Realistic or Modern Let the Games Begin

[Emotional Enigma]

​

The school, LeLaurent Amor University in Midland Valley, was awake with life. The campus was teeming with students and the smell of fresh pastries from their quaint cafe. Most colleges had subpar food and dining areas but LeLaurent Amor, or LLA, had one of the best. Due to their newer population of human students they hired chefs from all around the world to cater to their diverse student body. The cafe was packed this morning, as well as the dorms and the library. The start of the new semester and everyone was putting their best foot forward. The school newspaper had been distributed 8 AM on schedule, classes had began accordingly. On the outside of a tall, iron fence was a ginormous crowd of people. Flashing camera lights and news crews, all vying for the photo op or interview with one of the students. There had been a lot of buzz about LLA when it had first opened it's doors to humans but had died down respectively. It had recently flared back up again with the death of the mayor's daughter and multiple authorities wanting a story. The dean had done well to keep them at bay at the furthest corners of the campus but there was also a silent fear of stepping foot onto vampire territory. Despite the fact that the vampire students were no different than their human counterparts, people still viewed them in a dangerous light.

In room 203, Alona bit down on her buttered toast, her pen gliding across notebook paper. On it was the crude drawing of Marina, a girl who had nearly hit Alona with her Mercedes. It hadn't occurred to Alona that this was a private school and private schools meant rich families who didn't care about much else besides themselves. She had the privilege of being reminded first thing in the morning. Crumbs littered the notebook and she swept them away, smudging the pen marks. She cursed under her breathe, sending more crumbs to the artwork. She rolled her eyes before setting the toast down of her desk and wiping the crumbs off again but it was too late. Her masterpiece was now smudged all over. She wrinkled her nose as someone took a seat next to her at the long row of a single desk. She knew it was Simon without having to look up. Even with his new self he dressed and smelled the same. The same Calvin Klein cologne, the same sweater vest style and geeky, wide rimmed glasses. Her peripherals never failed, Alona paused her wiping to give him a once over. Sure enough he was wearing everything she assumed. Alona hadn't dressed quite as nice, only dawning a white, crop top and jean shorts. Her brightly colored backpack was in the seat beside her, effectively making only one seat available on the other side for Simon.

She would've found his presence comforting but she felt the prestige from the school crushing her hopes and dreams. The dark oak of the desks in a lecture style room. The dark, cushioned seats and tall glass windows with black blinds it was like a glorified prison with homework. The Victorian architect design adjusted for vampires students and day sickness. From what Alona heard, vampires didn't spontaneously combust under sunlight. They just got sunburned and if in the sun too long, violently ill. The campus was old brick and wooden floors. There were stone pathways to each of the wings and baroque paintings of stories many students wouldn't recognize. In the crevices of hallways were students gossiping, some having their own private make out session.

Simon didn't say anything at first, leaning over to see what Alona had drawn, "Is that --?" Before he could finish Alona shut the notebook. It was obvious she was upset about something and he had an inkling what it was. He hadn't told her about Emily Atwood's death last year but in his defense, he had only learned about the case after moving in a few weeks before Alona transferred. He was just as much in the dark about the whole situation as she was. His expression shifted to uncomfortable as he pulled his own class materials out and set them on the desk. He had a pencil case, a notebook and even sticky bookmarks. Anyone could tell by looking at him he was a try hard; the type of guy everyone wanted to cheat off. It was a blessing he was next to Alona but she doubted he'd willingly let her cheat. In high school, he was a straight A's student while Alona fell behind. This would probably be no different.

As more students began filtering into the classroom it was easy to distinguish the vampire students from the human. The vampire students, or A class students, held themselves a bit higher than the rest. They carried a sense of ease with them while the human students, B class, walked in with an expression of apprehension. Alona didn't recognize any of the students until Marina stepped over the threshold. They locked eyes for a heartbeat, Marina's dark eyes sharp enough to cut steel. She passed Alona's row, descending the steps to the very first row right in front of the chalkboard and teacher's desk. Alona was beginning to understand what kind of mean girl this Marina was. If the Mercedes, lack of apology and overly righteous introduction coupled with a warning hadn't been enough then her seating position had given it away. Normally, Alona would feel intimidated by the girls in high ponytails and mini skirts but Marina just made her feel anxious. Day 1 and she had already pissed someone off.

