"He's going to confess something of grave importance, I know it. He would not have invited me to the sundial otherwise."

"It's not safe and you know it, Rosa," Helena replied.

"I agreed to go. And when he confesses what he did to Elly, I will have the evidence I need."

"What makes you think he's going to tell you anything about Elliot?" Helena questioned. "Why are you so certain this is going to be good for anyone?"

"I simply have a feeling it is true. And, besides, I must know what Mr. Jasper will say. I tried to aid Neville in regards to Mr. Jasper and failed. Jasmine is furious with me but I desire to aid her. You're all I have left," Rosa replied.

"Then listen to me. I don't need you to go to Mr. Jasper. We know we can't trust him."

"When he confesses, we will be able to liberate your brother from the grasps of accusations towards him," Rosa said. "I am thinking of you, Helena."

"You're not going to listen to me, are you?" Helena sighed.

"I've made up my mind. Mr. Jasper will seek me out if I do not go. Thus, I shall go."

Before Helena could raise up any further protest, Rosa grabbed a jacket off of her bed and slung it around her arms. She walked out of her room and began her trek to the sundial.

Rosa felt as if she walked through a dream until she came upon the vine-blanketed arches which led to the sundial. No one would be able to see or hear what was happening beyond those arches.

But she walked through to the sundial, finding Mr. Jasper sitting upon one of the benches, nestled among the overgrown flora.

"Rosa, you look...you look beautiful," Mr. Jasper said in greeting, rising from his seat.

Though Rosa felt a chill like the bite of a winter wind running up her spine, she remained steady and stood in front of him.

"I know," she said. As a matter of fact, she did know - she particularly liked the blue dress she'd chosen to wear that day, along with the jacket she wore on top. But she mostly said those words to throw Mr. Jasper off. His compliments would not end up getting her to blush. However, she wished she'd chosen a dress with a higher neckline - perhaps his eyes would not linger if it were higher.

"Now, I...I know that you what not have come here if I had not specifically requested it," Mr. Jasper began. "I know that you have many things to do, and I...I think that what I must say won't take much time."

"Thank you for such consideration, Mr. Jasper," Rosa said, keeping her voice as neutral as possible. "I just...I have pondered over why you chose the sundial as the best place to speak with me and not your office."

"The office is...well, it's not the right setting for what I have to say."

"I don't see why it shouldn't be."

"You don't know exactly why I asked you to come here to begin with. You don't know what I have to say," he said. "I don't think I've ever told you...well. No better time than the present, they say..."

"Mr. Jasper, I have a copious amount of work to do, and I would appreciate getting through this conversation in a timely manner-"

"-Rosa, please," Mr. Jasper interrupted. "This is Friday afternoon. Any work you have to do you can do over the weekend."

"I prefer to do things in a timely manner," Rosa echoed after herself, but she was already breaking apart. "But I suppose...I suppose you are correct."

"Now, as I was saying...as I am trying to say...we have spent four years near one another even though I have known of you longer through Elliot..."

Upon hearing Elliot's name, Rosa perked up significantly. This would be it. Every suspicion she had would be confirmed. This was the reason why she had come.

"What I am trying to say is, I...Rosa, I love you."

Rosa did not respond.

"Do you understand, Rosa? I love you. I am in love with you, and I have been in love with you for years now. I can assure that my nibling never loved you, not even close to the way I did...ah, no. No one has ever loved you as much I do. No one has ever loved another soul as much as I love you."

Again, Rosa could not gather the words she required to respond to such a thing.

"I know it must come as somewhat of a shock to you, but I couldn't hold it back any longer. I needed to tell you and know how you feel. So you tell me what you feel."

"I..."

"Yes?"

"I cannot say."

"You have to feel something. I know there's something. I've kept this secret of mine, this secret of ours for far too long. Now it's coming together."

"This secret of ours?" Rosa echoed in disbelief.

"Of course, Rosa. Yes."

"You propose to me to-"

"Stop there! Just say I propose to you."

"You...you sicken me," Rosa hissed in response. She then decided this would be her time to leave - she would not have to spend another moment with the likes of Jon Jasper. Though she did not want to turn her back on such a man, she knew no other choice. "You would marry me now?"

"I would've married you when I met you," he said, immediately launching his hands out to clutch her hands.

"I was thirteen years old!" she snapped. She didn't waste a moment in ripping herself out of his grasp. "My God, you're mad!"

"The only thing mad about me is that I am madly in love with you!" he exclaimed, this time grabbing her wrists more forcefully so that she could not break away without significant effort. "And I have always been madly in love with you, Rosa."

