Disclaimer:

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, events, places, etc., are either product of the author's imagination used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to an actual person, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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Slowly reviving my conscious state, the whirlwind of reality arise in me. A Flood of specific memories came flashing back onto my head as I felt my whole body floating with the embrace of a familiar silhouette.

Am I dreaming? Of course not.

Am I hallucinating? Heck no.

I am sure that I'm awake as hell. But why do I feel like I'm dancing in the midair? And what's with the warmth wrapping around me?

"Close your eyes, Little Miss Transferee. You're not allowed to see me in that state of yours."

Hearing those words, a realization hit me hard. I am not floating, nor am I not dancing in the midair. I'm being carried by someone. Someone who I'm sure is the guy behind my survival from the mess I've entered earlier—the guy who saved my life.

The one of a hell mysterious President of BWH. President L.

In the train of my curious thoughts, I found my hands unconsciously making their move towards the face of President L. Nothing else shouts in my head but to grab his white face mask off and see even just a glimpse of his face.

With only an inch left in the interval of my fingers to the hem of his mask, my heart throbbed hard when he frantically stopped his steps and held my hand. "Stop. I already warned you, lady. You can't disobey my orders."

His voice seems so cold. So deep. And so mysterious. I lowered my hand and never dared to speak nor to touch him. He's acting like this yet; why on earth he doesn't scare me in any way?

It's just that... I'm finding him so weird.

Why the hell is he wearing a mask? He's the President, the most powerful in this hell-like school, but why does he have to hide his face? Why does his face have to remain unknown to all of the people in here... for freakin' years?

"Does all of this make you look cool?" I was supposed to blurt out that to my inner self, but shit, I made a huge mistake! I spoke it out too loud! Did he hear it?

"Of course not. Lady, I'm not hiding for the sole purpose of acting cool. Keep that in your curious mind."

Oh, freak. He did hear it. Urgh! I'm such a fool. Why did my mouth release it all away? At this moment, I badly want to stitch my lips so that I can't blabber other words out, which will definitely make me dig my own pit grave. Darn, mouth.

For the second time around, he stopped in his tracks again and stared at me with his gray eyes, "And I'm not allowed to tell you the true reason on why I am doing this. Not now."

I was about to say something, but then a tingling sensation on my neck interrupted. I barely touched the aching part, but then when I lifted my hands in the midair... I saw a freaking blood.

Well, fuck that crazy man earlier. This is all because of him and that darn knife. What was his name again? Sydney? Sucralose? Sigourney? Sy- never mind, I don't remember him, and he's not even worth remembering for. I raise two middle fingers for him.

"Don't move, lady. You're bleeding excessively." I felt a warm hand wrapping my neck around a plain white handkerchief. Seconds later, as I'm fully aware that blood is oozing out of my wounded neck, President L stops at his tracks again.

"Where are we?" I slowly asked.

"In the front of your dorm, Ms. Transferee." He said as his gazes went back to meet mine. He went down on one of his knees and placed me leaning on the dark walls just beside my dorm room. "I'm dropping you off here. Surely, you can take care of yourself and go inside, right?"

My lips formed a smirked. What does he take me for? A baby who can't walk alone? "I can, President. Don't worry yourself to death that much." Grappling with the piece of cloth in my neck, I stood up and turned my back at him. My other hand found its way through the doorknob, but even before I finally got inside, something crossed my subconscious mind. Questions. Some questions that I've been dying to know what will be the answers.

"Where are you going after this?"

I heard him chuckled, "You're an inquisitive cat, aren't you? Well, I'm off somewhere. Somewhere dark. To decrease the list of students who need to be punished for breaking the rules."

Sighing heavily, I prompt myself to ask the last question, "When will I see you again?"

I heard no response. For a moment, I thought he already left. But then, he spoke up and made me vulnerable for god knows how many minutes, "I've always been there. Just a few steps far from you. No one knows when we will see each other again, but surely, I'll be watching you close by. Please remember that, lady."

Upon hearing the muffled sound of his steps, I fell into a deep thought. My eyes were left blinking rapidly, and indeed my face shows that I'm puckering to comprehend what the heck did he just blurted out. For a few seconds, I just stood still on my foot, blinking vaguely.

