𝐇𝐄'𝐒 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄

ᴇɴᴛʀʏ #29 | ᴄʜɪʟʟ

029 | Chill

"Holy shit!" (Y/N)'s eyes almost bugged out of her head when the car that she had rode in with Jian and Nicolai pulled up in the driveway of their more than majestic house. "You guys live here! This is a 'fricken mansion!"

"Well, Nicolai's father is the headmaster of Florens," Jian smirked as he opened the door to exit the vehicle, thanking the driver on his way out.

"I know, but... wow."

"It's like you've never seen a house before," Nicolai grumbled as he slung his bag over his shoulder and slammed the door shut, not even bothering with the two as he moved past them and up the steps to the front door. "Since we're going to be working on the project for only an hour or so, let's use the downstairs den. When my old man gets home you'll have to leave, though."

"That only includes (Y/N)... right?" Jian asked in a joking tone.

"If I had my way, you'd be living under a bridge by now," Nicolai snapped backward at Jian, his glare sharp as he glanced back at him.

Letting out an awkward exhale of breath, (Y/N) followed Nicolai and Jian through their house. The large space was filled with furniture that looked to be softer than soft, polished wood tables, pictures of Nicolai and his family and some that included Jian, and wood floor that didn't even creak. They descended down another flight of stairs just next to the ones that spilled upward, leading toward a singular space filled with a large T.V. and sofa just opposite it, and a multitude of games like fooseball and pool.

"Wow, you guys even have a game room?" She hummed as she slung her bag on the couch and drifted toward the pool table.

Rich people are built different, for real...

"If you like, we could play after completing our project?" Jian suggested, ignoring the rather ill-looking scowl from Nicolai thrown his way.

"Hm... maybe..." she shrugged as she sat down beside him on the couch whilst pulling out her computer and notebook. "Who knows though? Bitch-boy over there will probably throw me out as soon as I'm done here."

"First of all, what the fuck?" Nicolai scowled with a roll his eyes as he too set up his things. "And second of all, yeah, you're right."

"See?" She turned to Jian with a shrug.

"Oh, well," he grinned whilst leaning back lazily on the couch, stretching out like a cat as he laced his fingers together to he rest his head on. "At least we tried, you know?"

(Y/N) merely hummed in answer.

It's strange, honestly,

I initially wouldn't have thought that Jian would be as laid-back as he is now...

Especially with me and Nicolai here.

"Alright, we've already got the intro, but now we need to think about the layout," Nicolai started the study session, the glow of the computer screen highlighting his dark complexion in the slowly darkened room due to the setting sun—the minimal lights provided also setting a relaxing mood. "Should we do the characters and the alienation they feel and then compare it to Raskolnikov and the others?"

"That's a good idea," (Y/N) spoke as she flicked through the book. "I already have notes for Johnny, Ponyboy, Dallas, and Darry."

"But can we compare that to Crime and Punishment's characters?" Jian raised a skeptical brow.

"Yeah, since an example would be Ponyboy feeling isolated from the Greaser society and Raskolnikov being isolated from his own," Nicolai gestured vaguely with his hand to show the point he was making. "Besides, there's enough context that we can use to thoroughly examine it one way or the other, so I don't think we'll have much trouble."

"Yeah, we'll be fine," (Y/N) nodded.

For someone so violent and crude... he's actually pretty studious.

At least when he wants to be.

Delving further into their assignment, they were able to complete three of the seven slides they needed before the door to the room was opened. Instantly, all of their heads shot up since they were mostly left alone in the house save for the housekeeping staff that wouldn't dare to intrude. However, the man that entered the room was practically an older version of Nicolai, allowing (Y/N) to instantly know who he was. That, and due to the fact that she had passed by him in Florens many times.

"Hello," the man greeted with a polite and charming smile, the black suit he was wearing crisp and clean while the watch on his wrist gleamed with shine. "What are you kids up to?"

"We're working on a school assignment, Mr. Orval," Jian answered when Nicolai didn't.

In fact, Nicolai had fallen strangely quiet.

(Y/N) swallowed nervously when she met Mr. Orval's eyes, returning his smile with a crooked one of her own that she was sure looked more than awkward. Of course, he didn't comment on this as he shook her hand and made normal small-talk with her, his voice smooth and quite calming to the ear—at least in her opinion it was.

"So, what's your name, young lady?" He asked formally. "I don't believe I've met you before."

"(Y/N)," she answered. "Nice to meet you."

"You as well," he stated as he then rescinded his hand to slide it back into his pants' pockets. "What project are you all working on?"

"English—Mrs. Young assigned us to cross examine a book like that of Crime and Punishment and it's main theme, alienation," she continued, ignoring the glower that Nicolai threw her for conversing with his father instead of getting back to work. "We decided on The Outsiders, so right now we're focusing on characters and the alienation that surrounds them."

"That's quite interesting," Mr. Orval hummed as he tapped a finger against his chin, his light blue eyes that differed greatly from his son's scanning her computer screen with the pulled up slide-show. "And quite commendable since it looks like you've completed most of it."

"Oh, um, thank you," she smiled.

Now, I came down here so I could talk to Nicolai, but I didn't know he had other people over," Mr. Orval exclaimed. "Would you mind if I steal him away for just a moment?"

"I don't mind," (Y/N) shrugged whilst Jian gave a small shake of his head.

With that, Nicolai stood up and followed after his father, the other two not noticing the way both of their expressions turned into a chilling mask.

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To be continued...