Robert looked positively heartbroken.
“B-B-B-B-But… but—but… But, I thought… I thought you… they… you seemed so…” He’d been so certain she needed help. So certain this was the perfect time to step in! How could… how could she turn him away like this?! It wasn’t like his beloved Airi to dismiss him so carelessly, with such little consideration for his feelings and all the effort he’d gone through to get in costume and appear at just the right time.

“I thought… I thought there was s-s-something between u-us,” the boy continued, his nasally voice growing even more so as his dark eyes began to water.

Meanwhile, Cavendish watched the whole scene unfolding before him with wide eyes, unseen under his banana costume. What. The. Crap were his students taking? No, this was definitely the result of more than just champagne and firewhiskey. These kids all had some serious mental issues they needed to deal with. If only Professor Drake was here to give one of his inspirational speeches…

“Oh! Yes, yes, of course!” Only after Airlia’s plea did Cavendish remember he was dealing not only with a demented boy and a psychotic killer, but a seriously injured young man as well. He conjured a patronus to call for the nurse as discreetly as possible, then dropped the boom box on the snow covered ground before rushing over to Ignatius, his pace slowed slightly by the large and heavy costume. “Mr. Wilder, I’m going to need you to please stay with me a moment.” With a wave of his wand, the man conjured up a stretcher. “Mr. Vincenzi, Mr. MacGhilleseatheanaich, I need you to help me carry him onto the stretcher, please.”

…
Silence.

“Mr. Vincenzi?” Kneeling beside Ignatius, Cavendish turned his head only to find that Victor had completely vanished, as if the earth had swallowed him up. But he wasn’t the only one missing. Robert MacGhilleseatheanaich III was gone as well, and the only hint that remained of the two boys was the latter’s mask, laying face-up on the snow-covered ground.

Airlia hadn't meant to hurt Robert's feelings, she hadn't even meant to yell at him, but he had shown up at a time when her nerves were horribly on edge and when nothing was making sense and she wished the boy would just make things easier on himself, rather than doing things like this.

She felt awful, watching Ignatius slump against her, his skin paling. She couldn't help feeling like it was her fault, even though all of this was, in truth, Victor's doing, Airi couldn't stop thinking that she'd somehow played a hand in this. She was so busy paying attention to the injured head boy that she badly noticed when Robert and Victor apparently vanished.

Until, of course, when Cavendish spoke and neither boy answered. Stunned by this insane turn of events and completely unsure what to do, Airi did the only thing she could; she brought out her wand and nonverbally levitated Ignatius onto the stretcher (something Cavendish really should have done), all the while thinking very hard, and very quick.

"Professor, I, um... I have to go do a thing, excuse me." It wasn't a request, and Airlia didn't wait for his reply, she left Ignatius in the hands of the slightly mad, but not incompetent professor and set off to find Robert and Victor before ether of them ended up dead.

Cavendish watched as Airlia, ever the quick-thinking Ravenclaw, levitated her date onto the stretcher. “Yes, yes, good thinking Miss Mondai. I would award you points for this, but the sand clocks don’t really listen when I’m in this outfit.” From under his banana costume, the man rolled his eyes. It was at that moment that Madame Byrnes, the school nurse, arrived. She gave a little shriek at the sight of the bloody boy on the stretcher.

“Sweet Merlin, what happened to him?!”

Cavendish was so distracted updating Byrnes on all the foolish nonsensery he had just witnessed, that he failed to notice when Airlia announced her departure.

Meanwhile, deep in the forest…
Gross, pathetic sobbing echoed through the trees. “Uwaaadfgdjfg…uwaanajakaa! Pl-please—please! I-I-I beg you, h-have mercy!”

“For f-ck’s sake, you maledetto blastardo, get off me!”

Victor struggled to pull his leg free from the delusional McGit’s vicious grip. Despite the nerdy Ravenclaw’s pleas for mercy, he was the one clinging on to the Slytherin’s leg like his life depended on it. As soon as Cavendish had distracted himself with the Wilder situation, Victor had made a run for it. There was no way he would face loss of points, detention, or worse yet - expulsion - tonight. No, he needed to be away from the mess he’d created, to clear his head, and figure out a plan.

