I walk down the hall of the corridor that leads to the Corporis towers. It's late. Glancing at my phone, I notice that it's 2 AM. After finishing the first movie we had proceeded to watch the second one and third one. Ordering in Chinese had partially killed me because I knew I wasn't following the diet I was supposed to. Blaise had laughed at me.

I smiled softly at the thought of her laugh. It wasn't polite, it wasn't rude. It was adorable.

I'm so whipped.

Smiling to myself, I wince as I realize that the corridor lights are off ahead. The staff forgets to turn them on sometimes. Shit. Of course I picked today to be out late. I wasn't scared of the dark. I just didn't prefer it. I mean, why would you want to be in the dark, when you could be in the light.

I blink. Pulling out my phone, I pull up the control center after fumbling with it for two seconds. It never opens when I want it to. Tapping the flashlight icon, I pull shift it in front of me, pointed towards the ground.

A few feet into the darkness, I gain confidence as I walk through.

A shadow-like hand reaches out, clattering my phone out of my hands. Using their feet, the figure pushes the phone out of reach.

My training kicks in as I kick at the figure, hitting flesh. Gaining a sense of the stranger, I figure out that they're about six feet tall, with a broad figure, and muscle. Gathering that it's an experienced male, I plan my next move.

Covering my major vein entry points to make sure I'm not drugged, I advance to throw a right hook to my attacker's face.

The shadow dodges with swift agility, throwing an undercut of their own. We're circling now. Fighting without sight had never been my forte.

I match their agility, with a dodge of my own and kick aiming for their lower abdomen but missing and instead hitting their side.

A groan sounds from a couple feet away from me. Gauging the distance between my attacker and I, I make a risky move throwing another right hook.

My opponent blocks.

This is getting boring now, I love a good fight but this was all blocks and dodges with no action. By now I know that they just want to immobilize me, not kill or scare.

Throwing a sweeping kick, I take them off their legs. They fall to the ground with a loud thump. I smile, satisfied. Rolling my shoulders, I crack my neck.

On guard, I grab my phone from the other side of my hallway, my flashlight still on I shine it in the direction of my attacker.

Blaise's brother.

"Are you just gonna stare or help me up?" he says, arrogantly despite the fact that he's lying on the floor in pain.

I give him an amused smile. Moving towards him I give him a hand. I grimace as an injection is stabbed into my thigh. Shit.

My vision is blurry as I lift my head. It feels unnaturally heavy. Oh, yeah I was drugged by that dumbass- Blaise's brother.

"Damn...that's fast. The drug's supposed to knock you out for an hour at least. It's only been fifteen minutes," he says, a hint of pride in his voice.

I shake my head as I gather my surroundings. It's a regular dorm room. I'm not restrained, as I would've expected from someone who had just gotten a beating from me. I gave him a nasty bruise. Two of them.

I squint my eyes, studying his words as I play them back in his head. He's Sagacitas, or he would no more about drugs and how they work, he was a fighter but his form was unlike what they taught at the Akademia. He had gone to the Akademia though, he was Blaise's brother.

I remember her mentioning him on our date. Most of the stuff about her past was bullshit, as expected but the stuff about her brother was true. Her father's behavior was too, not his profession though. She didn't mention her mother.

What was her brother's name though? I rack my head.

"Denim," I say.

He nods. "Look at you, smart cookie." He shakes his head. "I already knew you were smart though," he mutters, more to himself than to me.

I close my eyes and clear my throat, ignoring how familiar he seems with me. He knew me in that room. How could he know me? A Villain that didn't go to the Akademia? That wasn't possible. Unless he knew I was a Hero. Hero-descendant.

No, he couldn't know. He would've told her. He rushed out though. Why wouldn't he tell her?

"God, I can almost hear the wheels in your head, turning. You and your sister, so fucking smart, so fucking clever," I hear a touch of bitterness in his voice.

My sister? Either the drug has a lasting effect on my head or I'm going crazy. No one knows my sister, they've heard of her, they might have even seen her but being the Queen of Heroes there was no possible way that he could know her.

"I need you to stay away from my sister," he says.

I laugh. He might be able to play mind games with me or bluff about knowing my sister but he definitely didn't know me. One. There was no way I was going to take orders from this phony right here. Two. If I could stay away from Blaise, I probably would've.

"You know you can't be with her. How could you live with lying to her? What? You plan on telling her you're a Villain your entire life. Not telling her about your family. Ever?" Denim asks. "And you expect her to still want to be with you after that."

I shake my head. "I am a Villain. I've already told her about my family," I say, with confidence that would convince anyone.

He laughs, ruefully. "You got your lying skills from her too, didn't you? Nike could always lie. Hell, she could probably convince a rooster that it was a cow," he says, his voice bitter.

My eyes widen. He couldn't have guessed her name. He couldn't have guessed her lying abilities. He knew her. "How..." I whisper.

Another bitter laugh releases from his mouth as he runs a hand through his hair. "I loved her."

My world tilts a little. My sister's married. My sister has a son. My sister has never had a boyfriend. Not even a secret lover.

I would've known...wouldn't I? She would've told me.