A taller woman with black, 5 inch heels walked in behind a group of students, sticking out like a sore thumb. She had long tendrils of strawberry blonde hair and wore a knee length pencil skirt. It was clear she was professor even if she hadn't written her name on the board as soon as she reached her desk. Alona ventured the guess she was probably a vampire as well because she didn't know anyone who would walk into a 9 AM class with high heels on, professor or not. Clearly she was bold or trying to set a standard that Alona surely wasn't going to abide. Her button up blouse and extravagant appearance was all a bit exhausting even just to look at.

"Hello everyone, welcome back," She smiled, red lips stretching from side to side, "And for our new student body, welcome. I'm Ms. Eve and this is English 2201. I have taken the liberty of separating the class into groups of 4 to discuss Emily Dickinson's works." The class erupted with whispers and the sound of books and pages flipping. Eve bent over the desk at the front of the class, flipping through sheets until she procured the one she had been searching for. Realizing there was a few new faces in the mix she added, "When I say your name, please raise your hand so that others can find you." She cleared her throat and began to read off names, "Simon Graves, Gabriel Brousseau, Leonie Brousseau, Alona Chepra, group 1."

Alona didn't bother to hear the rest of the names, turning to Simon who was waving his hand in the air eagerly. He didn't want to give his friend time to scold him for neglecting to tell her about Emily Atwood. While he was still new himself, no one in school seemed to want to talk about it. He got the feeling there was more to the story but he wasn't one to go digging his nose where it didn't belong. It always brought trouble and he was a pacifist at heart. As Eve went on, Alona leaned in to whisper to him, "Sooo, when are we going to talk about this Emily Atwood?" The mention of the name caused Simon to swallow nervously, his arm frozen in mid air. He lowered it, a clear tension in his posture. Vampires had very good hearing and if any had telepathy, they'd hear how many thoughts raced through his head. It were times like these where he wished it wasn't frowned upon to put muzzles on people.

"I know I should've told you but can we talk about this later?" Simon adjusted his glasses, looking around the room for the two partners they'd be joining them soon. He hadn't a chance to meet anyone aside from his RA, his mother requesting he live in campus. She was convinced his "new self" wasn't something she could handle and he should be in the care of people better accustomed to vampires. He didn't like the idea but he also wasn't about to make the long 4 hour drive home and back for school every day.

"Some girl gets yeeted off the roof and you don't want to talk about it?" Alona didn't care if someone heard her. She had to dig through so much information just to find the girl's name, it had been buried under mountains of speculation and ads. For such a noteworthy case it was incredible it was so hard to find anything on it. All Alona managed to find was the link between her death and the school, but no other additional info was provided.

"Listen," Simon looked at her, "I'm not talking about it right now with you because frankly, you're kind of racist." Simon loved his best friend but he was not about to fight someone if they got upset with her constant use of the word 'vampires' or the mention of Emily. He didn't know why she wasn't talked about but there was clearly a reason and he was going to respect it.
"I can't just take my tuition back Simon, I'm stuck here if someone decides to eat me."
"Well, I am too so I guess we're stuck together."

anderswo

 

[anderswo]

The soft sounds of a virtuosically played violin swept over the interior space of a fashionable old-time Ford Mustang, Gabriel Brousseau’s soul as Léonie loved to call it. The Brousseau twins were sitting both next to each other in the front seats, Gabriel at the wheel and his sister next to him. She had her legs bent so her slim feet could fit onto the seat’s leather. Léonie was wearing a long skirt with mysterious ornaments scattered all about it, an oversized grey sweater and her wild curly hair loose. She had a knack for making old clothes found at a yard sale to look pretty and fashionable again. Their mother had scolded her way to often that Léonie was bringing down the family's reputation with her ‚brattish‘ clothing style, but nevertheless Léonie didn’t stop bringing home all sorts of antiques. Quite different to her brother who was all in black as usually, but still elegantly dressed with a button-down shirt and neat trousers. Even though Gabriel was always very delicate in his choice of fashion there was always an effortless touch to it. Maybe because of his dark curls that had grown quite long over the summer and were merely brushed away with a hand or maybe because he just didn’t look like a type of guy that cared about fashion, not in a bad way.