The creaking sound of the door opening made me pull out straightaway from luring inside my conscious mind. Just as I'm about to go inside the room, a blinding streak of light flashed suddenly.

"Where the hell did your ass went through, bitch?" Rise' angry face meet and greet me. Her arms are forming a cross on her chest, and even though I'm feeling dizzy from the pain in my neck, I can't seem to stop myself from plaster a little grin within my lips. What the hell, Rise Vanderwoodsen. You looked like a father waiting for his daughter to come home after breaking the curfew hours.

"We were worried like hell! Avy, we already warned you to一 Wait up; why the heck are you bleeding?!" Shine, on the other hand, didn't miss even a single second to fly on my side and try to stop the bleeding of my neck.

"I-I'm okay, Shine. It's just a little freakin' wound. I wouldn't die from this, I swear." I swatted her hands away and plopped myself to the nearest sofa.

"You're not going to die, yeah. But, how can you explain the fact that you have a fever?" Rise countered back as she brings her hands to my forehead. I did the same, and I was shocked to found out that a damn fever is attacking me all of a sudden. Is this because of this damn small cut? Argh. Such a hassle.

"Go to the side, Riri. Let me treat Avy's wounds first. Go to the kitchen and prepare a medicine for her fever." With a bit of dipper on her arms, Shine got back in a split second, and she kneels on the side of the sofa. She prompted me to make my face parallel to the other side and started treating my wound using a clean towel.

"Where did you get this cut, Avy?" She asked yet; I remained silent.

"Please be honest to us, will you? Did someone caught you out there? Perhaps a student like us?"

My tears started to fall again when I remembered the scene in the dark Hall. I bring my arms to cover my face so that I can suppress it from trickling down my cheeks, "I don't know, Shine. I really don't know. A guy made this cut. I accidentally met him when that scary siren rang around. The lights flickered and went out, so I didn't get to see his face."

"A man?" I heard Rise's voice again. Judging by the motion that she made, she also probably sat on the same sofa that I'm lying down on. "Let me guess, that's Winter Syracuse, am I right? That asshole."

Syracuse? From what I have remembered, that's the name that President Light mentioned. That's him. So, they knew him. "Who was he?" I asked, and the two stared at each other before answering me.

"He's the leader of Section Zero, Avy. Section Zero was a section full of murderers. They haunt all the students and gives them absolute nightmares if they merely disobeyed the dark rule to never go outside their dorms ranging in the times of black hours. Do you remember our warning to you? Once the clock strikes six, black hours start. Students aren't supposed to go out from that time until 3 am. And once a student from Section Zero caught you out there in the dark while black hours are running, they will punish you. And of all the unfortunate human beings, you were the second student who received punishment from them."

"The first one who received the punishment died weeks ago. Personally, I must say you got lucky bitch that this cut was the only thing that Syracuse did to you. How did you manage to escape him?"

My brows perked up by Rise's question. Escape him? I didn't escape him by myself, "That President L of yours, he was there and he helped me."

"President L?!" They both shouted in chorus, which made me confused all over again. I can't really understand why Blackwoodian Citizens make a big deal out of the scene whenever I mention their young President. Like, why make a fuss bitches?

"You have his handkerchief. Did he gave this to you?" I quickly took a glance at Shine; she's holding the towel that President L gave me earlier. I plastered my hands in her front, signaling to give the thing to me back. When she gave it back, I saw how stains of my blood crept up and surrounded almost the entire white towel.

But, the odd thing was I could clearly see an embroidered word 'Light' on his handkerchief. So, I suppose this is his name. Light Blackwood. What an ironic name he has.

"That's his mark."

"What?" My eyebrows furrowed.

"As long as you have his handkerchief, the killers of Section Zero wouldn't lay a single hand on you. With that white towel, he's marking you to be off-limits. He's trying to save you. President L was trying to protect you, Avy."

"Once again, you got lucky bitch."

The fact that Rise was grinning ear-to-ear and Shine was holding my hands firmly; I could say they were serious about this. As I stared into President L's handkerchief laying on my bloody hand, my heart throbbed lightly. Why did he save me? Why was he protecting me? Why me?

Light Blackwood, why did you give me your mark?

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To be continued...