Twisted Wonderland: The Experiment

Heartslabyul: 1.3

Jack Di Trade POV
We all pause, before we advert our attention in front of us. Lilia is hovering above the table...upside down. He smiles at us.
We all jump, me and Yuu almost falling out of our seats. "HOLY SHT!" "AH!"
"H-he just teleported right over here!" Grim says, holding himself up with a white face.
"Fuck the teleportation, how'd he hear us from all the way over there!" I say, trying to gain my bearings. 'Talk about a goddamn jump scare, shit!'
Lilia ignores us, stands at the end of the able up right, and says, "Are you all curious about my age?" He gives a bit of a weird laugh as he continues, "I have this baby-faced visage but, like Trey-kun said, I'm not of an age one would call a child."
"Baby-faced..." Trey says weirdly, and we exchange a look.
"There's no need to look on from afar, just come up and speak with us." Lilia continues, giving us a warm smile that weirds me out. "Are we all not students of the same academy? We at Diasomnia will always welcome you with open arms."
We all look over to the table and see Sebek and silver head giving us hard stares. I shiver, and look over to Lilia. "I'm not sure they would agree with you Senpai."
Deuce nods in agreement and says, "Those guys over there don't look like they'd be very welcoming..."
Lilia gives his weird laugh again and says, "Understood, but please know we are more welcoming then we appear." "He gives us a closed eye smile. "Although," his eyes go half-lidded as he says, well more like threatens, "be wary when talking to our beauty of the dorm, for your own sake. Wouldn't want any...accidents happening." He smiles slyly, and we all exchange uneasy glances. He chuckles, and goes bright eyed again. "Apologies for dropping in on your meal. Until we meet again." He bows, and teleports back to his table.
'...What, The fuck.'
We all look a bit frightened as Ace says, "Our table is easily over 20 meters away from them and you're telling me that he heard us talking? Freaky!"
I point at Ace. "Exactly what I said!"
Deuce, Yuu, and Grim nods their heads in agreement as Trey uneasily adjust his glasses. "Well...Let's just say that Diasomnia has many peculiar members. Many of their members excel at magic in general. Their dorm leader, Malleus Draconia, is counted among the top five wizards in the world."
"You guys are right either way though. #Weird vibes." Trey gives Cater a 'really?' look, and he chuckles while shrinking in on himself. Cater coughs before saying-totally not to get Trey to stop glaring at him, "Honestly Malleus, is like super super super crazy. Our dorm leader is his own brand of crazy though."
Ace eagerly nods his head in agreement. "So true! All I did was eat a single piece of tart and he collared me." He itches at said accessory. "His narrow-mindedness is super crazy."
"Hmmm? I'm super crazy?"
We all pause in fear, but Ace keeps talking, not even noticing any of us trying to quietly signal him to stop. "Yeah. He blew right past "strict" and is just a tyrant."
'Oh fuck.'
"Ace!" Deuce quietly whispers, gesturing with his head behind the two. "Behind you!"
Ace pauses, eyes going wide and face white, before looking behind. He sees a pissed Riddle, arms crossed and foot tapping. He shrieks, bumping into the table harshly, trying to get away. "Dorm leader!"
'Double fuck.'
I look back and forth between the two. The tension so thick you can cut it with a knife.
Cater and Trey are in the same boat as me before Cater awkwardly chuckles and says, "Oh my, Riddle. You're looking super crazy cute today~." He scratches his temple with his finger, I'm guessing a nervous tick of his.
"Hmph, Cater." Riddle uncrosses his arms and, still facing Ace, glances to said boy, who flinches. "If you talk to much it's going to cost you your head."
He brings his hand down to hold them up innocently, smiling uneasily, and says, "Hey now, gimme a break!"
Grim points at Riddle with an upset look and says, "Ffgna! This is the guy who put that weird collar on me during the entrance ceremony!"
"You're the freshmen that caused all that fuss of expulsion last week." Riddle says, his eyes glancing over the four. Yuu shrinks in on themself, Ace and Deuce look away, and Grim just gives him a glare. I look back and fourth between the four, before focusing on Riddle, who gives the cat a glare. "Will you knock it off, calling someone's unique magic a "weird collar"? For goodness sake." He shakes his head and sighs, muttering under his breath, "The headmaster is soft." He speaks up again as he continues, "If you forgive rule breakers the whole system will collapse. All you have to do is cut off the head of those who don't follow the rules."