The window to Léonie's right side was open, and in her right hand she held a cigarette that she moved graciously within the rhythm of the music. She had claimed the last two hours after the airport for herself after she had been listening to Gabriel's beloved Blues, and Léonie loved those two hours listening to Paganini while driving through the wilderness of Scotland.

„When did you start smoking?“ He brother mumbled after having taken a wary side glance towards his twin. „Why is that any of your interest?“ Léonie smirked while taking a puff and supporting herself as Gabriel maneuvered the car through a narrow turn in the road. „I think it looks cool and sophisticated, and also it’s calming.“ Gabriel’s right eyebrow shot up and he scoffed „I think it looks like lung cancer and supporting a billion dollars rich industry of idiots.“ His sister rolled her eyes and stubbed out the cigarette end. „You are a true kill-joy and also we are vampires, I don’t think that any nicotine will harm our already dead bodies.“ She shook her head and followed the sign that said Welcome to LeLaurent Amor University with her eyes while passing. „Still supporting a sick industry.“ Gabriel was slowing down as they were soon going to arrive at the campus. The flight had been delayed for three hours wherefore the schedule he had organized in his head was brought into chaos so he decided to instantly drive towards the lecture hall instead of the dormitories.

„Bienvenue à la maison,“ Léonie declared. Gabriel wasn’t sure wether she was being honest or sarcastic at the moment. He was only slightly worried about the new found hobby of his twin as he knew it was just a phase in her life like all the other ones they already went through. There was still a vague memory of Léonie showing him cupcakes she had baked as a freshly declared baking-maniac. It had only lasted two days until her interest in baking lacked again.

„We can still make it to the English class on time,“ he stated after a short glance at the clock. „I will drive towards the lecture hall and try to find a parking area in there.“ Léonie nodded. „Sounds resonable,“ she said, but her mind was already in a different place. While they had been driving past the campus buildings, Léonie had noticed the pictures of Emily Atwood that decorated the walls and reminded of the young girl's tragic death. It was still horrifying to know that her murderer was still out there if she was even murdered. Léonie had known Emily, but not a lot more than everybody knew her. It was a name that you must have heard if visiting the LLA.

Léonies train of thoughts was soon wiped clean as Gabriel had found a parking lot. The car grounded to a halt, the twins grabbed their belongings and made their way towards room 203 as Gabriel read from his smartphone. Both of them had to attend the English class from last year, because the former teacher had cancelled shortly before the term had started and no replacement had been found until now.

It was already very crowded as they entered the room shortly after the professor. They sat down quietly and waited as the professor was saying her welcomes and announcing a group phase for this course. Gabriel looked around the room and brushed his dark curls out of his face. When their names were called out, he rose his hand slowly only to realize that his sister had already spotted the other pair and waved towards them effusively. They were only sitting a few rows apart from them. „Oh, they look kind,“ she whispered towards Gabriel, and her euphory made him chuckle.

 

[Emotional Enigma]

Simon saw a girl's hand waving in their direction through the crowd of students that begun reallocating to different seats. He smiled wide, his eyes seeming to smile with the motion. He looped his messenger bag over his shoulder and lightly tapped Alona who groaned under her breathe. She tossed her notebook into vibrant backpack and grabbed her toast. She stood up, her midriff showing as she maneuvered around their seats. The dark oak floor creaked with their weight as they descended the steps, squeezing by other students going in the opposite direction. Simon, still smiling brightly, bowed his head to the pair when they found nearby seats. Alona wasn't as welcoming, she gave a pressed half smile, clearly not as psyched for education as Simon was.

"Hello, greetings! I'm Simon and this is Alona," He sat down beside the girl, gesturing for Alona to sit as well. She eyed the two, smelling old money just like the rest of the campus. She hadn't been one to dress nicely and the professor's appearance hadn't urged her any different but seeing how everyone in class dressed made her second guess her decision. Why would anyone want to be uncomfortable all day and go through the trouble of digging out nice clothes? Looking at her own attire, Alona gasped. Did they only own nice clothes?! The torture that would be, she practically lived in crop tops and sweatpants.

