A/N: Now don't go thinking that being bullied for no apparent reason is not realistic. I was a victim of mild bullying myself just because they felt like it. -_- *raises middle finger the dem bullies*

(Or yeah, maybe I just found a way to torture our protagonist more--//stabbed)

imsorry

Anyway, I'm sorry for the current arc. XD //trucked.

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I stared at my zombie-like reflection on the mirror as I waited for Yuki-chan to answer from the other line. My complexion was paler than it was a week ago, my eye bags were larger and darker than usual, and my eyes were involuntarily narrowed -- I wasn't able to sleep for even just a second last night. I was too worried about the three third years and what plans they had in store. I considered not going to school today, but then the red-haired emperor came to mind.

The ringing stopped. "Good--" she yawned, "--morning, Ki-chan..."

"Did I wake you up?" I asked worriedly. She sounded like she just woke up. "I'm sorry--"

"Mmm... It's fine... It's about time I wake up, anyway..." She yawned again. "So is there something wrong...?"

I took a deep breath, not believing what I was about to say next. "How do you use a concealer to hide your eye bags?" I swear I wasn't the kind who worries about things like this. It's just that Akashi-kun would see me in this hideous state and-- Wait, no. That sounded wrong. Let me try again-- He would most probably force me to do this at school, so I might as well do it now. Though bully-repelling makeup enchantment has worn off, I still think I had to do this.

"... concealer... hide... eye bags-- Wait, WHAT?! Who are you and what did you do to my makeup-hating friend?!" she shouted really loudly that I had to pull my phone away from my ear. She was finally awake.

I explained everything to her in the simplest and quickest way I could. She listened intently, which I appreciated. It's not easy to listen to something when you just woke up.

"Kyaaa~!" was her ear-killing response. I distanced the phone away. "Akiyama Saki's turning to a girl!" she squealed. I snorted then rolled my eyes. I decided not argue anymore; I didn't have time to do so since I had to get on my way to school in order to not to be late.

"Okay, okay." I sighed in defeat. "Please teach me, Mashiro Yuki-sama."

***

Don't mess up. Don't mess up.

I held my breath as I sensed his face just mere inches beside mine, my right hand on the mouse trembling as I clicked on various areas and followed his instructions. I tried to focus my attention on the work in progress in the computer screen. It was actually hard to do so, since my heart's pounding has been ringing in my ears. Darn it.

He was standing so close to me that I could smell his scent without much effort. He smelled of one of those expensive masculine perfumes, but not the strong kind. It was actually kind of pleasant compared to those of some other people I know. (Shoot. I sounded like a creep.)

"Enlarge the titles for each slide," he commanded next to my ear. I nervously highlighted the text then scrolled through the sizes in the formatting toolbar. I clicked '36'. "No, larger." Assuming that 40 would be too big for the slide, I typed ' 38' instead.

Seemingly satisfied, he stood straight. Thank goodness. I internally let out a relieved sigh. "Add related pictures on the slides that need them," he ordered, his voice as empty as ever. I couldn't tell if the presentation I made last night even barely passed the perfectionist's standards since he didn't make me change everything, or if he was just too tired to deal with this right now since he had to scold some troublemakers earlier.

I opened the student council's computer's browser then searched for pictures that will help our classmates understand our report. He didn't say anything as I changed the layout for some slides to put the pictures in them. While he watched over my shoulder, I worked in awkward silence. Well, despite the weird, uneasy, and anxious feelings rioting in my chest, revising a PowerPoint presentation for my lunch break with the emperor is way better than having any encounter with those bullies. He may be more intimidating, but I was certain that he does not hurt people for his own satisfaction and sadistic whims unlike those seniors.

When I got to the third slide, three knocks came to the door, breaking the silence and awkwardness hanging in the air. Assuming that it was the other student body officers, I saved it to my flash drive and plugged it out from the desktop computer. The door flipped open, revealing two females and Kanato-kun standing behind them.

"We will continue this tomorrow, but finish the current task today," said Akashi-kun as I stood up from my seat. I nodded, my eyes glued to the shiny floor.

"Please excuse me," I addressed to everyone in the room as I bowed a little. I started walking away when he called my name. I turned, only looking at his heartbeat-accelerating face for a moment in acknowledgement before focusing my gaze on his shoes. Ever since I started getting confused with these obnoxious feelings, I lost the ability look at him in the face for more than five seconds.