But his escape went terribly wrong when Robert McGit decided to not only follow him, but cling onto him like a small child begging not to be abandoned by their unloving parent. After the shame and heartbreak of being so cruelly denied by his beloved Airlia, Robert, too, needed an escape. But he would’ve never dared venture the Forbidden Forest on his own, so he clung on to Victor, whom he hoped would be his ticket to survival.

The forest, usually eerie and quiet, was alive tonight with the sound of furious Italian curses and pathetic, nasal sobs.

Think. Think. She just needed to take a deep breath, empty her mind and -She shouldn't have left Iggy, the boy had fainted for Merlin's sake. - no, no she didn't have time for this, she needed to think. What would Victor do? Well... He was a bit like her, he needed quiet and relative peace to think and of she knew anything about the boy than she knew he was formulating a plan.... If he was thinking clearly, anyway. Raising her wand, Airlia illuminated the area with a quiet lumos. it was a beautiful night, clear and bright from the snow covered ground...

The snow.
Surely Victor and/or Rob if he was with him must have left behind tracks, turning her eyes to the pearly white snow, Airi searched for a foot print or (heaven forbid) blood or something to set her own the right path. After a few minutes search, Airlia's eyes alighted on something dark red and shiny, she gasped, fearing the worst, but thankfully it was just a bit of Rob's leathery costume. The piece of fabric lead to a trail of uneven footprints, which was great news, except that it lead into the forbidden forest.

She swallowed hard, she'd never been in the forest before, Airi wasn't one of those kids who looked for trouble, her biggest kick was sneaking into the library after hours... Was she really doing this? Really?

Taking in a long breath, Airlia started walking, her eyes following the tracks, her feet moving almost entirely on their own.

Robert continued sobbing.
“Please! Please! I-I-I can’t g-go back out there again! Sh-sh-she hates me!” The boy cried pathetically onto the fine Italian leather of Victor’s shoes.

The Italian seemed unmoved, though. “Perhaps that’s because you’re a pathetic waste of oxygen and space, MacGhilleseatheanaich.” He gave another kick of his leg, but the Ravenclaw nerd continued to cling on.

Sniffles coming to an abrupt end, Robert released Victor’s leg and got up to his feet. His hands rolled into fists and his brows furrowed in a determined glare. “I-I saw e-everything… A-and I-I happen t-to be a fav-favourite of Pro-Professor C-Cavendish’s… If-if y-you don’t h-help me, I-I will t-tell them how you a-attacked Ignatius. A-And h-how you forced y-yourself on A-A-Airi.”

Victor could not believe his ears.
The nerd wasn’t only threatening to tell what he’d done, he was even going to lie about it to make the situation seem that much worse! WHATTHEHELLWASGOINGON. Since when was MacGhilleseatheanaich so bloody clever?!
A part hidden very deep within Victor’s chest actually even felt a little proud of the maledetto nerd.

“You bloody git, I’ll cut your head o—”

Both boys froze on the spot as the sound of dried, winter leaves crunching beneath footsteps filled the air. There was light, also, and both Victor and Robert watched with wide, terrified eyes as it neared. They were busted and there was no getting away from it now.

And then they saw it - the sparkling golden dress, the soft brown hair, the pale, delicate face… It wasn’t just any intruder. It was Airi/Mondai herself.

“…Airi…”
“…Mondai…”
Both boys spoke at the same time.

It was warmer in the forest than in the clearing, but Airlia still shivered as she silently made her way through the dense trees, along the darkened path of the wood, her breath clouds trailing behind her as she walked (she daren't run in her heels). Airlia had expected the forest to be loud; full of the calls of various birds and the clicking of bugs, but it was oddly quiet and that more than anything unnerved the sweet girl.