She bit into her toast and took a seat beside Simon on the very end of their group. Twisting her chair until it faced them, she leaned forward attentively and rested an elbow on the desk. Simon dug out his class materials again, excited to meet new people and possibly have new friends. He set his notebook down, a few pens and their class textbook before putting his messenger bag over the shoulder of his chair.
"So I figure we can start with introductions," He was nervous, adjusting his glasses and rolling up his sleeves, "I'll start, again my name is Simon. I'm from Fallbrook, Ohio. I graduated with honors in high school and my hobbies include -- " behind him Alona rolled her eyes and threw her head back, " -- music and art. I mostly love piano and photography, but I can do a lot of different art mediums." Simon didn't want to bore them with the details, deciding to move on to introducing Alona whether she wanted him to or not. He knew she wouldn't want him to and that's precisely why he did it. He was getting a second chance to start over basically, reinvent his image and he wanted Alona to as well. He wanted her to be someone new and he knew she wouldn't try on her own. She'd cave into herself and cling to him and he wasn't about to let that happen.

"This is Alona and she also graduated from Fallbrook High with me," He turned around to look at her and sighed when he saw her still eating her toast, "As you can see she likes to eat. All the time. But she's really good at board games and uhm -- " Simon chuckled, turning back to the pair, " -- well, to be honest she's not that good at a lot of things." His statement received a punch from Alona and a scowl. He was right, she couldn't think of many things she were good at but he didn't need to introduce her like that or at all. She always won in poker so that had to be good for something or he could've mentioned her extensive collection action movies. Instead he chose board games... Best friend goals right there.

Simon rubbed his arm for dramatic and comedic effect but there was no pain. Not anymore, not anywhere. It was a wonder how vampires felt anything, all he felt was physically numb most of the time. It was like going to the orthodontist and being a shot a Novocaine, only it didn't wear off with time. He really didn't need much of anything he used to have in his old life. His glasses were pretty much useless but he wore them anyway out of habit. His bento boxes he kept for packing his lunch and peanut allergy bracelet were left in the dorms. He had brought his first aid kit to the campus and tucked it away under his bed, but odds are he'd never use it. It was an odd new reality he was still getting used to.

"What are some things you guys like? How long have you been at LLA?" Simon leaned back in the chair, revealing more of Alona behind him.

 

[anderswo]

Gabriel could sense the shift in Léonie’s mood as the two students rose and made their way towards the twin’s seats. He was used to his sister’s social character and yet it could still amaze him how this woman would turn from a sarcastic grouch into an open and amicable creature. Sometimes Gabriel wondered if she was just being herself in front of him or vice versa. Nevertheless, Léonie looked happy as the other students reached both of them.

„Hello the two of you,“ she greeted them with her melodious voice and made a welcoming gesture. When both of them sat down, the man started with introducing himself. Gabriel eyed them curiously and skeptically at the same time. The woman seemed to be a human, the man a vampire, and both of them acted as if having known each other since eternity. He wondered what story this friendship was holding since it was not really common to see humans and vampires so close to each other, physically and mentally.

„Man, it’s been a while since I’ve played a board game. I guess the last game I played was chess against this one, and I lost as high as a house,“ she sighed while pointing at him. Gabriel squinted lightly. „Yes Léo, because you didn’t want to understand that checkmate is not when the queen dies, but the king.“ Léonie rolled her eyes. „Old views. Whatever, but well it’s nice to meet you, I’m Léonie Brousseau, straight out of France together with my twin here. I’m majoring in Journalism, and oh piano sounds great! I love listening to classical music by the way, and I played the violin when I was young“ she chatted cheerfully.

Afterwards she gave Gabriel a daring glance that kind of implied Now be nice and don’t fuck this up. He sighed, but acknowledged the fact that his sister was extremely keen to find new friends. Last year had been extremely difficult for Léonie. Their parents had been skeptical about the LLA and the presence of vampires around them wherefore they basically indoctrinated them to not get too attached to the other students which was quite painful to is social sister. Yet, she had promised their parents and stayed away from most of the other vampires. This year had started with a huge argument after Emily Atwood’s death. Again, their parents had been wary about their presence at the university, and Gabriel had to speak a lot of soothing words to make sure their parents weren’t to worried. Léonie, however, was the rebellious part. „We are at university,“ he remembered her saying, „it’s the most fun part in our life where we are supposed to find friends for the rest of our life. Don’t you dare to that away from me.“

„Gabriel Brousseau. Neuroscience major. “ he said friendly and briefly at the same time, but was quickly interrupted by his sister. "He isn't much into words with strangers. Yeah, we started visiting the LLA last year, how about you?"

