Key of Souls: Twisted Wonderland

Chapter 69: The Calm Before the Storm

3rd POV

As November was just around the corner, everyone at Night Raven College was getting ready for their final exams before the winter break; several students were up to their noses in books, studying like crazy, while others were ready to crash and burn from hours of intense studying.

Dawn was in the library one day, gathering reference materials for the upcoming exams; she was planning to have a study session with Ace and Deuce, who pleaded with her to help them study, since they knew she had the best grades in her classes and consistently scored the highest on her tests. She tried to invite Jack to study with them, but he declined as he wanted to study alone. Grim was on her shoulder, whining, "Why are we spending almost every day in the library. Geniuses like me don't need to waste time reading books." But Dawn glared at the little monster and told him, "You have no right to complain, Grim. You need help with studying, just as much as Ace and Deuce do, if not more."

"Kyu!", Perry popped out of Dawn's bag and squeaked in agreement.

"Fiiineee...", moaned Grim, seeing there was no way out of this. As Dawn placed her books on one of the tables, she realized she needed several more to help create study guides. "I'm heading back to get some more books. Keep an eye on our stuff until I get back, Grim.", she told the little monster; Grim gave a half-hearted salute as Dawn went to get more of the books she needed.

Dawn was finding the books she needed and carefully stacking each one in her arms; she went to the next shelf and found another required book. Just as she was about to reach the shelf, she suddenly tripped on something and lost her balance, and her books flew out of her arms and fell backward. "Whoahh!!", she went, closing her eyes and preparing to hit the floor, when...

"Gotcha~!", said a voice.

Dawn never felt her body hit the floor; instead, she felt herself held in a protective embrace that kept her from falling. As she opened her eyes, she was shocked to discover that the one who broke her fall was none other than Floyd Leech; he was on his knees, holding her in one arm while the books he had caught were in his free hand. "Are you alright~?", he asked her with a wide smile. Dawn felt a bit frightened seeing Floyd up close again, as she vividly remembered what he tried to do last month, but she was more embarrassed due to the position he was holding her in right now. "I...I...", she tried to talk, but to no avail as her cheeks turned pink with embarrassment.

"Floyd. She won't be able to say anything if you keep holding her like this.", a voice said. When Dawn glanced behind to see who said that, she saw that it was Floyd's brother, Jade, here as well. Like this, Floyd helped the teen girl back to her feet and returned the books he had caught. Soon, Jade approached her with a book in his hands and said, "I believe these are what you were looking for." He handed her the book that she was looking for, but what shocked Dawn the most was what was placed on top of it.

"My bracelet!", she shouted; it was her special gold bracelet she had lost last month, but she never found it. Jade smiled as he explained to her, "I happened to find this at the school's courtyard. I saw the initials and figured this might be yours. Sorry, we couldn't bring this to you sooner, but the timing was difficult regarding our schedules." Dawn was surprised that he figured out that the bracelet was hers, but she was beyond happy to have it back and put it on her wrist. With a bright smile, she said, "It's fine. I'm just happy to have my bracelet again, since it was a present from my grandfather. Thank you both very much."

Jade gave a small smile as he bowed, "The pleasure was all ours, Miss Baldwin.", he said.

"If it means seeing that cute smile of yours, no problem.", said Floyd with a wide grin as he got close to her face. This made Dawn flustered, and her cheeks turned pink again; both Jade and Floyd couldn't help but laugh at the girls' cute reaction.