I walked down the corridor, completely lost yet again as I wandered through the overwhelmingly large school. Why had my parent's made me transfer here anyhow, just because Father got promoted to a higher position within the... family business.

I know that I wouldn't be accepted openly by the students here, other than those who are also from similar families. Hopefully, some of them would be nice, since most of those I had met in the past seemed rather frightening or aggressive.

Seeing a couple of girls go into a room at the top of some stairs, I quickly chased after them in hopes of getting directions, climbing up and reading the sign before entering. A 3rd music room? Just how many did they need? Oh well, as long as someone can help me figure out how to get back to the office so I could get my schedule and a map of this place, I should be fine!

I slowly reached out and opened the door, completely unprepared for the sights before me as I walked inside. Elegantly decorated, the entire room was filled with tables and couches where groups of girls sat cooing over the boys scattered about the place.

"Hmm, I was not expecting to see you here, especially on your first day at the school. Do you wish to designate a Host?" I jumped in shock at the sudden voice coming from behind me.

Spinning about, I was greeted by a dark-haired boy wearing glasses, a notebook opened in his hands as he took notes. He only stopped his writing for a moment as he glanced up at me before his attention returned to whatever he was writing down.

Hearing a sudden commotion from behind me, I turned yet again to see a boy wearing a dark robe talking to a brunette boy who was being pulled back by a frightened looking blonde. It seemed to be something about black magic and curse dolls if my ears heard correctly.

A pair of twins to the side caught my eye as they began chuckling over a flashlight. Seeing them start moving towards the robed student, I tried to catch up to them to stop whatever they had planned that caused such a horrifying grin to adorn their faces.

Sadly I was too late and the poor boy was soon screaming in fear and running through a pair of doors that I had not noticed before.

"That was a cruel thing to do! You should be ashamed of yourselves for such horrid behavior!" I yelled at the matching boys, angry that they had treated another student like that.

Is this what I could expect to be surrounded by in the time I spent at this school? Cruelty without remorse? Were these really the kinds of students I would have to deal with on a daily basis at this school?

Turning away from the annoyed looking twins, I walked towards the doors the boy had escaped through and tried opening them. I felt a wave of disappointment when I found them to seemingly be locked shut. Resting my head against the door for a moment, I lifted a hand up and pressed it against the surface.

"I'm sorry they were so cruel to you, whoever you were. Someday they will hopefully understand how wrong it was to behave in such a way. If you ever need a friend, please find me. I would be happy to talk with you and learn more about you." Turning to frown at the boys that had walked off to mingle with their guests again, I shook my head before walking to the other doors, not caring if I knew where I was going anymore as long as I was away from these ill-mannered students.

Unknown to me or anyone else, on the other side of the doors I had been whispering to leaned a blue-eyed boy in robes. A deep blush was being hidden behind a single pale hand as he looked down at the cat puppet he wore on the other.

"Beelzenef, what do you think? They seemed nice. They even said they want to be friends."

--------

For the next few weeks, I spent time visiting with Nekozawa-senpai every chance I had, as he was one of the few that didn't seem either upset over how I talked to the twins or nervous about my Father's... work.

At least Nekozawa-senpai didn't seem to care. He always seemed happy just to have another person to talk to about his Black Magic Club and those adorable curse dolls they made. And his puppet was so cute!

Sometimes when I saw him, I couldn't help carefully grabbing the puppet and giving it a small hug before smiling and handing it back to the blushing boy. Of course, not wanting to embarrass him further, I acted like I didn't notice the pink that tinted his cheeks.

--------

"Nekozawa-senpai, you said you had a question for me today?" I asked, my head tilted to the side as I smiled at the blue-eyed boy I was sharing my bento with.

"Oh, yes! Umm... Well, I wanted to ask you if you would like to... Have lunch with me again tomorrow! We can have lunch in the rose maze!" It almost seemed like he was about to say something else, but I mentally shrugged and figured whatever it was must not have been as important if he had changed his mind about it.

"That would be nice Nekozawa-senpai!" I smiled at him, happy that he still wanted to spend time with me, even though I know I had been getting more of his time than usual lately.

"Please, call me by my first name. Call me Umehito." I blinked in surprise before grinning happily at him.

"Okay then, Umehito-kun! Then please call me by my first name too!" The deep color of the blush that raced across his cheeks this time caught my attention to how good-looking he really was, causing an answering pink to tint my own cheeks.

"I'll be looking forward to tomorrow's lunch." After saying this, followed by stumbling over saying my first name, he quickly stood up and began walking quickly out of the room with his empty hand raised to hide the lower half of his face.

"I never realized how handsome Umehito-kun was before... It's really a shame he hides under that cloak..." Talking to myself, I didn't notice the falter in the boy's steps as he walked through the doorway, too busy poking at the leftover food in the bento.

--------

Waiting at the entrance of the rose maze, I was starting to wonder if I might have misunderstood Umehito-kun when he told me where to meet him at the beginning of lunch. Had he meant for me to meet him inside the maze instead, at the gazebo he had mentioned? I was just about to take a step inside when I heard him calling out to me.

"Wait! I'm here! Sorry for making you wait so long for me!" Turning, I saw his cloaked figure rushing towards me, a full basket of food in his arms.

"Umehito-kun! I was starting to think you didn't want to have lunch with me today!" I gently teased him, laughing softly at my own words.

"I would never go back on a chance to spend time with you!" His loud shout startled me a bit before he began looking worried at my reaction.

"It's okay, Umehito-kun! You just surprised me a bit is all!" Reaching out to rest a reassuring hand on his arm, I gently took the basket from him and led him into the maze with me.

"You should let me carry the basket. Isn't it heavy?" His worried voice came from beside me, causing me to look over and up at him with a smile.

"I'd rather carry the basket. That way I can hold your hand and make sure we don't get separated in the maze." I smiled at him, enjoying the cute blush that tinted his cheeks as I reached over to grab his hand.

His puppet was raised up to hide most of his face since his empty had was caught within my own.

--------

"That food was so good, Ume-kun! But do you mind if I use your shoulder for a moment? I'm afraid I'm starting to feel a bit ti-" I couldn't even finish my sentence as a huge yawn interrupted me, my head leaning against the boy's shoulder.

Slowly blinking my eyes, I sighed happily as I felt his arm wrap around me and pull me closer.

"Go ahead and get some rest. The warm weather and the food probably made you tired. I'll wake you up when it's time to head back to class." I could feel his warm breath on my skin as he whispered into my ear.

I could feel my eyes closing again, this time to remain shut as those blue eyes stared at me. As I slipped into a world of dreams, filled with sprawling roses and rampaging kittens, I could just make out the feeling of fingers running through my hair.

"You're mine. I just need to wait for the potion to finish taking effect and you'll be mine forever. Although, if for some reason it doesn't work, it still won't matter. Because by then you'll be trapped in the darkness with me. But at least neither of us will be alone again." His quiet voice whispered softly, unheard by my ears.

And by the time I woke up, hours later, it was far too late for me to hope to escape the shadows that he had woven around me. I guess some magic really did work, the darkness trapping me as firmly as if it had been steel chains wrapped around my ankles.

But he did keep his promise. I never was alone again, no matter how much I wished to escape his spell.