 

[Emotional Enigma]

Simon beamed. He thought Leonie was as cute as button and didn't fit the usual attire of other students at LLA. Her peculiar skirt and oversize sweater seemed to favor comfort more than style though most women here preferred the latter. Alona preferred her comfort clothes as well and he hoped that they'd become friends. She needed more positive, cheerful friends like Leonie but it was seeming like this Gabriel was more of Alona's speed. Somewhat quiet and reserved, observant. Alona wasn't any of those things but she did love to bother those types. The amount of times Simon found her asking Gretchen James, a notably shy and soft spoken individual at Fallbrook, about deeply controversial issues was appalling. With Gabriel's calm demeanor Simon was worried how this friendship would evolve.

"We're new transfers this year. Fresh blood," Simon answered awkwardly. He looked around, feeling as though it wasn't the best wording given the population of students. If he hadn't been exceedingly nervous before he most certainly was now. He couldn't tell if there were vampires, his instincts not quite as developed as other vampires but even on the off chance they weren't he didn't want to paint a target on his back either for being tone deaf. He suspected possibly human with Leonie's vibrant personality and with what he's experienced so far; most vampire students strayed away from socializing with strangers. These two didn't hold the same attitudes, welcoming Alona and Simon into the group.

"Last year?" Alona perked up, scooting her chair closer to the group. Her short hair bobbed as the antique hopped with a loud thudding, drawing other student's attention. Simon could feel eyes on them. "Last year, hmm? Isn't that when that crazy story happened? Hmm... what was it?" She pretended to be confused, nodding her head as she looked off into some imaginary memory. She didn't want to be forward with her questions knowing that it was a touchy subject but information was scarce about the topic. She just wanted to know the details. Nothing too in depth or intense, just any rumors surrounding it or even if the case had been closed.

Simon feigned a smile, trying to keep the mood light and welcoming. He peered around the room and made note of Marina's nasty glare in their direction from across the room. She was far enough to not be able to hear what Alona was prodding on about but it wasn't Marina that Simon was worried about. Behind Marina in a different group was Klaus's demonizing gaze. Simon wasn't great at picking human students apart from vampire students but it was clear Klaus wasn't human. His gaze was cold, glaring past Simon to Alona though she wasn't paying any attention to notice it.

"I'm sure it'll come to you, anyway --" Simon thought it was better to change the subject while they could. He reached for his textbook, flipping open it's cover and scanning through the pages. The room had quieted a bit, conversations dying down. The last remaining bits thrummed in his ear and he found it hard to concentrate with his new enhanced senses.
"No no no, it's on the tip of my tongue," Alona glanced at her friend only a moment before glancing back over at the twins, "Hmmm... Emily, I think?"

"Yes, Emily Dickinson," Simon cut her off before she could possibly wreck a friendship before it had a chance to start, "I think I love her poem Because I Could Not Stop For Death. It's interesting that there's imagery of death being so gentle in all of her poems because specifically this one, she talks about it as if it's a doting father."

Alona knew there was a lot of weight to that sentiment that Simon chose to ignore. As someone who didn't have a father and who just recently died himself, she didn't think he meant to talk about it so lightly. Or maybe he had and this was his first time being able to with people who actually understood what it was like. Alona was going to have to accept that there was a new side of Simon she wasn't going to be a part of.

 

[anderswo]

"Ah yeah, we've been there as well," Léonie admitted with a sympathetic nod. "New beginnings can always be a bit scary, but luckily I had him with me." And with these words she nudged her brother who wasn't sure how to react to his sister's sudden touchiness. However, he didn't have much of a time for that, because the other pair or specifically the woman had decided to go completely off-topic, and while she started chatting, Léonie could feel her brother tense up at her side. Shit, don't go that way, Léonie thought. It's already been some time since Emily Atwood had deceased, but Gabriel would become very silent and pensive or circle around the topic tensely . Certainly, talking about Emily's death wasn't easy for him. Not many people knew that he had known her, his sister excluded of course.

It was about the beginning of the second term when Gabriel met Archibald Duver at the university's tennis court to pick up his sister after a match. Archie knew both of the Brousseau-twins like he probably knew about nearly everyone on the campus as the chatterbox he was. Of course he had also heard about the grades that brought Gabriel into this university alongside to him being a vampire of course. So he approached him casually after a game of tennis to inquire his help, and Gabriel stonewalled him.

