I'm right behind you, baby

***

CHAPTER 85:

UNEXPECTED TRANSFER

The cafeteria wasn't fully packed yet. Nobody seemed as eager to return to classes as I was, of course. But then, my excitement had nothing to do with the classes today. My gaze swept through every corner, including the garden. One look around was enough to confirm that my handsome prince hadn't yet come down for breakfast. Perfect! Now, I could save him the spot he had asked for beside me. I headed towards our usual table.

"Olive!"

I turned toward the voice and smiled broadly at Ursa, who was rushing toward me. She did not smile back. As she got closer, her features sharpened, and the strangeness on her face became unmistakable.

"Good morning!" I said cheerily.

Though I hoped for her expression to soften, Ursa's lips remained still. Despite her makeup, it was obvious she hadn't slept well. Her hair was hastily braided, too. Something was wrong.

"I'm going to tell you something you won't believe," I said mischievously, hoping to spark her curiosity and lighten her mood.

It didn't work.

"No, I'm going to tell you something you won't believe," she replied. Each word she spoke was tenser than the last.

My brows furrowed. My mind raced through all the bad possibilities. Had they discovered we stole the key from Jinx, found out we entered the Archive or heard Mars was hurt? Were we going to be punished? Were they going to kick us out of the Dorm? Was our life over? Horror now gripped my face as it had Ursa's.

"What happened?" I asked, my voice tinged with fear.

But just as she began to reply, the boy who walked through the door scattered all my worries like the sun rising to erase the darkness. When Mars's blue eyes found me, his smile spread across his face, dimples flashing. He completely shattered my focus.

"Olive," Ursa urged, trying to remind me of her presence.

I forcibly shifted my gaze back to her, but it was impossible to concentrate with Mars approaching. Unfortunately, Ursa's expression had grown even more troubled. This inadvertently made me think that the issue bothering my friend was related to Mars."

"We need to talk," Ursa said. "There's something you need to know." She bit her lower lip and exhaled. "I wanted to tell you earlier, but... seeing you two together..." Her anxious eyes flicked to Mars and back. "The way you look at him... I didn't know how to break it to you."

My heart fluttered like a timid butterfly. Even knowing I'd hate the answer, I asked, "What couldn't you bring yourself to tell me, Ursa?"

As soon as the words left my lips, several things happened simultaneously. Ursa opened her mouth. Mars, from a meter away, said, "Hey!" Another familiar voice, a voice I knew too well, called out to me.

"Lili!"

Chills shot up my spine. The winter that had left the Dorm seemed to envelop my whole body with just one word. Lili... I couldn't move. I couldn't tear my eyes away from Mars. I couldn't turn around to face the impossible until it spoke again, striking me like lightning.

"Lili! Is that really you?"

My head turned slowly. Halfway through the turn, my eyes met Ursa's, and the fear I hadn't understood in her eyes suddenly made sense. The impossible truth that had been consuming her stood behind me, waiting. With his bright red hair, jet-black eyes, and pursed lips...

"Dav?"

Though it was my voice, it seemed as if someone else had spoken. Those three letters echoed in my head, deafening me.

D-a-v. D-a-v. Dav... Dav... Dav... Dav...

He was here. In this world. In front of me. I hadn't seen him in the Archive video because... because he, like me... had died. The ground beneath me rocked. The walls trembled. The world was collapsing around me.

Dav moved towards me. His arms suddenly wrapped around me, pulling me close. My body recognized him—his scent, his touch, his hold. Despite the time, the distance, and the worlds between us, I hadn't forgotten him. That realization shook me even more. My hands dangled lifelessly at my sides.

"Lili," Dav said, holding me at arm's length to see my face. He was smiling. The sparkle in his eyes was the same one I recognized from when he had succeeded in exams or races—the joy of victory. "I did it!" he affirmed. "I finally found you!"

He pulled me back into his embrace. I hung there like a puppet against his chest. What was he saying? What did he mean? Found me how?

"Dav!" I exclaimed as if all the questions on my tongue were hidden in his name.

Hearing my voice, Dav released me again. This time, he held my hands. "They thought they could stop me, but here I am!"

I still didn't understand. "How?"