Confusion and doubt play out on my face. I forget about putting on a face. Slowly morphing into a rage, I shoot out of my chair and pin Storm to the wall. Forget Blaise for right now, I need answers. "Stop playing games, and fucking explain," I growl with a hint of desperation in my voice that I'm sure he recognizes. I pull away.

"Fuck. Sit down. Don't you think this pretty face has enough bruising for today," he says. His bitterness has evaporated.

This dude has more mood swings than a pregnant woman in her third trimester.

I calm down. "Can you just explain everything from the beginning to make sure I don't accidentally kill you," I say slowly, drawing out each word to make sure he understands. When I finish, I pull on a big innocent smile.

"It's a long story," Storm says, waving me off.

I look around with a mock confused expression. "Well, I mean I don't have anywhere I need to be, and nor do you so...we've got time."

"It started before the chasm. Nike, Blaise, you, and I. We used to go up to that cabin a couple of hours from here. Do you remember it?" he asks.

I squint my eyes. "Blaise and you? It was just Nike and I."

He sighs, rubbing a hand over his face as he sits down. "I need you to forget everything you know, be quiet and have an open mind. I'll explain everything."

"I should probably start with this. I know you're second in line for the Hero throne. I know your sister is ruling. I dated her. It was a long time ago."

My jaw drops open.

Denim laughs. "If you think that's surprising, hold the fuck on. Blaise and I are in line for the Villain throne," he says.

I say nothing. I think about her file, it's unusual blankness. Should've seen it all coming.

Denim continues, "Before the chasm, our parents used to be friends. Obviously, they were on other ends of the Kingdoms but they had an understanding. Their children came first, the Kingdoms second. They knew they wanted to raise their children in a place of peace. Any remote threat to us, we'd be sent to the cabin. You don't remember but the sharpest guards of all the Kingdom's were sent to protect us. There were Heroes and Villains." He pauses to take a breath.

I'm not processing anymore. I'm just listening to a story that couldn't be mine. Mother would never make an agreement to keep the peace. She spat on peace.

"Just listen." Denim continues. "Then...your mother and my father decided that they were in love with each other. As you can guess, that didn't work well. I don't know all the details but it ended in my mother leaving...disappearing and your father dying. I don't know if it was my father or your mother but, it sure as fuck wasn't a coincidence."

I open my mouth but shut it quickly.

Denim nods. "There was no chasm. No mysterious event. It was simple, a marital disagreement. I guess that's what happens when people have the power they shouldn't have. Since then, Heroes and Villains have been divided. Even though they could be together now. Your mother and my father realized that they couldn't be together." Denim laughs bitterly. "Leaders can be stupid sometimes. You'll learn that soon. They set their sights on a goal and achieve it but never realize that the reason they wanted to reach the goal disappeared a long time ago. Leaders are the most prone to losing sight."

He smiles. "Your sister won't be like that. She's too goddamn smart for her own good."

Questions swarmed my head. How did he recognize me? Why couldn't they be together? My father died for my mother. I hated her. I always had but this ran deeper than anything. I always thought despite all her faults my mother loved us. My father, Nike, and I. All she cared about was power though.

"Ask away," Denim says, knowingly.

"Why can't Blaise and I be together?" I ask.

He smiles another rueful one. "The same reason your mother and my father couldn't be together. The same reason Nike and I can't. Balance. We would single-handedly destroy the Kingdoms. If the king and queen of Villains and Heroes were together. One of the Kingdoms would fall. We can't let that happen. Without balance, the world falls. There has to be shadow and light. Without both, it's all gone."

"So no pressure," I mutter, shaking my head. "Blaise and I aren't even going to rule though. Does it matter?"

"Anything can happen and let's say with some luck, something us Monarchs never have, you both never have to rule. How do you think two high-ranking officers on two other ends of the chasm will be accepted? That's right, it won't."

"Why are you telling me?"

He runs a hand through his hair. "Blaise is stubborn. Too stubborn to see that I'm right. I've seen the way she looks at you. The same curse. You can look but never touch. I'm telling you now before you fall too deep. Leave her now and she'll heal. Don't jump in too deep, you'll end up bitter," Denim explains.

It makes sense... it all does. I just don't want it to.

I shake my head. "You keep saying leave her. I won't be leaving her. I'll be breaking her heart. Tearing it into two. How can you ask me to do that to her? To make a wound that deep? You're her brother."

"It'll be so much worse if you don't. Father will have both of your heads if you don't agree. I'm sure your mother will encourage it."

"How do you know all this?" I ask. 

"That's another long story, for another time," Denim says, his voice exhausted. 

I rub my eyes. This day has been too long. "Let me sleep on it."

"You can have all the time you want. I won't even force you. The decision's yours, I wanted to warn you," Denim says. I hear the earnestly in his tone and I already know.

I'm going to have to break Blaise's heart...and mine too. 

Dee:

Dun, dun, dunnn-

Tee hee call me sick but I love that ending welp. 

Anyway, PLEASE TELL ME IF THERE ARE ANY PLOT HOLES CAUSE I PROBABLY WON'T RECOGNIZE THEM. 

Any questions? Things I need to fix?

Sooo...pretty important chapter? 

Do you think it's too fast, too slow? TELL ME WHAT YOU THINKK!

I'm okay...

BYEEE-

Also, y'all 18K words~ AHHHH