"Get enough sleep." Three words were all it took for me to shift my sight to his unfairly handsome and unreadable face. His heterochromatic eyes were fixed on my dull green ones. For that moment, I felt like I couldn't breathe and like I had a sudden heart disease. Various thoughts ran through my mind regarding his attentiveness, but I shook them off with the most likely reason for him saying that to me: he didn't need another worthless thing to pour some of his precious time on. I felt a sharp pang in my chest because of the thought, and I needed to deny it. 

I muttered a soft "yes" before turning away, my thoughts causing a riot in my head. Darn it. The student council members made way for me to pass, and I felt a large warm hand on my shoulder when I got through. I turned to face Kanato-kun.

"Cinna-chan? Did something happen?" I looked up at the mixture of curiosity and worry on his face.

Guessing that he saw my troubled expression, I showed him the flash drive. "I just had to edit our group presentation. No big deal," I explained, doing my best to regulate my voice and to convey to him that there was nothing wrong.

He nodded in understanding. "Did the seniors bother you today?" he changed subject. I appreciated the glint of genuine worry in his eyes. "You could tell me... I'll do my best to keep them away from you!" He pumped his fist in front of his chest in innocent determination. 

I actually had a close call this morning; good thing I changed routes and they didn't see me. "They didn't," I said the pending truth, "...thank you, Kanato-kun... You should probably go in now. They're waiting for you." I gestured to the door.

His eyes widened in realization. "Uwaaah!" He bowed frantically. "Just tell me if something's wrong, okay? Bye~!" And he went in.

I had to suppress a smile. He was too cute for someone who's way taller than I am.

I went straight to the canteen and bought my bread lunch, careful to not be spotted by the three. I felt like a cautious teenage spy in those movies. They weren't in every hallway I went through to the tree, which was a great relief.

When I arrived to my little sanctuary, I plopped down to the soft grass, feeling the relief on my weak sluggish legs. It was always like this when I don't get any sleep the night before. I leaned comfortably on the tree's trunk, my eyes dropping with each second that passed. Soon, I was in the realm of slumber.

***

Shivers caused by a wet freezing sensation all over my body followed by rock-like cubes hitting my head pulled me out of my sleep. I found myself drenched in ice cold water, surrounded by small ice cubes. Rubbing my hands against my arms to seek warmth, I looked up and saw three familiar faces two floors above the one in front of me. They grinned and laughed venomously, and I restrained a terrified reaction.

"Surprise Ice Bucket Challenge!"

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty! Time for class!"

"Kissed by the Ice Cube Prince! Priceless!"

I immediately stood up and darted away, taking my phone and the flash drive out of my skirt's pocket. I was dripping wet from head to toe, and the cool autumn breeze that brushed against my skin and my body intensified the coldness. Warm tears streamed down my face as I ran away.

Why? Why me? What did I do to deserve this?

I went to the nearest area outside where they wouldn't see me, and looked for a backside of an air conditioner since it lets out warm air. I positioned my shaking body in front of the one I found. My whole body's drenched, and I had to wait for the bell to ring so that there wouldn't be anyone in the hallways anymore. I had to go in to the infirmary to borrow a towel and may be a spare uniform and I didn't want anyone to see my drenched self and attract attention. I pressed my cold palms against my eyes, wanting to stop the useless tears that were coming out of it. I felt so horrible and annoyed at my worthlessness and weakness.

When I calmed down, the bell rang and I decided to go to the infirmary. My sweater absorbed some heat and my clothes no longer dripped water every second. I took a deep breath then went on my way.

The school's nurse raised an eyebrow upon seeing my wet figure. I used to go here a couple of times back then for similar reasons. I told her that I slipped and fell into the pool then timidly requested for a towel and some clothes. She complied, muttering something about clumsy and klutzy people. I thanked her softly before drying myself and changing into the slightly larger school-issued clothes she provided.

"Skip the current period," she said once I got out of the infirmary's bathroom. As I dried my hair with the towel, I stared at her. I did want to skip the period, but there was the school's emperor to wordy about. "I'll make an excuse slip, so don't worry if you're one of those grade-conscious types." I was about to tell her that I couldn't accept her offer when she added, "Well, it's not like I'd allow you to go, anyway. Go warm yourself by that heater. You look pale." She made a small lopsided smile.

Heaving an internal sigh, I nodded, accepting her kindness. I used the shirt's hem to dry my fortunately water-proof phone and the flash drive. Good thing the cap was on when I got wet, so there was nothing serious I had to worry about. My mind wandered to that scheme, and I immediately changed my mind.

There was something more serious to worry about, and I had no idea how long I would be able to endure it.