However, it went a little different after Archie did his research, and found Gabriel's weak spot: blood thirst. So, Archibald approached him a second time, offering him a deal: Gabriel would help Archie with his grades once a week, and Archie would help him controlling his vampire instincts in return. This time, Gabriel accepted the offer reluctantly. At the beginning, it appeared a lot like a business relationship. Both parties were only interested in the connection, because of its benefits. However, over time both vampires grew more comfortable around each other, started joking around and eventually became friends. Gabriel had never thought he could be friends with a person like Archibald, but soon he realized that A) Archie was as lonely as him B) he wasn't such a bad guy and C) he was fun to be around.

It was Archie who introduced Gabriel to two persons that would later affect his life in an unexpected way: Klaus and Emily. Léonie didn't know a lot about her brother's relationship towards them. He had only explained it to her as a couple of acquaintances, and it wasn't exactly more than that. He had met both of them only a few times, always accompanied by Archibald, and never thought much about that. At least not enough to tell his sister about any defining events. However, by this time Léonie wasn't sure about this anymore since Gabriel seemed to know something. Otherwise he wouldn't be so sensitive about this topic.

"It was Emily Atwood you are talking about," Gabriel completed Alona's guess even after Simon had already tried to change the topic. He seemed to have struggled wether to say something about this or not. Léonie who had turned into a silent observant for now, bit her lower lip nervously. "And she had died, so I would be careful with that topic. There are still some people very sensitive about this. So don't say her name too loud." He said that with a polite smirk, but there was something resonating in his voice. Grief? Nervosity? Uncertainty?

Léonie, who knew her twin all too well, figured out that there was definitely something Gabriel didn't tell her, and probably didn't want to share with anyone else at the moment. "Well, what a dark mood in here," she said while acting as if she tried to flick off some type of atmosphere with her hands. "Uhm, actually regarding Emily Dickinson ... Did any of you catch what the professor said about our task?"

 

[Emotional Enigma]

Simon felt a tinge of tightness in his chest when Leonie mentioned new beginnings. He had been evading his own death experience so much that he forgotten everyone else here also went through the same thing. It was a scary transition filled with a cold that seeped into every limb and a deep darkness that suffocated all light in existence. He felt some solace in know he wasn't alone anymore, his shoulders relaxing as he looked at Leonie and Gabriel. It must've not been such a bad experience to have someone with you during it or maybe it was worse. Simon couldn't imagine Alona dying beside him without knowing if she were going to wake up. Their bond must've been strong for Gabriel to give up his mortality for Leonie. Simon wasn't sure he could do it for Alona; he thought of himself as too cowardly.

He was quick to shove the thought away for obvious reasons. Mainly because he didn't want to have Alona's death stuck in his head while also talking about death in class and her constant gossiping about Emily's. It was all a little too much death for the first day of school and the grim architecture hadn't helped to lighten the theme. You would think for a college catered to dead people they'd do their best to make it look more lively. The bleak drapes and long, wooden desks certainly weren't doing the trick...

Alona caught the slight smile Gabriel gave after correcting her and honestly, she had never seen a smile look so somber. Maybe it was his dark curls and pale complexion but he looked like a lone raven. Calm, collected and clearly hiding something. Alona's grandmother would warn her to stay away from the ravens; they were clever and always led you astray. Gabriel was no raven however, even if he looked like a breathing personification of one. He still had two legs, two arms and a well kept secret. She had guessed it had to do with Emily and she didn't want to pry but the temptation to ask was almost unbearable. She stayed silent though, deciding she'd ask another time. He didn't seem too keen on spilling his secrets to her but she was determined - his secrets would come to light eventually.

Alona noticed she had been staring at Gabriel for longer than what anyone would consider normal and adjusted herself in her seat. Leaning back against it's base she watched Simon glare at her before addressing Leonie's question.

"I believe she asked us to discuss Emily Dickinson's works?" He grinned, his gaze jumping from Leonie to Gabriel in an attempt to assess the tension between everyone at the present. He looked down at his textbook, the grim stare of a depiction of the poet. Her sunken eyes and nun headdress made her seem intimidating, much like Alona's striking gaze at Gabriel at the moment. Simon didn't know what was going through her head but it couldn't have been good with the way she locked onto him like a heat seeking missile. She could've at least been more subtle about the interest but just like in Alona fashion, she didn't care...