Don't be frightened, don't be frightened, you're perfectly safe, you have a wand, you're capable and clever, you'll be fine. strangely enough the internal pep talk wasn't of much help. And then she heard them; the voice were distant and she could barely make out what they were saying, but she could just make out the threatening tone of the deeper voice, coupled with the whine of the lighter and hurried her steps.

And there they were.
#thecunningsnake his nose still bloodied and slightly out of place and the costumed Ravenclaw who looked.... Well, he looked perfectly fine, perhaps she'd been completely wrong in her earlier assumption...

Suddenly she realized that she'd thought nothing at all of what she'd do when she found the two boys, she hadn't really expected to, and she was rather at a loss for words as she looked at them. "What exactly are you two doing in here?" Airi asked, completely ignoring the boys' twin looks of disbelief.

Robert gave a girlish shriek and hopped onto Victor like a frightened cat. “A-A-Airi! Wh-What are y-you doing here?!”

Effortlessly, Victor shoved him off, and the hopeless nerd fell clumsily onto the dirt floor. “Shouldn’t you be tending to your pathetic Gryffindor boyfriend?” he asked bitterly, brushing the sleeves of his tuxedo where McGit had hopped on during his moment of fright.

The Ravenclaw nerd merely watched the other two with large, frightful eyes.

Airi stepped back a bit as Robert hopped up onto Victor, clinging to him with everything he had, his eyes bigger than his face. She cringed as he spoke, his voice squeaking fearfully, was that because of her? Had Airi been that mean? She would have to make it up to the Ravenclaw, somehow..

In a way, Victor's question was the same as Robert's, albeit, much more mean spirited. Frowning lightly, Airlia turned her brown eyes fully upon him as Robert fell to the ground beside him. "I was worried. I wanted to make sure you were... That everything was alright," Airi said, shooting Victor a glare as she added; "He's not my boyfriend, and he isn't pathetic. Victor, you could have really hurt him," Airi said, taking a step closer to the boy, completely obvious to Robert now.

“Victor, you could have really hurt him.”
Victor laughed. A loud, humourless laugh that echoed through the leaves on the trees. “Ah, yes. The sectumsempra… How very cruel of me.” The boy seemed half himself as he continued to fuss with the cleanliness of his tuxedo, which was now covered in dirt, snow, and blood. Though most of these were hard to detect on the black fabric. “Don’t tell me you came all the way here just to reprimand me?” he asked, too distracted to meet Mondai’s gaze as he performed an episkey spell on his nose. It left behind a cool sensation, and the boy sniffled softly, running a finger over the bridge of his nose.

Airi's frown deepened as Victor laughed, before mockingly admitting to the cruelty of his actions. Worst of all, he wouldn't look at her, but rather made himself busy with the sleeves of his elegant tux, as if it were far more interesting than anything she could have to say. "It was pointless, and completely beneath you," Airi said, her voice strangely calm despite her anger and frazzled nerves. She watched him closely as he spoke again, but there was nothing to see. No emotion in his beautiful face and Airlia felt a strange and unwelcomed sense of loss.

"Victor, look at me." She didn't know why she said it, she had no idea what she was doing or why, the girl had stopped listening to her brain the moment she had happened upon him in the clearing... Perhaps before that...

Victor seemed to ignore Mondai’s first comment; if it was due to genuine interest in the state of his tux, or done on purpose, it was impossible to tell. He only seemed to snap back to reality as the young girl, sounding quite unlike herself, ordered him to look at her.

And though he was surprised and perhaps even secretly amused by how out of character her command was, Victor didn’t want to. Looking at Mondai was pretty much all he’d done for this entire night, and it had led him to… what? Near expulsion? To hide away in the darkness of the Forbidden Forest like some lunatic, like a villain? And the last time he’d looked at her, properly looked at her, a rush of honesty and secrets had dared to spill out from his lips. Now that he thought about it, Wilder had done him a favour by interrupting that foolish, thoughtless moment.

Still, he looked at her. And he immediately regretted it.

“…You should get out of here, Mondai.”