"I am not the Rosa you are in love with," Rosa said, forcing her eyes to remain open as she let him clutch on her wrists. She feared even a blink would allow him to pounce. "I am not the girl who you think I am."

"Really?" he asked, cracking a crooked smile. "You don't have curls in your hair? You don't have blue eyes? You don't-"

"That is not what I intend to say," she continued, her breathing getting heavier. "You do not know me. Just because you have been aware of me for years doesn't mean you know me."

"And a teacher doesn't know his student after about three years?"

"A teacher doesn't know his student the way a lover knows his love."

"You believe that I am not your lover, then. You think that I am not in love with you," Mr. Jasper exclaimed, shaking his head. "What does go on within that pretty head of yours?"

"Of course I don't think this is love!" Rosa exclaimed. "What this is is nothing more than lust. Crude lust."

"Ah, is that what you think of it? And what do you know of love, Rosa? How can you be so certain that I am not in love with you?"

Rosa removed her wrists from his clutch and stepped back, but soon realized this was a fatal error. Any sign of escaping would cause him to lash out and pull her back in. Sure enough, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back in.

"I know it is not love because I do not have the slightest vestige of affection for you," Rosa said, allowing the edge of anger to enter her voice even if it was diluted by greater fear. "Love cannot be true unless it is mutual."

"My God," Mr. Jasper exclaimed, seeming unfazed by the beginning of her rant.

"What?" she said, wearing a scowl upon her face as she ripped her arm from his grasp.

"You are beautiful," he said. "More beautiful with this panting. More beautiful with this anger. Good God, if this is what you are angry, then I don't need your love. Give me yourself. Give me yourself and your hatred, that pretty rage of yours. Then you will understand. Then you will know to love me."

"I would never consent to such a thing!" Rosa gasped. Tears were appearing in her eyes, blurring her vision. The edges of her vision had already started to fuzz due to an oncoming swoon. She couldn't let a single sign of weakness show. She couldn't let him know that he was winning, or he would use it to overcome her.

"Ah, but you will consent. And you will understand, then, what love is."

"I would rather die then spend a single night alone in your presence!" Rosa screeched, wanting nothing more than to back away from him. "Your touch makes my skin blister, your gaze makes my stomach churn. I would much rather be dead!"

"Dead like your dear Elliot, yes? My dear nibling. Did you love them?"

Rosa's eyes grew to the size of saucers as she replied, suddenly pacified by these questions.

"Yes."

"I saw the two of you together, I know you didn't get along-"

"As a sibling," Rosa finished. "But that doesn't mean I don't understand love. Platonic love is just as strong and vital as any other type of love. What I had with Elly is far more than I would ever have with you."

"What about Neville Lanka? How do you feel about Neville?"

Rosa didn't reply. She didn't want to feed Mr. Jasper's voracious appetite for her inner thoughts. She just frowned, trying to think of how to keep her breathing in check. She couldn't let her rage take control, for then he would only end up with more lust.

"Ah, Neville isn't enough for you...how about that Helena? You and her seem awfully close. You two are roommates, correct?"

Rosa remained silent.

"I'm certain you would rather die than spend a moment with me, yes. I'm certain you would much rather be dead now. But would not rather have Helena hurt in any way, would you? You would sooner give yourself than let Helena come into harm's way."

Rosa tried to keep her words within, tried to keep herself from lashing out. But it was too late - the words were already spilling out of her mouth.

"Do not set a finger upon Helena! I would kill you if you tried!"

The crack of her voice coming from the beginning of tears betrayed just how emotionally overwhelmed she was. To Mr. Jasper, it only made her appear weak. Her walls, which she hadn't gotten an opportunity to build properly, were crumbling before him.

"Oh, would you?" he asked. "I'd like to see you try."

"You would dare hurt Helena?"

"I would dare do anything to allow you to see that you have always adored me, even if those feelings were locked up."

"But...but that's not...you're...you're threatening me, using exortion to make me falsify feelings for you!"

"Not threatening you. I would never threaten you."

"What have I done to deserve this?" Rosa said, her voice strained. "I am...I am innocent!"

"You think you are innocent, Rosa? That you have done nothing to invite this? I know how you tease me every day in chorus. Those smirks, those pouts always playing at your lips...and always directed towards me. Even if it's only subsconscious, something exists inside of you."

"Smirks and pouts of utter loathing!" Rosa gasped out. "What else would they be?"

"You say you know what love is," he replied, clasping his hand around hers. "You think you know, when it is clear you just haven't figured it out yet."

"You think I..."

"I know you are. You just haven't realized it yet. But you will, one day. One moment, it will all connect. I know it will."

"And what do you know about me?" Rosa asked. "How can you possibly claim to know me on such a level when you know so little?"

