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Seven Ravenblood remained.

          Clementine wiped the black bile from his lips, watching as the rest he'd thrown up was washed down the sink. Despite taking his medicine, his condition was still declining. He cleaned his hands, switched the tap off, and made sure his hair was tidy. He hadn't seen Sebastien in five days, and he suspected the kid was avoiding him. Of course he was. Clementine still had no idea why he'd freaked out after they'd kissed, but he wasn't going to waste his time thinking about it anymore.

          He left his bathroom and grabbed his backpack. When he stepped out into the lounge, he looked over at Elliot, who was waiting by the door. "You good to go?"

          Elliot nodded. "Just two more days until winter break, huh? You excited?"

          "I suppose," he answered as they left their dorm. He locked the door behind them, and as Mathew and Mavis joined them, they headed for the stairs. "I'm looking forward to seeing Ripperton."

          "Me too!" Mavis said, clapping her hands.

          "There are many things to do there," Mathew added. "I'd like to visit the old monument, if possible. I hear the views are stunning."

          "I just hope we find Carmichael," Elliot said with a sigh. "Even if he is mad like you said and doesn't want to be my friend anymore, I just want to find out if he's okay."

          "I'm sure he's fine," Clementine said as they headed downstairs. "What's this Serenity Week all about anyway? I only ever really heard a few things about it floating around in the orphanage."

          "It's a sort of week-long festival. People give gifts to each other and share feasts—it's sort of a time to come together."

          "For friends and family," Mathew added.

          "It sounds fun," Mavis said. "Another interesting celebration."

          Clementine nodded, leading the way to history. "Do you have to dress up for it?"

          Elliot shrugged. "You can if you want—like if you're going to a party, you can wear the traditional Serenity Week colours, which are usually white or this strawberry-blonde sort of shade. My mom had the prettiest strawberry-blonde dress. She used to do her hair up all nice too, and then we'd have a little family party."

          "Just you, your mom and dad?"

          "Yeah. I think my auntie came at some point—and my friend, too."

          Clementine nodded, but as they turned the corner, he set his eyes on the crowd of students waiting outside their class. He immediately spotted three kids pushing the rest around and searching the crowd, and when he saw the trio were people he'd seen in the Ravenblood files, panic struck him. He gripped Elliot's backpack and pulled him back behind the wall, bumping into Mathew, who had been walking behind him.

          "What are you doing?" Elliot protested.

          "Shh," Clementine uttered, looking at the three of them as they stared at him in confusion. "Some of Ian's goons are looking through the crowd."

          "Looking for us?" Mavis panicked.

          "I think so," Clementine mumbled, peering around the corner.

          He watched as the three kids continued looking around—two girls and a guy. He didn't remember their names, but he was certain he'd seen their faces in the photos.

          "What do we do?" Elliot asked quietly, a frightened look on his face. "Do they think we killed Ian? They think we killed Ian!"

          "Shh!" Clementine snapped, glaring back at them. Then, he peeked around the corner again.

          The taller girl shook her head. "They're not here. Come on, let's go."

          Clementine sighed in relief, watching as the trio headed up the hall and disappeared to the right. They had been looking for him, hadn't they? Why else would they be outside his class looking through the crowd of students, and then leave with a 'he's not here'?

          He frowned in confliction. Had they caught on? Did they know that he was targeting them? If they did, things might have just gotten a little harder.

          "What are they doing?" Elliot asked.

          "They're gone," he mumbled.

          "What do you suggest we do?" Mathew asked.

          "I don't think we should go to class," Mavis said quietly. "If they're looking for us, we should probably hide and come up with a plan to discuss."

          "A plan for what?" Elliot questioned. "To avoid them?"

          She nodded.

          Mathew nodded, too. "I think we should go back upstairs."

          "We can't miss our classes," Elliot denied, panic in his voice. "We've got exams after the winter break, and we need to make sure we don't miss anything."

          Clementine nodded. "We'll be fine as long as we stick together." He only said that so confidently because he was sure Sebastien would turn up the moment he was in danger. He didn't want his allies to miss their classes and end up failing their exams. Not only did they need to live to graduate, but they actually needed to pass those exams, too. "Come on," he mumbled, leading the way towards the classroom.