What was Airlia doing? She was in the middle of a the forbidden forest in her ridiculously expensive and weather inappropriate Emilio Pucci dress, standing before the boy who had single handedly ruined her night, when she should be at Ignatius side, or back at the gala or be doing anything else, but this. Except that she needed answers, she needed to know, not just what Victor had been about to say, but about how she, herself felt and until he spoke again on the matter, she wouldn't know.

And then he looked at her. He looked at her and all at once she felt everything and it was all so overwhelming, until he spoke and his voice was like an ice pick through her heart.

"No." Resolute, uncompromising, Airi wasn't going to be shooed off this time, it didn't matter what Victor said, she wasn't going anywhere. "No, I'm not going anywhere... You lied, you lied about the kiss, I know you did." Airlia said, her eyes glittering in the light. "You lied to me and I need to know why."

Victor knew he shouldn’t have been shocked. Cavendish had taken his shirt away as soon as he spoke the lie, and just because the girl didn’t connect the dots at that exact moment, didn’t mean she wouldn’t eventually figure it out. Still, he’d rather hoped she would’ve forgotten all about that slip-up.

“You lied to me and I need to know why.”
What was he supposed to do now? He could try shooing her off, ordering her to get lost, as he always did every time she asked a difficult question, one he couldn’t answer. But even Victor Vincenzi, cruel and selfish as he may be, knew to be fair. After everything they’d been through - she’d been through that night, after ruining her date and severely injuring a boy who at least wasn’t afraid to show her how he really felt (unlike him), he knew the least he could do for her was speak.

Also, things were different now.
He had an answer. After weeks and months of finding himself at a loss for words every time the girl brought up his unusual behaviour, Victor finally had the answer.

“…I did lie,” he finally confessed, icy blue eyes honest for a change. “I didn’t kiss you because I was ‘bored’.” He almost could’ve laughed at how pathetic that lie had been. So simple, without a thought, and yet Airlia had believed him completely. She'd always trusted him too much...

“I kissed you… because, Airlia…”

Airlia trembled, her heart racing as she waited for Victor to speak, to answer the question that had plagued her mind every morning and every night since the eve of that fateful party, one that she had asked before but in an entirely different, yet no less strange circumstances. But, the real question wasn't even about him anymore. It was about her. Did Airlia even know how she felt anymore? She knew he was on her mind, that every little thing that happened to her seemed to remind her of him, even when it had absolutely nothing do to with the Slytherin, and tonight when she's been with Wilder... Airlia wasn't proud to admit that it was Victor's lips she'd really been thinking of.

At the same time: Airi couldn't ignore his cruelty, to herself and to the others around her, holding himself above all their pain like a God watching lesser beings. Plaything. He's playing with you. the words had stung because she believed them to be true, but was it really? Airlia didn't know, and she couldn't trust anything, including him... Not after all the lying and the coldness...

“…I did lie,”
Her eyes widened. Airlia hadn't expected this admission, she had expected him to push her away, to coldly cut her off without another thought, and yet here he was: speaking to her seemingly honestly, and she still didn't know how to feel or what she was doing even as Victor spoke her name, only to let his voice trail away....

So why was Airi here? Why did she need to know so urgently what he'd meant to say, regardless of how horribly he'd behaved? and why when he had fled was her first instinct to find him and make sure he was okay, when it should have been to stay with the boy who'd been grievously injured because of her? And then it dawned on her... That this wasn't the way you acted when you simply liked someone. And this sudden knowledge, more than anything else made her speak. "Victor," What was Airlia even about to say? She had no idea. "Victor, wait."

“Victor.”

“Because I—”

“Victor, wait.”

“—love you.”

No.
There would be no more waiting, no more leaving things half-finished, truths half-said. She needed to know, and he needed to say it, to finally accept a fact that had been hovering over him for months now, and he’d tried to ignore. It didn’t even matter anymore, if she forgave him or turned and ran the other way. He just needed to say it. To finally admit it. Holding back a truth like this had cost him severely only a few years back; he couldn’t make the same mistake again.