"Davon moved into this Dorm two days ago," Ursa cut in. "He requested a transfer from his old Dorm to the Dorm you're in. And somehow... he succeeded."

My eyes widened, shifting from Ursa to Davon. Such a thing should have been impossible. I knew it was impossible. But there he was, my ex-boyfriend, standing in front of me. His confident smile held the pride of a gold medal.

"The Principal was quite resistant at first," he explained. "They said they'd never seen anything like it, that no one had ever been granted such a privilege. Poor thing didn't know who he was messing with. Clearly, nobody reads the papers they sign at the entrance properly." He leaned closer, lowering his voice. "I'm not just anyone, of course. I nagged them so much with the loopholes I found that they had no choice but to transfer me here. And here I am." He punctuated his words with a wink.

I had always thought Davon was the most confident person I knew. Until I fell into this Dorm... Then Mars came into my life. Tarben came. Blue, Lark, Helene, Ursa, Diego followed. Everyone I met here had their own unique characters, but they all knew what they wanted; they were sure of themselves, strong souls.

Maybe that's why, now, the tone in Davon's voice sounded more arrogant than confident to my ears. It irritated me. My head turned involuntarily towards Mars. He was watching us, his complexion pale. No doubt he was as stunned as I was.

"Lili!" Davon said, grabbing my chin and turning my head back toward him. "You don't need to worry anymore. I'm here now. I'll get us out of here soon." His grip and his words made my stomach fill with flames. When I tried to pull away from his touch, he drew me back and hugged me tightly. "You and me, Lili!" he whispered in my ear. "The amazing duo together again. Nobody can stop us, just like in life."

I looked at Mars again, and our eyes locked. We stayed like that for maybe two or three seconds. That was enough time for me to see all the demons torturing his soul, the stormy darkness under his furrowed brows. His lips were thin, his jaw clenched, the veins on his temples bulging. Suddenly, he turned around and walked out before I could open my mouth.

His departure hit me like a hammer. "Dav!" I exclaimed, pulling away from his embrace.

Davon smiled, expecting a nice reply. The confusion on my face twisted his smile into an odd angle. "What's going on, Lili? You don't seem happy to see me?" he said mockingly as if such a thing were impossible.

But it was possible. Unfortunately, I couldn't say I was happy to see him. I didn't know what I felt or what I was supposed to feel. I was a mess, shattered, totally undone. It would have been right to sit down and talk everything through with Davon, but my mind had already raced off after Mars. My legs trembled with the urge to run after him. Where had he gone? What was he thinking? What would he do? My eyes drifted to the door he had exited through. My indecision tore further at my soul. Stay with Davon. Follow Mars. Stay with Davon. Follow Mars. Stay with...

"Lili!" Davon exclaimed, leaning in to catch my gaze. His smile had faded. "What is going on, for God's sake? Are you even in your right mind?"

I knew I had to tell him everything. I needed to be honest about why I was acting this way. I couldn't just turn my back and walk away from my ex-boyfriend, who had broken all divine rules to get to this dorm—especially since he didn't even know he was my ex yet.

But... but... but...

"I'm sorry, Dav," I said, pulling away. "Of course, I'm happy you came. I just... I didn't expect to see you. This was a huge shock for me. There's a lot we need to talk about. I have things I need to explain to you. And I will, I promise, but I have to go right now."

I was as sincere as possible, but Davon didn't seem pleased with my sincerity. "What do you mean you have to go?" he said, frustrated. "Where?"

Oh, stars, how was I going to get out of this?

"I'm sorry," I said, my voice quivering as I fought back tears. I truly was sorry, but I really needed to go. I had to find Mars. He needed to hear my real feelings from me before he concocted a narrative in his mind and believed something that wasn't true. I was already walking away when I called back to Dav. "I'll find you later. And we'll talk about everything. I promise."

Dav reached out as if trying to stop me from leaving, but it was too late. I glanced one last time at Ursa, who was watching me like a character in a dramatic TV series, and then I ran out of the cafeteria. Without thinking, I climbed the steps to the corridor where the rooms were. Curious heads immediately turned towards me. I kept knocking on Mars' door without caring. When there was no answer, I called out.

"Mars, it's me. Please open up, let's talk."