Simon could hear footsteps fast approaching them under the murmur of voices. The thundering heaviness of them should've told him who it was but Simon hadn't been trying to put a name to it. His head spun around in time to see Klaus's sleek running shoe kick out a leg to Alona's chair. It was faster than Simon thought possible, his own eyes nearly missing it's swift jerk. Within seconds the chair cracked under Alona with the undistributed weight and she fell onto the floor loudly. If everyone's attention hadn't been on them before, it was now. Alona hadn't made much noise verbally but when rolled over onto her stomach and looked up at Klaus who pretended to be surprised, there was a hateful gleam in her eyes. If looks could kill hers would've filleted Klaus on the spot.

Klaus grinned and raised a hand to cover his mouth. He chuckled lightly and added a quiet, "Whoops." Simon braced himself for Alona's outburst, knowing they were all about to get kicked out of the class. She hadn't necessarily screamed but her growl was just as menacing; she was a spitfire if Simon had ever seen one and it was doubtful she'd stay quiet with what just happened.

"Are you f****** kidding me?" Alona remarked. She pushed herself up off the dusty ground feeling the embarrassment of apparently falling out of her seat. She didn't know how he had done it but she wasn't new to petty bullying. She had her fair share of hair pulling fights and screaming matches in high school and the cocky grin Klaus was giving told her he something to do with her fall. Last time she checked, she wasn't nearly this clumsy. Perhaps lose your keys clumsy but not have a chair literally break underneath you clumsy. She had admit if she hadn't been focused on raven man she may have caught the guy before he managed to make a mockery out of her. Or that was wishful thinking and she would've just had a bruise on her face instead of her palms.

Klaus raised both his hands defensively, "I didn't do anything. Chairs break, ya' know? You should probably get your wrist checked out though."Alona didn't trust him for a second but she still looked down at her wrists for any damages. She could see nothing out of the ordinary and they felt fine which elicited a confused shrug from her. Klaus grinned again, reaching out a mammoth hand grasp one of her wrists. He frowned, his voice low and quiet as he pointed with his other hand.

"See that? Right here where it's sprained?" Then he began to squeeze. Alona sucked in a breath, an alarming, hot pain encasing her wrist. She tried to tear her hand away discreetly but his grip was incredibly firm, squeezing tighter as she leaned in. Simon watched the two, hearing the way Alona's breath caught in her chest but unable to see what was happening. He sat up straighter in his chair, trying to get a better glance between them but seeing nothing but their heads dipped downwards.

Alona's teeth clenched as he whispered, "Ooh ouch, actually I think it might be broken." His blonde head of hair tilted upwards and Simon could finally see the nasty glare he was giving Alona. Simon didn't move, his body tensing in place, afraid to speak up to the tall athlete. Klaus's words sent a silent and desperate plea to Alona for her wrist to just snap and be over with. The anxiety and pain waiting for the inevitable crack was going to send her into a panic attack.

"Klaus!" Ms. Eve stood at the back of the classroom, her attention now on the group as well. He let go at the sound of her call, backing away from Alona and wielding an expression of confused alertness. "What's going on? Why aren't you with your group back here?"

"I was just checking in on my good friend Gabe," He shot Gabriel a devious smile.
"Well, come back here and finish the discussion. Gabriel has his own group."

Alona couldn't breath for a few heartbeats, the eyes of everyone in the class looking at her. She swallowed, trying to ease back the adrenaline rush. Her wrist throbbed faintly but she didn't dare inspect it. It didn't feel broken or bruised, just stressed nerves; she was sure it was fine. Klaus had just shot some healthy fear through her, that's all it was. Alona tried to mentally repeat the chant to calm herself down; nothing is wrong, you are okay. In the end her nerves got to her anyway, rising like bile in her throat. She snatched her backpack from the floor and bolted for the door.

Simon hurriedly looked at Gabriel and Leonie, unsure of whether to go after her or not. Klaus took the moment as soon as Ms. Eve sighed at Alona's exit and turned back around, to shoot another glare at Gabriel, "Try keeping your b**** on a muzzle." He looked at Leonie before adding, "both of them."