          His allies followed behind him, and as they did, he looked around cautiously. He didn't spot any other Ravenblood, but he was sure this was going to be the first of many times he'd see them searching for him. He was going to have to be even more careful than he was already having to be, and whenever Sebastien decided to show his face, they were going to have to decide how to deal with the rest of them now that he was pretty sure they knew he was the one taking them all out.

          With a quiet sigh, he followed the other students into class, preparing for yet another day of boring, dragging classes.

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          Clementine still hadn't seen Sebastien all day. Not at lunch, not in between classes, and he wasn't expecting him to show up tonight, either. He considered heading into the broom closet he'd emerged from after leaving the Law Institute, but he wasn't going to risk wandering around the academy on his own, least of all at night with those dog-like beasts roaming around.

          As the sun set outside, he lay on his bed staring up at the ceiling. He'd told himself he wouldn't bother wasting his time thinking about Sebastien and what had happened after they'd kissed again, but for some reason, he couldn't keep his thoughts from circling back to it.

          The first time they'd kissed, it had utterly horrified him. He did think it was a smart move on Sebastien's end and knowing that it was that moment that had started their strange relationship didn't anger him anymore—it amused him. But he scoffed away the smile that appeared on his face when he thought about it.

          He still couldn't get a solid read on Sebastien. One minute he was flirty and annoying, and the next he was standoffish and dismissive. He barely knew anything about that kid other than the fact he was a law student and wanted to get into the New World so that he could become a member of the Zenith's High Court Council. He didn't know what he was or if he had family or friends, and the more he thought about it, the angrier it made him feel. He didn't really care before, he just wanted Sebastien to do his part in helping him take out the Ravenblood. But now, it bothered him. Why was Sebastien so secretive? Was he trying to hide something? Why?

          Clementine sighed deeply and rolled onto his side. Sebastien wasn't the only of his allies occupying his thoughts. Elliot was taking up most of his headspace, too. The winter break began the day after tomorrow, and they'd all be heading to Ripperton. His allies were under the impression they were going to see if Carmichael, Bernard, and Stanley had arrived safely, but actually, they were going so Clementine could try and help Elliot work out that he was a dybbuk. He wasn't yet sure how he was going to do that, but he was confident he'd think of something.

          Was Sebastien coming? He was supposed to be, but...he hadn't heard from him in a while. He had to turn up again soon though, right? Of course he would. There were still Ravenblood left to kill. So where was he? Why had he disappeared for five days? Could he be taking another exam? Had something happened over in the Law Institute that Clementine didn't know about? Why was he even panicking this much? And why...why could he not stop thinking about that kiss?

          He frowned irritably, trying to focus on the anger he felt towards Sebastien's disappearance, but he couldn't stay mad. His worry outweighed his frustration; he kept asking himself if he'd done something to upset Sebastien when they'd kissed. He kept thinking about that dismayed look on his face. It didn't make sense—he didn't understand. Had Sebastien really reacted that way because he felt he'd made a mistake kissing him again?

          Clementine pouted sadly. So what if that was the truth? Why did he care? There was no point in caring—there was no point in letting himself get attached. He was going to die very soon, so there was no reason for him to waste his time worrying about some stupid kiss and the pathetic feelings he had felt when their lips had met for a second time. He didn't have time for attachments, and he didn't have time for feelings. All that mattered was taking out the Ravenblood.

          Someone knocked on his door.

          With an exasperated sigh, he glared over at it. "What?"

          He wasn't sure what he felt when he saw Sebastien push his door open. Anger, frustration, relief, and murder all came to mind, but when he saw the conflicted stare on Sebastien's face, he pushed his feelings aside and sat up, watching him make his way over to his bed.

          "Hey," the kid said.

          "Hi...."

          Sebastien sat on the end of his bed. "Sorry I disappeared again. Lucinda's sceptical of me so I had to lay low."

          "Yeah, there were three Ravenblood looking for me earlier—at least I think they were. I recognized their faces from the files."

          "Which ones?"

          Clementine got out of bed and took the three files he'd been looking through earlier. He sat beside Sebastien and handed them to him.

          Sebastien opened them all and glanced at each one. "Jasmine Lowell, Amelia Quart, and Benjamin George. Did they see you?" he asked, looking at Clementine.

          "No. We hid behind the wall before they could."

          "Yeah, Lucinda's got them all on high alert. She's got the other two hanging out with her all the time."

          "Do they know I'm the one killing them?"

          "They've got their suspicions. Some of them still think it's the Gibbous Bloods, though."