And now… what?
Victor examined the girl closely, his cold eyes taking in the surprise in her own, the expression on her face like she was some new specimen he’d just discovered and needed to learn everything about. She looked impossibly beautiful, and it had nothing to do with the sparkling dress, the loose waves of her hair, or the perfectly-applied red lipstick. It was… just her. Her in her Hogwarts uniform glaring up at him, her in her Wonder Woman costume smiling drunkenly up at him. She was beautiful just because she was the way she was; painfully naive, incredibly smart, and impossibly kind-hearted. And, most of all, she was honest. Every time she looked up at him, he knew the exact thoughts running through her mind, he knew the words she’d speak before they even left her lips. She was completely transparent, the complete opposite of him.

Without another word, the boy took another step toward her, blue eyes locked on her own brown ones before he leaned forward, pressing his lips to her cheekbone in a kiss so light, it was barely there. His lips lingered there for a moment before traveling to her ear and softly whispering, “I’m sorry.”

The world hadn’t stopped turning. The ground beneath her feet was just as steady and as still as always, and Airlia Mondai couldn’t hear church bells or the sounds of a choir. It was nothing like any of those old clichés, nothing at all. Instead, it was like a flower, unfurling in her chest where before there had been nothing but doubt: Brighter then the light from her wand and warmer than a drink of Firewhiskey, it filled her completely, overwhelming her to the point where she couldn’t even begin to speak, but merely stood gaping up at the beautiful boy.

She was astonished, completely flabbergasted, after all, Airlia had lost any hope she’d had that he might return her feelings weeks ago, a hope that had rekindled itself tonight, despite her best efforts and that now rejoiced in his words, but still… There it was, that other part of her, the part that relied on logic and believed so deeply in right and wrong, telling her that this wasn’t right. Reminding her how foolish it would be to let him back in after everything he had done…

“…. I… “ Nope, still nothing, she still couldn’t think of a single thing to say, this was just ridiculous. Victor Vincenzi. Victor Vincenzi had just told her that he loved her and she couldn’t even decide how she felt… Well, no that wasn’t quite right, because Airlia knew exactly how she felt, she hadn’t until a few minutes ago, but she had never been more sure of anything now.

She just wasn’t sure what that meant for them. If there was a them… Damn it all, why was it so hard with him? Why was he so difficult? As stubborn as a stone, with the sharpest mind she’d ever witnessed and that way of looking into her and seeing everything with such ease. No one could see her like Victor could, even Ignatius who Airlia had thought had always known her best had never been able to understand her so fully.

He stepped forward and for once that night Airlia didn’t shirk away from him, but allowed him to erase the distance between them. Her eyes fluttered closed as he pressed his soft lips to her cheek, a soft, gentle gesture she would never have expected of him. Without thinking, her hands lifted on their own, to lightly grasp the lapels of his tux, just the way they had done when he had first kissed her all those nights ago.

”I’m sorry.”
“I love you, too,” Airi gasped, fighting back the tears that threatened to propel down her face. It was all she’d needed to hear, those two words that probably would seem like nothing to anyone else, but meant so much from the boy who never apologized for anything, ever. Airi knew what those words might have cost him to say and in that moment she knew exactly what she wanted more than anything else.

She took his face in her surprisingly steady hands, and Airlia kissed him.

To Victor’s surprise, Airlia didn’t shy away or turn and run in the opposite direction. No, instead she held on to him and confessed her own feelings, which matched his perfectly. It was both thrilling and frightening, like jumping into the Black Lake in the middle of winter. That’s what all of this felt like. To speak of love, to allow someone else into his mind… It wasn’t something Victor did often. It wasn’t something he did at all. And it certainly wasn’t something he approved of.

Still, it was hard to take it all back when her small, slender hands, unusually warm despite the cold of the night, settled upon the sides of his face, pulling him into her with a determination he recognized well. And it was at that point that the boy realized: there was no going back. There would be no pulling away from this kiss, from this new darkness he’d submerged into. He’d have to take it, and explore it, and learn to control it as he did everything else.

