then, as it brewed, she went into the bathroom to wash her face, aware that she slept in makeup and feeling like her skin was being suffocated. Once she was done washing her face and lathering creams onto it so it looked semi-normal, she went to her bedroom to change into her uniform and pack her bag. Finally, she took the coffee and poured it into the largest to-go cup she could find, over ice and milk.

She checked the time — 7:15. She used the next half hour to tidy her space, until she heard a knock at the door, followed by Enid opening it.

"Y/N, I have a BIG favor to ask."

"What's up?"

"Have you heard about the Poe Cup?"

"Uh, no — what is it?"

"All of the dorm houses participate in this rowing race that's also a game of capture the flag — no rules! But Wednesday and I's team is down a player and I was really hoping you'd fill in? Especially because of your telekinesis!"

"My telekinesis? Who told you I had telekinesis?"

"The normie school is talking about how you did telekinesis to totally mess with those three Pilgrim World guys!" Enid answered excitedly, her voice as quick and bubbly as ever.

"I don't really have telekinesis — I mean I do, but I don't use it well. I'd be happy to paddle alongside you, though, and help out!"

***

Her Monday classes moved by like molasses -- a series of droning teachers and subjects she couldn't care for. She found herself exhausted from her late night, and moved from class to class with relative solidarity. While she had Xavier in a handful of her classes, he sensed her exhaustion and sat next to her in relative quietness. 

Her last class of the day, physical education, was her most feared. For one, it would take a considerable amount of energy. Secondly, she was known in her last school for gym class mishaps. She could be hit with sudden waves of super human strength, or her telekinesis would flare up and cause balls to stop midair if they were even moving in her general direction. Occasionally, like when her last high school did a wrestling tournament, her body would take over and combat skills she didn't know she had would kick in. She broke a football player's arm. 

When the gym teacher handed her a fencing uniform, Y/N quickly tried to pass it back to him. 

"No, no-- not a good idea, Sir. I don't want to hurt anyone."

The gym instructor, a slavic man who stood like a statue, simply dropped them back into her hands. "I want to see what you can do, Miss Priest."

Y/N took her defeat and went to the locker room to change, putting on the gear and pulling her hair back with a hairband. When she reemerged, students were already sparing. 

"I need to assess you," her teacher, Coach Vlad, picked up his own sword and took position. He was signaling to her that they would be fencing one another. Y/N dejectedly picked up her own saber and took position, motioning that she was now ready. 

Coach Vlad nodded his head, and Y/N approached -- she swiftly knocked her blade against his, with a force he clearly had not expected. He responded by sharply turning around, moving to swing and tap her arm. Before she knew it, her body moved to block the blow, and they were sparing. She was aware that people were watching them when the sounds of metal hitting around them was silenced, and her sword was the only one still being wielded by a student. 

Finally, she was able to trip up Coach Vlad by swiftly jumping backwards while he was lunging forward, causing him to briefly fall forward. He caught himself, but not before Y/N was able to gently poke him on the chest. 

"Miss Priest, you are fantastic!" Coach applauded, lifting his helmet off his head, "I will pair you with Bianca Barclay. Bianca, keep your eyes peeled."

Y/N looked and saw Bianca, who was standing in wait for her -- sword drawn and ready. Y/N then looked at the rest of the class, who were waiting in a thick anticipation of the match -- including Xavier, who looked worried. 

Y/N walked to Bianca with a hesitant smile, getting in a ready position.

Bianca approached her, faster than Y/N was expecting -- but her body, once more, leapt into action. Y/N, slowly yet surely, began backing Bianca into the wall, until firmly striking her stomach. 

Bianca ripped her helmet off and tossed it to the ground, "She's cheating!"

"What?" Y/N laughed in shock, taking her helmet off also, "How?"

"There's no way you're moving that quickly in all this gear -- you're so small!"

Y/N sighed in annoyance, "Fine." 

Y/N unzipped her fencing uniform, stepping out of the pants and taking off the shirt. She was wearing matching white leggings and a sports bra underneath, but nothing else. She picked up her sword again, then fully spun around in front of Bianca. "Satisfied? Let's go again." 

 Bianca approached her again, this time Y/N accepted a defensive position, allowing herself to be nearly-pinned against the wall. When she was just a few feet away from the wall, Y/N quickly threw herself left and behind Bianca, swinging her sword to hit Bianca's back. 

Y/N didn't want to deal with any more aftermath. Instead, she quickly picked up her discarded uniform and returned to the locker room to put away her gym clothes. 

***

All of her father's books were about myths, legends, and the world. The first she read through was a series of mythological humanoid creatures, the second about Greek mythology, the third and fourth about theories of religion and the world. There were half a dozen more with information that both seemed related and entirely not. 

One of the books, entitled "Deities and Other Significant Beings", was specifically worn down. The pages were yellow, the cover had a plethora of tears, and the margins were full with her father's writing. Most startlingly, however, was the fact that it was missing pages 60 through 190, leaving a huge chunk of space. 

"What the hell..." Y/N whispered when she realized sixty through 189 was its own chapter, based on the fact that one through sixty was chapter one, and 191 was the start of chapter three.

After exploring the book for some evidence on what the missing section could possibly be, she shut the book in half defeat. 

The author's name stared at her. George Hoyt. 

George Hoyt, as in Professor Hoyt of European History at Nevermore.