"Well, that is just not true. You must know that I've been paying attention to every move you make whenever you're around me."

"I am aware," Rosa murmured, trying to keep the sound of oncoming tears from entering her voice.

"And so I've picked up on everything you've done. Deny it all that you want to, but I've seen it. You are attracted to me, even if you refuse to admit it."

"You do not listen to a word I say," Rosa replied. "I have told you, I feel nothing of the sort. Nothing. I do not know why you persist on placing false words within my mouth, for they will only do ill deeds! I...I refuse this. I refuse."

"What is there to refuse, Rosa?"

"Love. You call this love. You call this consuming lust for me love, of all things. There was once an era when love was seldom sung out, back when the word had meaning. But now you've defiled the word by speaking it, claiming that this...this crude desire for me is love! You call it love, yes, but I know it is not."

"How can you know? You claim to know my feelings better than I do!" Mr. Jasper said, giving a small laugh.

"I know better than you do. You say you know me. You are delusional, choosing to forgo the truth!"

"Are you so certain of that, Rosa?" he asked. "Are you really so certain that I don't know you?"

"There is no possible way you could know me in the way you're claiming."

"Well, I know how lonely you've always been. Poor orphaned Rosa never able to hang on to a soul," he said. "But I am right beside you, as I have been for several years now. You're desperate for someone to hold you, and I have always been here. I always will be."

"I..."

"No one else can give you what I can. I can stay with you for the rest of your days. And so I will pursue you to the death, if I have to."

"Whose death?" Rosa murmured in response.

"Does it matter?" he asked, placing a hand upon her hair. He began to caress her hair and for several seconds Rosa could swear that her heart had stopped. She would've claimed her heart may never beat again, that she had just ceased living in those moments.

But when her pulse did return it was fluttering faster than the wings of a hummingbird. Rosa could be sick, she could scream, she could burst into hideous sobs. But she did none of those things. She sat in silence with his hand caressing her hair again and again.

Rosa could not think of anything else to do but appease him, if only for a moment. In a perfect blur of motion, she reached and clasped Jon's face within her hands.Before she could second guess herself, she shoved her lips up against his. She kissed him, doing her best not to loathe herself for such an action.

His arms began to curl around her waist to rest, and she allowed it. The space between them got more and more miniscule, and she allowed it. He kissed her and she kissed him, so she allowed it.

All at once, she fell into a haze. She hadn't known what she was doing to begin with, and now she was far too into it to stop. Already she could feel the ends of her mind beginning to fray. She couldn't possibly use her proper, well-thought out judgement in this moment. Instead, Rosa relied on the adrenaline which prompted her not to run or freeze or fight, but to kiss.

Rosa couldn't decide to stick with any one thought as each one was just as horrifying as the last. It felt as if his arms were trying to constrict all of her air, force her to stop breathing. She was kissing this man who she hated and had hated for years. And this was her first kiss. What was meant to be a romantic milestone for her ended up being a fight for her livelihood.

She hated herself. She loathed him even more. But she still kissed him.

Although Rosa may have initiated the kiss, it was Jon who pushed it forward. He'd craved this for so long, after all, and now she was giving it to him with so little resistence. To him it was clear that the child hardly had an idea of what she was doing - he would just have to show her.

Rosa's intiution failed her as Jon's arms left her waist but his lips remained against her own. She couldn't figure out what he was trying to do, and thus did not react. Even as he forced her arms back so that he could remove her jacket, her mind remained blank. She felt his fingers upon her now bare shoulders but did not think what it meant.

When the action finally processed, she felt a jolt of pure terror. No. No. He was undressing her. He took her kiss as a sign of consent, a sign that she was allowing herself to submit. And she stood there, letting it happen to her.

Someone could wander about outside and see them. No one would understand the scene. Not even Rosa herself knew how to comprehend it. How could she comprehend it, when their mouths were pressed together as if they were passionate lovers? How could she breathe when he let his hands run across her bare skin?

His touch made her feel as if her skin were blistering beneath his fingertips. And, of course, he ran his hands across her body to caress her, knowing that he was finally getting the opportunity he'd waited for.

It was disgusting.

They were making out, like two lustful teenagers catching an intimate moment away from most watchful eyes. And Rosa, near paralyzed with fright, could do nothing but allow it to happen. But at least she was standing upright, even with her jacket strewn across the ground.

Rosa raised herself onto her toes in order to keep her lips pressed up against his, while his arms made sure that the rest of her body remained pressed up against his as well. With such little space between them, she could hardly even think to breathe. It wasn't as if she would be able to breathe properly even if there was space.