I shiver from his cold words. 'Seven, this kid is cold blooded...and older than me, so I guess he ain't a kid, but since he's being a bitch, he deserves it.'
"The things coming out his mouth don't suit his appearance..." Ace mutters, probably hoping only we would hear him. Yuu hesitates before giving a small nod in agreement. Deuce simply eats his food, not looking at either red head.
Riddle gives Ace a hard stare, very much having heard him. "The headmaster appears to have forgiven you but make no mistake the next time it happens, I will not."
Me and Deuce exchange uneasy looks, and I notice Ace perk up a bit. 'Oh seven, he better not-'
"By the way, dorm leader, is there any way..." he trails off under Riddle's glare, before gulping and continuing, "you could say, remove this collar?"
'HOW STUPID IS THIS FUCKING BOY?!' I give him an incredulous look, while Yuu face palms,and Deuce can't even look at him, covering his face in stupid agony.
Riddle stares at Ace for a moment, before speaking up, "I was going to if you had learned your lesson but," Ace had perked up, before deflating, look confused, "the way you were just talking shows that you haven't at all. Keep it on for a while longer." He ignore Ace's upset look as he addresses the rest of us. "Don't worry, as first years you'll only be learning fundamentals, not actually using magic. You also won't be able to cause a scene like you all previously had done, isn't that great?" He gives a sarcastic, small smile.
I give an upset look. 'He ain't talkin' about me.' I raise a finger about to say that, but he gives me a hard stare, and I move my hand so I scratch the back of my head, looking everywhere but him. 'Second thought, nevermind.'
Riddle subtly nods in satisfaction before he addresses the group as a whole. "Now don't just sit around chatting away, finish lunch and head to you next class. Laws of the Queen of Hearts, Number 271: "One should eat lunch and leave their seat within 15 minutes". If you break the rules..." He simply raises an eyebrow, which somehow looks very threatening, and continues, "I'm sure you understand?"
"Haah, another weird rule..." Ace mutters under his breath. I kick him, and I'm guessing Yuu did too, because he gave both of us looks. We shook out heads, telling him to shut up, and Cater whispers 'shush'.
"The answer is, "Yes. dorm leader!" " He crosses his arm strictly.
Deuce and Ace straighten up with a flinch as they repeat it. He glances at me, and I quietly mutter it back, giving him an eye roll.
"Very good." Riddle say, uncrossing his arms. 'Little bitch.'
Trey gives Riddle a calm smile as he says, "I'll look after them for you."
"...Hm." He nods his head in both thanks and satisfaction. He then directly address Trey. "You're the vice dorm leader so I expect you to not act foolishly." He begins to turn away as he says, "Following the Laws of the Queen of Hearts, Number 339: "After a meal on must always drink lemon tea with two sugars." I must go buy sugar cubes from the school store, so I'll be on my way. Oh, and Yuu, was it?" He turns to said person, who looks up confused, pointing to themself. "Please be aware of how you act and what you do, for the schools sake and your own." He turns back around and leaves, muttering to himself as he does so. "Letting the sugar cubes run out is a huge offense, I can't believe..."

It's quiet for quite sometime. I give Yuu a concerned look when I notice they're looking down, holding their head like they have a headache. The others notice after a second and also give them concerned looks. "Yuu?" Grim says, making them look up and see us. They give a fake smile and straighten up. "Sorry, random headache." Another moment before we give unconvinced looks, but still nod, dropping it.
Cater lets out a breath and awkwardly laughs, messing with his fringe. "That was close."
"That guy is so obnoxious." "And rude!" "Agreed, what he said to Yuu was completely unnecessary." Grim, Deuce, and I voice our resentment. Ace just looks down at his food angrily.
We perk up hearing the conversation between two fellow Heartslabyul's.
"Is the dorm leader gone?"
"I broke the Laws of the Queen of Hearts, Number 186: "One must never eat a hamburger steak on Tuesday." I was terrified of what would happen if he found out I ate one."
"Uuugh...At least let us eat whatever we want..."
Us first years and cat exchange uneasy looks. I notice Trey and Cater exchange their own looks.
"...In his first week at school Riddle took the seat of dorm leader." We all look at Trey, who is looking down at his food, probably remembering said week. He then looks up at us and firmly says, "He speaks harshly but he's trying to make the dorm better, he doesn't have bad intentions."