Merlin. He’d missed those lips more than he’d ever admit. And her hands. And her small waist, which fit so perfectly beneath the palms of his hands. Basically, he’d missed her. Being near her, feeling the warmth of her body close to his… Without a word, the boy pressed her firmly into him, letting himself be taken over by the sudden and overwhelming need of her moist lips, of her gentle curves. He kissed her for a long time, one hand resting gently on her waist, the other pressed more firmly against her back, almost forbidding her to turn away.

Until, finally, he separated his lips from hers. He stared at her for a moment, almost debating with himself what he was about to do. “…C’mon,” he said, taking her hand into his own.

Nothing else existed. Not the cold night air or the creepy, unsettling wood. The gala and all the beautiful people dancing and laughing had vanished completely, along with Shaniqua, and Vince, and Nevi, and Cavendish. There was only the two of them; Airlia and Victor and this moment, one Airi still couldn't believe was real.

It felt like ages since the last time they'd kissed, it had really only been a month ago, but a month was a long time to go without Victor's ever cool touch, and the taste of his mouth. She loved his hands, loved the way they pressed into her through the fabric of her golden dress, and his tall, lean body, the way it fit so well against her own... It was perfect, he was perfect and Airlia still couldn't believe he loved her. He was just so very exceptional, with his impossibly blue eyes that saw through everything as easily as you could see through water, and his smooth, richly deep voice that could calm just as easily as it could agitate, and the way he handled even the worst of situations (like being arrested) with a cool, and level head...

And then there was this side of Victor that Airlia only seen glimpses of; the side of him that would take time from his life to actually quell a silly rumor, just because it had seemed to trouble her and he'd needed to "Do something about it." That small kindness had meant so much to her, more than she'd ever really admitted.

Victor needn't have worried about Airlia turning away, the girl wasn't going anywhere, she was far too caught up in the revelation of his feelings for her and the discovery of her own, to think of leaving. The doubt of before was not completely erased, no that would take more time, and much effort on his part to truly erase all the damage done, but at this moment, Airlia was content to just be and let her instincts take control for once.

As Victor gently removed his lips from her own, Airi stared up at him, taking in his features with searching eyes. And then she saw it; the honest need and.... Affection in his blue eyes and it left her even more breathless than the kiss.

Trust, yes, she'd trust him again, Airi decided, as he took her hand in his. Because even after everything he had put her through, he was Victor and that was reason enough to let him back in... "Okay," Airi said, unable to say anything else as Victor began to lead them out of the forest, leaving a comatose and tear stained Rob forgotten on the snowy ground.

Victor walked slowly through the forest. Partly to allow Airlia to keep up, partly not to attract the attention of any hungry creatures. It wasn’t long until they reached the outskirts of the forest, but still, the boy did not fully step out onto the snowy grounds. He continued to walk under the cover of the shadows and long tree branches, until they had to cross a little clearing to get to the Whomping Willow, which looked uncharacteristically innocent and harmless as it snoozed the eventful night away.

Despite the distraction of an unlikely confession and a kiss with the girl he had just admitted to loving, Victor hadn’t forgotten the events that had led to this moment. He'd still brought physical harm to another student, still used a spell so dark it was almost a curse, and still risked expulsion. And it was for these reasons that, instead of heading toward the warmly-lit castle and its glowing gardens, the boy led Airlia toward the tree. Away from Cavendish, and Headmaster Yeezus, and his soon-to-be disappointed parents.

Cautiously, Victor walked on the snow-covered ground beneath the gently-swaying branches. He disappeared into the passageway at the base of the sleeping tree quietly, his cold hand still wrapped tightly around Airlia’s warmer one, leading her down into the darkness of the Shrieking Shack with him.