Soon, however, he began pushing her down - first to sit upon the bench, then to lay down on it. His hands wandered up to the thin straps of her dress, which he started to push off of her shoulders. Rosa could feel the promise of tears beginning to rise up within her eyes, the lump forming in her throat. Mr. Jasper was her first kiss, and if he got what he desired he would have far more than that.

Rosa's mind, turning to utter panic, ended up allowing her a moment to realize not all was lost. Now they were kissing with a bench beneath them - Rosa's quivering legs would no longer need to keep her standing. She could divert all her strength to push him away. But her shaking limbs ended up doing nothing more than pushing him back a few inches, parting their lips.

Instead of giving up at her new resistence, he ended up coming right back to her to kiss her neck. At this point, all thoughts vacated her head. She didn't know what to do. She'd made a horrible decision. She could scream now, yes. Yes, she could get all this over with. And yet she stayed as if a gag sat within her mouth, silent as ever.

Tears entered her gaze, but she blinked most of them aside. Those that remained created a fine mist over her vision. It wasn't if it mattered. She felt as if all her senses had simultaneously gone on edge and shut themselves down.

She continued to kiss him and let him kiss her back. No matter what she did, she didn't seem to be able to control her actions. It seemed like it would never end, until finally he seemed to calm down. She pushed her way back up to a sitting position and, somehow, he moved with her more or less.

She held him up against her the same way a child would hold a beloved doll. At least she could see now. At least he was docile, pressed up against her torso and held within her arms. At least she wasn't fighting against him any longer, although it was far from over.

She looked so much like a child. Her delicate dark curls brushed the top of his head and framed her paling face. She appeared to be porcelain, her flushed face perfect. It was as if her cheeks were pink circles of paint and her eyes shiny and blank, replaced by glass.

But she also had the straps of her dress yanked down, off of her shoulders. One side of her dress's hem had been pushed more than halfway up her thigh. And, of course, held against her chest and nestled between her legs was Jon Jasper, still wrapped up within her arms. He seemed half asleep, drunk from finally embracing her.

He pressed a kiss to her collarbone before finally beginning to move away from her. Rosa continued to stare out, listening to only the dull thud of her heartbeat. She wondered if, perhaps, he could hear it too. She then wondered if he would be able to comprehend what it meant.

"What is this?" she murmured. "What have we done?"

"Rosa, I..."

"What more could you possibly have to say now?" Rosa said, her voice light. "Shall we retreat to some secluded bedroom somewhere? I suppose there is nothing left but to go..."

"I was..." Mr. Jasper said, continuing to pull away from her. "That could...that could work..."

"Could work? Why, it's one of the few things we haven't done yet here," Rosa continued, her voice hanging within the air as her mind caught itself within some far off dream.

"Is it?"

"Of course," Rosa said. Her voice started to regain its normal tone, plus some tremor, as she listened to what Mr. Jasper was saying. "Of course."

"I just...I hardly know how I got here," Mr. Jasper said.

"What do you mean?" Rosa said, now allowing her eyes to drift over to him. "You invited me, you-"

"Yes, but..."

Within a heartbeat, a wave of undiluted fear poured over Rosa in a deluge. She'd fallen into a daze and now she was inviting Mr. Jasper to bed. Mr. Jasper, who appeared to be clueless about all he'd done. Before another word could escape from her lips, she used her remaining energy to force Mr. Jasper away and run.

She ran towards the school, taking gasping breaths despite her slow pace. Rosa felt weak, her legs wobbling as she continued to bolt. Black shadows played at the edge of her vision until finally her legs gave out beneath her. As she tumbled to the ground, all her breath left her body until she ended up unconscious.

And so Rosa's mind waded through darkness, through the fog between being awake and dreaming. She thought of nothing, for there was no way for her to think. To any passerby, she might've appeared as if she were just sleeping. Without such fear permeating her senses, the blood returned to her face and she no longer wept.

But when Rosa awoke from the darkened peace she'd experienced, she felt strokes across her hair. She was cradled within his arms. He murmured to her as if she was his lover.

As soon as she felt accustomed enough to reality once again, she began to struggle against his hold. He began to raise his voice in still soft protest, but she refused to listen.

"Please, no," Rosa said, standing herself upon shaking legs. "Please."

"You should lay down, you need to rest-"

"Leave me alone," she cried out. As tears began to flood her eyes she couldn't help but let her voice crack and cut through the air. "Please, leave me alone!"

Rosa ran, ignoring the shadows which continued to pulse in the corners of her eyes. She could faint again later, when she was in the safety of her dorm room and far from Mr. Jasper.

And so she did. She embraced the darkness and let consciousness slip between the cracks of her fingers.