We stare at him for a second before Grim deadpans and says, "Someone with good intentions doesn't randomly collar people!" We (first years) nod in agreement.
Cater and Trey just awkwardly laugh, avoiding our gazes.
Yuu gives Grim their own deadpan look before saying, "You're at fault for going crazy during the ceremony, Grim." Said cat looks away with a pout. Yuu pauses, before turning back to us. "Actually, Riddle said his collar was his "unique magic". What is that, exactly?"
"Oh, that means that it's magic that only he can use, right?" Deuce says.
I can't help the amused smirk that comes onto my face as Trey answers, pushing his glasses up smartly, "It's magic that is typically limited to one person, yes." He turns to Yuu to further explain. "Simply put, it's magic that reflects the characters of the user that only they can use, hence the name "unique magic". You'll learn about it in class eventually."
"Riddle's unique magic lets him seal another person's magic for a fixed amount of time." Cater says, absentmindedly playing with his food. "It's called-"
"OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!"
Practically everyone in the Cafeteria jumps hearing Riddle's signature spell. A pause before everyone goes back to eating.
I face the group with wide eyes and ask, "How fuckin' far away is he that we can still hear him?!" They shrug their shoulders. I sigh, before I say, "Although, you have to admit, when it ain't done to yourself, the concept of his unique magic is pretty cool." Ace and Grim shake their heads in denial, while Yuu motions with their fingers 'a little bit'.
"As a wizard," Cater gains our attention, "having your magic sealed away is like losing your head. Therefore, you shouldn't break Riddle's rules inside the dorm." He points specifically to Ace as he says this, giving him a playful smile.
"It also means he isn't scary if you follow the rules." Trey says. I give him an unconvinced look, to which he shrugs.
Ace speaks up, "So what you're saying is I have to go buy a tart or Cater will kick me out again?"
Cater nods his head. "That's right. As decided by Laws of the Queen of Hearts, Number 53. Riddle really looks forward to eating the first piece of a whole tart so he won't forgive you unless it's whole."
"You said you want to be friends so can't you just overlook that!" Ace says, giving him an incredulous look.
"That is that, this is this." He gives Ace a cheeky smile.
I chuckle under my breath before I speak up. "Also, on the topic of buyin' it, would ya even have the money for a full tart?" I raise my eyebrow, giving him an unsure look. "I mean, they're pretty expensive for just one whole one, 'specially the size that you need."
"Pft, dude, I doubt it." He gives me a cocky smirk, before it drops and he quickly asks, "But, uh, how expensive are we talking here? 10, 15?"
"Uh, more like 40." I snicker as I watch his jaw drop along with Deuce's.
He shakes his head in denial. "Nope, no way, I don't believe you."
"Believe me dude, me and my mama buy them often enough that I know." I take a bite of my food, before I notice how quiet it got. I look up and see everyone staring at me in shock. I swallow and play dumb. "What?"
"...How rich are you!?" Ace, Deuce, and Cater yell at me.
I look at them amused. "Well it ain't exactly me that's rich, it's my mama. But I'd say...millionaires?"
Everyone's jaws dropped. I leave them for a minute or two, letting them soak the information in. "HUH!?" They all scream in unison, making me choke on my food from laughter.
Cater smacks my back to help me breath again. "Seven, breath dude." I regain my breath and give him a thumbs up.
Ace coughs, and he looks at me. "You know, Jack, you seem like such a cool dude!" I nod my head sarcastically. "And we seem to be getting along very well so far, right? Hell, I'd even say we're friends! Am I right?" I shrug my shoulders, looking very amused. "Well, since that's the case, mind lending your friend some money to get out of trouble, please~." He pleads with his hands.
I take a bite, letting him wallow in suspense. Once I finish, I give him a fake smile and say, "Fat chance card boy. Your mess, you fix it."
He gives me an incredulous look as Yuu and Grim laugh their asses off. "Come on man! You're rich enough to lend me some!"
"Ah, no." I wag my finger, smirking. "Like I said, my mama is rich. I have to work to earn my own money, same as other kids. So no freebies for you."
He groans and bangs his head on the table in agony. Everyone else is snickering under their breath. Cater coughs, and speaks up. "Well then, since money isn't an option anymore, then how about making one? The other tarts were all made by Trey."
Yuu looks at Trey. "Really? That's cool. I bet they tasted amazing." Trey gives a thankful smile as they speak to Ace. "And in any case dude, baking is cheaper than buying. You get to buy the ingredients, which are usually cheap."