          "The wolf walkers?"

          "Yeah. We should probably keep laying low for a little while, though. We'll work out what to do after the winter break."

          Clementine nodded. "Are you still coming to Ripperton with us?"

          Sebastien shrugged, looking down at his lap. "I don't know."

          "Why not? If it's because of what happened in your room the other day, I'm sorry if—"

          "It's not that."

          "Then what?"

          He turned his head to look at him...but then hesitated and shrugged. "Do you want me to come?"

          Clementine frowned. "Yeah."

          "Then I'll come."

          The almost sullen tone in Sebastien's voice confounded him. "What's wrong?" he asked. "And don't say nothing again. Something's clearly up and whatever it is, you can tell me."

          Slowly, Sebastien turned his head to look at him. A look of pondering clung to his pale face, and after a few moments of staring, he sighed and looked down at his lap. "I don't know," he said. "When I look at you, I kinda just...feel sad."

          That wasn't much of an answer—well, not one that made sense to Clementine, anyway. "What do you mean?"

          "I mean I care about you, Clem," he uttered, looking over at him. "And I like spending time with you, but then I think about the fact you've only got so long left and it makes me feel a thousand different things. I thought I just liked toying with you, but...I don't know," he mumbled, starting to sound frustrated. "It's stupid."

          Clementine stared at him, unsure of how to respond. He wanted to tell him he felt that way too. He had grown to enjoy his company, as strange as he was, but he didn't have the time for this sort of thing in more way than one. He didn't have time to spare to explore his feelings, nor did he have time for anything more with Sebastien than their current arrangement. But knowing both of those things only seemed to make it harder for him to ignore his feelings.

          "It's not stupid," he said. "I kinda...feel like that too."

          Sebastien's sullen face seemed to lighten up a little.

          "Is...that why you freaked out the other day?"

          "Sorta," he mumbled. "I don't know. Something happened when I kissed you again, and...I..." he slowed down as the air around them went cold.

          They both frowned as the whispers grew louder, but Clementine didn't care.

          "What happened?" he asked.

          Sebastien adorned a hesitant frown as he stood up. "I gotta get back."

          "What?" he uttered. "No, wait—"

          But Sebastien turned his back and went for the door.

          Clementine hastily went after him and grabbed his wrist. "Where are you going? You can't keep avoiding me."

          He looked back at him as he grabbed the door handle. "I'm not avoiding you, I just gotta go and look into whoever's dead this time."

          "Do you have to go right now?"

          "Yeah. I gotta get there before anyone else does. We'll talk about this again when I next see you. But I really gotta go," he insisted, pulling his arm from Clementine's grip.

          Clementine let him go. He frowned, watching as he passed Elliot in the lounge and left their dorm, pulling the door shut behind him.

          "Is everything okay?" Elliot asked.

          "Yeah, he's just gotta go work on something," he mumbled.

          "Are you okay?"

          He nodded. "Yeah." Then, he shut his door and headed back over to his bed.

          Now that he'd heard Sebastien's confession, he wasn't entirely sure how he felt. He was relieved that he hadn't done something to upset him but knowing the real reason behind Sebastien's reaction hurt his heart. They both knew he had very little time left, and that fact seemed to be upsetting Sebastien. Clementine wasn't as hesitant to admit he cared about that guy, and Sebastien cared about him, too. But that was about as far as this could go. There wasn't time for anything else. Clementine needed to focus on the Ravenblood.

          But part of him didn't want to ignore these things he felt. He wanted to spend more time with Sebastien, he wanted to get to know him more, and he felt as though he might just want to kiss him again, too. The kiss they'd shared in Sebastien's room the other day made him understand how he felt about him—it helped him realize that Sebastien was more to him than an ally. And now that he knew Sebastien felt something similar towards him, he was almost enticed to pursue that more. Was it so wrong to want to spend his last months enjoying the company of someone he liked being around as much as he could? As long as he stayed on task, what could go wrong?

          Then again, would Sebastien even want that? Did Sebastien want to allow them to grow closer knowing that Clementine was inevitably going to die soon? He sighed, rolling onto his side. He didn't know what that kid wanted, and the only way he'd find out would be to ask him. Clementine knew what he wanted, and that was to understand what all these feelings meant. Were they just feelings of friendship, or were they something more? He wasn't sure, but he wanted to find out before his time was up.

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