Gehenna's Gate

Ashes of Eden

Did I really imagine that..?

It was the next school day, Vena having avoided thinking about any of the weird things that had been going on out of pure exhaustion.

Thankfully, Kazuha wasn't the type to pry, and he didn't ask any further questions, knowing if Vena wanted to talk about it with him that she would.

He'd gone home that morning too, promising not to say a word of any of it to Vena's mother either, Kazuha always being a great secret keeper.

As the time passed, the details just seemed blurrier anyway, but at the time, she'd been so afraid... it had all felt too real, too vivid, she knew crazy things could happen to a mind under immense stress but she'd never experienced anything like that before.

I'm finally losing it.

"Looking good, as usual." The smooth voice pulled her from her thoughts, but also instantly brought a frown to her face.

"I like the hair, you can actually see your piercings now."

Vena sent him a sideways glare, knowing that implied he'd already knew they were there even though she'd made a point to wear clear ones or always keep her hair down so no one could see the various piercings along both of her ears.

Lately, she cared a lot less about anyone assuming she was the emo kid of the bunch, and surprisingly nobody really commented on it aside from Xiao.

Today she'd done her violet hair in a French braid down the back of her head, leaving two small sections of her hair out of the braid on either side of her face to frame it cutely- and this had her ears mostly on display.

"You smell good too." He'd taken his seat by now, slouching down in his chair a bit to spread his legs out under the lab table with his usual smug smile hanging on his lips.

"It's called a shower," Vena grumbled, annoyed that he'd broken her current train of thought with his usual nonsense.

"You know, water, soap, shampoo?" She continued as she turned her head to face him, giving a subtle wave of her hand as if to say "duh."

"Naked, I know the drill."

Vena felt her jaw twitch, but before she had a chance to make a snarky reply, Mrs. Chance came in, already barking orders for the days assignment.

"You look tired. Rough night?" Xiao had leaned over just a bit toward her to whisper, keeping his gaze trained forward as the teacher continued to speak.

This earned him another glare from Vena, who attempted to ignore him as she flipped through her biology book to find the page everyone was currently on.

"I saw you at the library the other night." Vena spoke lowly, keeping a hand across her face to hide her mouth from Mrs. Chance.

"The highlight of my night." Xiao gave a little content sounding sigh, which still somehow sounded smug as well.

"Were you following me?" Most people wouldn't usually be so bold, but Vena wanted answers.

Xiao tipped his head back, letting out a soft yet amused laugh.

"What were you doing there?" Vena tried again, shooting him another look from the corner of her eye.

"Getting a book." The boy replied as if the answer was so obvious.

Mrs. Chance cleared her throat obnoxiously, yanking Vena's attention just in time to be met with a glare of her own.

Oops.

Azure eyes returned back to her text book for a few minutes, before the gnawing urge for answers became too much to bear again.

She titled her head further down this time, hoping that and her hand would help conceal her whispering as she turned slightly back toward Xiao.