Ace nods and says, "I agree Yuu, and it was amazing! It was as good as a pro's."
Trey chuckles, and rubs the back of his neck with a closed eye smile. "Thank you. It's true I have all the tools and seasonings...but I won't help for free." He leans back and crosses his arms, smirking.
'...Damn he's hot.' I blush lightly and quickly take a sip of my drink, looking at the side of his face.
Ace screams, "Eeeehh!? I have to pay for it!" He gives a scandalized look, making me snort on my drink.
Trey chuckles, uncrossing his arms as he says, "I'm not gonna squeeze money out of underclassmen. But, if we're going to make the tart Riddle wants to eat, we'll need a lot of chestnuts. Could you gather them for me?"
Ace groans and rubs the back of his head. "Either way is a pain. Well, how many do you need?"
"To make it for the Unbirthday Party we'll need...about 2-300, I think."
A moment of silence, and I cover my ears in preparation, Yuu doing the same.
"THAT MANY!?" Deuce and Grim shout in unison, staring wide eyed at Trey.
"Then I'll have you roast them and remove the outer shell to take out the nut." Trey continues, pushing up his glasses.
"...Yuu, take me home, I'm not doing all that." Grim says with a deadpan expression, holding his arms up for Yuu, who chuckles at the cat.
"Me too." Deuce agrees, going back to eating his food.
"Traitors!" Ace calls them. He looks at Yuu, who shakes their head. "I didn't even say anything, come on man!"
I chuckle, but that was my mistake, cause a second later he whips his head over to me, practically begging me with his eyes to join. I shake my head and say, "Hell no. I wasn't originally part of y'alls lil' adventures, and I ain't gonna start now." He groans, and bangs his head on the table for a minute or two.
Cater interrupts him before he could continue, addressing the ones that said no, "You know, tarts that everyone makes together are always the best. To make memories? You might even make your debut as a food blogger."
"Pass." We all say, taking a bite of our food. I contain my laugh when Ace groans louder than before.
Trey rolls his eyes at us, but has an amused smile. "Keep it a secret from Riddle," we perk up hearing the word 'secret', "but freshly baked mont blanc is the most delicious. Only those who help make it get to try some."
I roll my eyes, but then I notice Deuce and Grim were practically drooling. 'Really?'
"Oooh ooh ooh!" Grim jumps off the table towards Yuu, standing on their shoulder saying, "Let's get a move on! We're gonna pick chestnut after chestnut after chestnut!"
Yuu gives him a deadpan look as they say, "You sure changed you're tune quick." They sigh, and ask Trey, "Where do we get them?"
"There should be plenty of chestnut trees in the forest behind the campus botanical garden." Trey says.
Ace cheers and says, "Then we'll meet after class in front of the botanical garden."
"By we, you aren't includin' me." I interrupt his little celebration.
He gives me an upset look, before he scoffs. "Fine. Whatever." He finishes his lunch and stands up, throwing it away. The others finished soon after, following after.
I roll my eyes and continue to eat. I look up and notices Cater and Trey giving me looks. I swallow, and ask 'what?'. "You know, it would be nice to help them." Cater says, nudging my shoulder.
I give him a fake smile and nudge him back. "Then you do it, oh so kind Cater-Senpai." He sticks his tongue out and I return it.
"But you know," we face Trey, who has a small sly smile, "it would really be easier on me if you went and helped them with chestnut picking." I raise my eyebrow at him in a 'really?' way. "And I'm sure they could use your help. Plus, I know I could rely on you more then them." I pause the bite I was about to have, and look at him with wide eyes. He shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly and says, "But hey, it is your decision."
I stay frozen for a second, before I quickly finish my food. As I pick up my tray I quickly say, "Ya'know, you're right~! I mean, they are pretty trashy, they could use my help, how rude of me to not offer it the first time! I'mma go catch up and tell them I changed my mind, ok bye!" I throw away my tray and quickly rush to find my fellow first years.

3rd POV
As Jack rushes out of the cafeteria, Trey gives a self satisfied smile, going back to his food. He notices that Cater was giving him a playfully disappointed look. "What?" He asks innocently.
"You know what." Cater says, chuckling while shaking his head. "Such a cruel senpai, using your power over a simp for that."
Trey narrows his eyes and smirks. "I have no clue what you mean Cater."
"Yeah, I'm sure you don't."