Airlia had been quiet throughout the relatively short walk from the Forbidden Forest to the outskirts of the For-the-moment-harmless Whomping Willow, which looked surprisingly beautiful covered in the evening snow. Through all this time her mind had been almost painfully alive, not just with the happy moment of their confessions, but with all of the insane events that had happened tonight and how they had led to this... To Victor and herself quietly sneaking off together... Of everything that had occurred tonight, this was perhaps the strangest: that after everything Victor had put her through in the last few months, especially including this evening, that Airlia had forgiven him. It was a bit scary to the girl actually, how easily she'd given in, but she supposed that was because she loved him, and love made it easy to forgive such a paltry crime like attempting to kill someone for snogging her.

She was still consumed with her thoughts as Victor led them into the passageway beneath the Whomping Willow, toward the Shrieking Shack and it was only when they were halfway through it, that Airlia began to question why he was taking her down here. "What are w-" she'd been expecting him to lead her back to the castle, but now that she thought on it, this made more sense. There was no way they could have passed through the school unseen, not with so many guests, and naturally Victor had no intention of facing the consequence of his actions just yet. "Oh, I get it." She simply said, stumbling slightly in the dark beside Victor.

All this time she'd kept her wand in hand, and as the darkness around them thickened she raised it. "Lumos." She softly said, the light illuminating the passageway instantly. The passageway widened and soon enough they came upon the stairs that led into the Shack itself, and Airlia took a deep breath to steady herself, she'd gotten over most of her fear of the Shrieking Shack the night of Ned's party, but she still felt a trickle of trepidation as the couple entered the dilapidated building.

Victor hadn’t been inside the Shrieking Shack since a couple of months ago, when Vianna had thought it clever to dare his best mate, who in response decided to host the biggest party of the year, so far. Rather ironic how things had worked out; Nevi had, after all, and unintentionally, planted the seed for Vairi’s weird, unpredictable and rather unhealthy relationship to blossom. And here they were again. And, much like that Halloween night, they weren’t quite themselves. Victor was in an uncharacteristic state of semi-drunkenness, and Airlia wasn’t the fresh-faced little Ravenclaw she usually was inside the castle’s walls.

With the help of Airlia’s lit wand, Victor took a moment to examine the abandoned, eerie place. To his surprise, it was completely furnished, and from the ceiling hung hairy spiders, laughing pumpkins, and dancing skeletons. It was the ghost of Hall’s party, which no one had bothered to clean up after its guests departed months ago.

The boy walked forward, his footsteps echoing softly in the thick, deafening silence. He noticed his company wasn’t as eager to follow, though. Suddenly, he smiled. It was very much like the usual mocking smiles he’d always reserved just for the task of aggravating her. “…Afraid, Mondai?” he asked, an eyebrow raising slightly. “Is it this lovely room that's troubling you, or…” He took a step toward her, breaking the space he’d created when he’d walked ahead. “Something else…?”

He couldn’t help the teasing. She looked prettiest when she was frightened, and perhaps it was the lack of effort required to trouble her that attracted him to her in the first place.

Despite the cheesy Halloween decorations, and the signs of revel rousing strewn throughout the Shack, Airi felt no cheerier. The atmosphere was different, she couldn't explain exactly how, but something was off and Airlia's intuition was telling her not to stay here. Naturally, her lack of enthusiasm caught Victor's attention.

Airi's eyes widened slightly as Victor coolly addressed her, taunting her effortlessly with just a few well chosen words and that unnerving, but becoming smirk. Her cheeks and somewhat exposed chest were flushed pinker than cotton candy as she began to glare up at him. It was a look reserved only for Victor, because only he could so thoroughly vex her with such ease and it was times like these, when he would almost causally slip into her personal space and mock her that Airi questioned her own sanity, because who in their right mind would enjoy this? A part of Airlia was even secretly glad he was still teasing her, if he'd suddenly turned all cutesy and soft, well... He wouldn't be the boy she'd fallen for all those months ago.

Not that he needed to know any of that, she didn't need to give him a bigger head. "Well... I did just get into an abandoned building with Patrick Bateman." Airi replied, her words holding a hint of humor even as her pulse quickened. She licked her lips nervously (it didn't calm her down, it made it worst because she could somehow still taste him). ".... Something else? Like... Like what?" She asked, still glaring at him.