No one answered. Either my soulmate wasn't inside, or he was too angry to face me. My heart wasn't ready to accept the latter, so I was back on the stairs two minutes later. This time, I decided to try his secret hideout. I passed by souls in the art classes and avoided all suspicious glances until I reached Mars's studio.

And... bingo!

Mars was inside. He was sitting on a swivel stool, clutching his guitar. His hands were so white from gripping it that it was clear he couldn't play anything like this. He wasn't trying to, anyway. It seemed like the guitar was the only thing keeping him from sinking into madness. He noticed me, and the shadows on his face grew even darker.

"Why are you here?" he asked. His voice was as sharp as a knife. Maybe it was meant to warn me to run away scared, but I wouldn't. I knew him now and knew his anger wasn't directed at me.

"Why are you here?" I asked calmly.

He laughed angrily. "Would you have preferred I stayed there and strangled your boyfriend?"

I slowly approached him, knelt before him, and took the hand squeezing the guitar. "He's not my boyfriend, Mars. He hasn't been since long before last night."

Our eyes locked. Hope flickered in his blues. But just as quickly as it appeared, it vanished. "He doesn't know that," he breathed through his nose.

"He doesn't know yet," I corrected. "I'm going to talk to him and explain everything."

Mars angrily threw the guitar down. The strings buzzed with a disturbing sound, but Mars seemed not to hear it. His burning eyes bore down on me as he leaned over. "What are you going to explain to him? How are you going to convince him? The guy found a way to screw up the divine order just to get to you, Olive! Sorry, I should have called Lili..."

He stormed up, hands on his hips, looking for something to destroy. I stood up, caught him in three steps, and faced him again. He was almost breathing fire like a dragon, but I didn't step back.

"Mars..."

He didn't let me speak. "What are you doing, Olive?" he shouted. "Why are you here? Why aren't you with the boy you've been trying so hard to get back to? You got what you wanted. The amazing duo together!"

He was about to turn his back when I grabbed his hand and stopped him. Enough was enough. "Are you stupid?" I shouted back. "Are you that blind? Can't you see the truth?" My questions and the intensity of my voice stunned him. I took the opportunity to press on. "I spent days and nights by your side, Mars. I would have sacrificed my own life rather than let anything happen to you. Even when you rejected me, I couldn't get you out of my heart. Even though you kept hurting me, I chose to be your girlfriend. Yours! Not Dav's! Not anyone else's! Your girlfriend! Your gir...."

Suddenly, Mars pulled me to him and pressed his lips against mine. My last words turned into a muffled sound. My arms instinctively wrapped around his neck. It was the first time Mars kissed me with such passion as if he was trying to prove to himself that I was really in his arms, that I was really his. His teeth dug into my lip. His nails dug into my back. I didn't care about the pain and responded with equal fervor.

When he finally stopped, he panted, "My girlfriend."

"Your girlfriend," I murmured back, taking a deep breath.

He leaned his forehead against mine and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry." His voice was a whisper. "I... I didn't know what to do. I was jealous. I was scared. I panicked. I... I'm not used to these feelings, Olive."

"I know," I said. I really did know. The bitter sting of the arrows piercing my heart when I saw Mars with another girl was still fresh. Let alone seeing him with an ex-girlfriend he had once tried to get back with... I probably would have fallen into a much deeper abyss than he did. But... "You have to trust me," I said, stroking his cheek. "I made a promise to you last night, Mars. I chose you."

He nodded.

"All I ask is that you give me a little time. I need to talk to him and end this properly. Davon needs to hear the truth from me."

He nodded again, but his eyes were clouded with doubt. "How much time?" he asked, his voice tinged with worry.

"Just a while," I said. "But I need to do this without hurting him. I can't just throw everything at him and leave him to deal with it alone. Especially not after he went through so much trouble to find me... He wasn't just my boyfriend; he was also my only friend. I owe him a proper explanation, at least."

I could see Mars wasn't happy with what he heard. Nevertheless, he must have understood my reasons because he didn't argue. He pulled me close. His lips brushed against my hair. "Just a while... just a short while..."

Yes, just a short while... That's all I needed. I would resolve this quickly. Dav was smart; he would understand. We had never really been a couple, anyway. We had never truly experienced love. He would see that, of course.

Right?

***