Until Bianca lifted her amulet over her head to use her siren song.

"Ajax, you don't like disagreeing with me, do you?" Bianca crooned, softening her harsh face into a smile. Ajax's shook his head, his limbs as relaxed as a puppet's. His black eyes fluttered, sleepy and vacant. There was something repulsive about Bianca's manipulation. Ajax looked drugged. 

"You're not sure why you listened to Enid's opinion over mine," Bianca suggested, her words rich and silky like molten chocolate. Ajax's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. 

"But I like Enid," he slurred. 

"No, Ajax, you don't," Bianca huffed, her sickly-sweet voice slipping. "You think she's annoying, actually. Annoying and uninteresting."

"She is annoying." Ajax repeated the mantra, with all the sleepy focus of a student cramming for a final vampire history exam. 

"So is (y/n)," Bianca sighed, as if burdened by your existence. "She's a little spoiled, don't you think? She only cares about herself. No one like her deserves to go to Nevermore." 

"Ajax, I am sorry about this," Bianca admitted, "But it's important for you to see things the right way." She fastened the coppery amulet back around her neck. With a crisp snap, she startled Ajax out of his trance. 

"I'm sorry, Bianca," Ajax immediately began, moments after Bianca's snap. He sheepishly tugged on his beanie. "I got a little out of control. We're cool, right?" 

"We're cool." Bianca nodded with a smile like ice gliding over glass. "Are you even friends with Enid?"

"Nah, she's annoying." 

"That's a shame, I thought you liked her," Bianca sympathetically said, her lips quirking with an inside joke that only she understood. Bianca and Ajax trudged away, laughing as the thrill of skinny dipping dispersing the gloomy cloud of their argument, you, and Enid. 

Crickets sang in the forest, and the leaves rustled under a wisp of the summertime wind. You held perfectly still, waiting to make sure they'd gone. After a brittle silence, you released a frustrated shriek and Enid whirled toward you, eyes wide. 

"Did you see that?" She demanded, fury sparking in her blue eyes. 

"Enid, I'm so sorry, I know you liked him." You uncrumpled your fist and gingerly reached for her shoulder. Enid ignored the gesture, pacing forward so urgently that you had to scramble to keep up. 

"Does she use her siren song on all her friends?" Enid stopped and hissed, "Has she used it on her boyfriend?" 

You shouldered off the disturbing image of Xavier, slack-jawed and empty, while Bianca tweaked his reality with a honeyed voice. You doubted Bianca would allow Xavier to entertain any friendship with you. How many times had her lips poisoned your reputation? 

Your phone buzzed in your pocket, and you grimaced at the text lighting up the screen. 

Xavier Thorpe: Stay awake. We're talking as soon as I get back to the dorm. 

After a short pause, your phone buzzed again. 

You're welcome, by the way. You owe me a huge explanation. 

"This is insane. This is insane." Enid practically skipped over a moss-covered log, adrenaline evident in her near-manic grin. 

"Why are you taking this so well?" You stepped over the log, your heavy footprints crunching sticks and leaves. "Bianca's been manipulating people! And apparently, she hates us!"

"Bianca's been manipulating people," Enid slowly repeated. "And I got it all on camera." 

"No. Way." Your jaw dropped. "Are you serious?" 

Enid nodded, typing furiously at her phone. She smugly pressed a button and lowered it, smirking. "Done." 

"The video's been uploaded to my blog."