Victor chuckled, his lips still curved into that mocking smile, though there was a hint of amusement in his icy gaze. “Is that what you think of me, dearest?” he asked, feigning offense. “Do you think I will… offer you a drink,” with each word, he grew closer to her pretty, pink face, “Go on for hours about Whitney Houston, and… murder you?” He paused, lips only an inch from the crook of her neck and his hand on her lower back, giving her a gentle push so she had no choice but to fall into him. “But… silly me, I forgot the best part.” He wouldn’t be Patrick Bateman if he didn’t first take his victims to bed with him, would he?

Finally, he pressed his lips against her skin. But something was off. Terribly off.
There was just the slightest hint of Wilder’s cologne lingering on her smooth skin, catching him off-guard like a slap on the face, a cruel, mocking reminder of the bloody blastardo’s earlier intrusion. Rage, pure and sudden, shot through him like poison.

The boy hadn’t realized when he’d tightened his grip around her waist, digging his fingers deep beyond the gentle fabric of her dress. Immediately, he let go. He felt a mix of surprise with his own reaction and a strong annoyance for the situation, but showed none of it. His expression remained serene, void of emotion. He stared at her for a moment, then silently took her hand and led her deeper into the darkness. Into the source of her fears.

Airi didn’t buy him being offended even a bit, she wasn’t a human lie detector like Victor was, but she could see the amusement in his clear gaze and she knew him better now, could tell when he was just teasing her harmlessly (or relatively harmlessly anyway). “Can you blame me?” She softly asked, her voice tainted ever so lightly with a barely there laugh, though it faded away as he neared her, his tall body looming over her own petite form as he coolly questioned her, although it hardly seemed like he wanted an actual answer. Seriously though, when had he seen American Psycho? Airi would really have to ask him about that… At another time, one when his breath wasn’t ghosting against her warm skin and his hand wasn't pressing into the small of her back, pushing her into him.

The darkly seductive tone of his voice and the closeness of his body was intoxicating and Airlia instinctively leaned into his lips as he pressed them to her neck in a gentle kiss, she closed her eyes at first in pleasure, but a second later in a slight grimace as his long fingered hand dug suddenly into her waist, ‘causing the girl to inhale sharply, not from pain (it wasn’t an unpleasant sensation), but from surprise.

Released from his grasp, Airlia looked up searchingly into his face, trying to understand exactly what had happened but there was not a hint on his beautiful, European features. She swallowed nervously, but didn’t question him as he took her hand and lead her onward into the Shack, her earlier fear not quite forgotten, but diminished for the moment.

Victor continued down the last few steps leading out of the passageway and into the Shrieking Shack, pulling out his own wand and casting a lumos spell. The light spread, cutting through the darkness of the room to nestle quietly in the dust-covered lamps and inside the fireplace. In just a moment, the entire room came alive with a warm, soft glow that washed over every dusty piece of furniture.

The once-frightening Shrieking Shack was, though still a little eerie, welcoming. At least, it felt that way. But even Victor, who was usually a nut for order and cleanliness, failed to notice the old plastic cups and masquerade masks scattered on the floor. His attention wasn’t on the deteriorated floorboards, or the ceiling that seemed ready to collapse at any minute, or even on the DJ booth where Professor Drake’s music had mysteriously begun to play. His attention was on a certain little brunette, and the lovely glow that the soft light had cast upon her features. He was also better able to admire how flushed she’d become. A treat to his ego.

He watched her silently, taking in the sight of her, properly illuminated at a distance that wasn’t across a dancing hall anymore. It was strange. She looked surreal, but she also looked very much like the Ravenclaw girl he was so used to mocking and tormenting. He couldn’t help remembering that night, which had been recent enough but felt so long ago. “…Do you know why I kissed you that night? Why I really kissed you?” Had her puzzle-solving skills gone that far?