I wordlessly shoved the red envelope inside my bag pack and headed for my room, all the while thinking and overthinking about what was happening around me again and again, in a repeated sequence. I feared if overthinking situations burned calories, I would be probably dead by now. My head hurt; I really needed some quality rest.

I opened the door to my dorm room with a click and got in. Lena was nowhere to be seen, maybe she wasn't still back from her classes, or she might probably be hanging around in the library. I didn't bother much about it and headed for my bed straight, but I felt a firm hand grip my wrist and I was pulled back to look at the smoldering eyes of Eric Warnard.

For a second, my eyes widened as they took in the surprise of Eric being in my room. This guy was like a ghost, he could appear anywhere and everywhere. I was utterly speechless for a minute. But then I remembered how he was here in my room the last time in the middle of the night and I dismissed my bafflement knowing Eric Warnard had his own amazing break in and entry tricks. I should no longer be surprised with the stuff he pulled off quiet with ease.

"...Why are you here?" I asked in an annoyed tone.

"Do I need a reason to come and see you?" He snorted, very arrogant in his usual demeanor.

"You know what, if you look close enough, the high horse you like to ride on so much is actually a donkey and by the way, you do need a reason as you broke into the girls dorm without permission again." I clicked my tongue in annoyance. I didn't forget how he abandoned me in front of the principal's office to fend for myself.

"...You are angry." He raised a brow.

Oh! Awesome Einstein, you figured it out.

I wanted to applaud him sarcastically, but I held back and just silently glared at him.

He let out an awkward smile to that and said, "Come on, don't be angry anymore. I promise I didn't mean to leave you behind, but look at you, I knew you could worm out of that sticky mess as you had nothing to do with it. So, why be angry and heighten your blood pressure. Let it go, alright!"

"Let it go, my ass. Warnard, you abandoned me to take care of your mess. I'm not your sidekick to handle your business after you. Actually, you are right. I am not even connected to this mess in the first place, why the hell do I need to be entangled in it like this." My glare got deeper and deeper as I yelled at him in sheer rage.

"Ouch! Phina! How could you say that to your best and only friend." He looked at me, aggrieved. But I knew he was pretending and secretly just mocking me in the face of my anger. I really hated this guy sometimes. "Friends are supposed to stand by each other's side. Always helping each other in need and never let each other down. How could you not want to help me out in a sticky situation. I feel so wronged."

"Eric, if Karma doesn't come around and hit you in the face, I will." I muttered with gritted teeth.

"Okay okay, I'm sorry I'm sorry." He let out a good-natured laugh. "What do you want me to do to make it up to you?"

"...Dress like a chicken, get down your knees and ask me for forgiveness in front of everyone tomorrow." I said with a deadpanned face. See if you can refute.

Eric instantly lost all color in his face and glared at me in turn.

"What? Don't have the balls?" I smirked at his face, just like how he usually does at me. "You don't have the balls to dress up like a chicken in front of everyone but you got the balls to create a scene and leave out all the rest to me to clean up?"

"I'm not dressing like a chick for you Phina." He said in a cold tone.

"Then what are you here for? Get lost already Warnard." I glared at him harder, trying to look every bit intimidating. I hoped my glare succeeded in serving its purpose and letting him know I wasn't going to be cajoled this time around.

After a minute of intense glaring from both sides, Eric finally sighed deeply and muttered, "I will not be dressing like a chicken for you Phina, but I can compromise and will listen to whatever you say for a week. How about that?" His words were so reluctant that I was afraid he was using his physical force to force them out of his mouth and I couldn't help snicker in my heart. This was the second time Eric Warnard was giving in. I think I kind of liked being the superior party in the game. But I was still angry, so I refused to give in without a rebut.

"How about this, you listen to me for a week and you dress up like a chicken and apologize in secret. When no one is around."

"...Don't test my patience Phina." His glare was on full drive and he looked every bit menacing, as if he was about to explode with anger, all red in the face. It was kind of funny to look at and it felt great to get under Eric's skin once in a while. I didn't feel bad in the least, after all he was the one who always got under my skin and caused me countless troubles.

I was about to tease him a bit more when we heard clicking of heels and the clacking of the door open. Before I could register what was going on Eric pulled me into the bathroom and forced me into his embrace while his back pressed the bathroom door. Why did I feel my heart skip a beat?

It seemed like Lena came back.

"...What do we do now?" I whisper-yelled at him.

"What is there to do, we wait until she is out of the room or falls asleep and then I slip out." Eric shrugged back.

"Okay, you stay here, and I will go out and try to make her leave." I sighed and was about to get out, but he wasn't complying to my actions. He held me tight, without any hint of wanting to let me go. I looked at him questioningly and he said, quite nonchalant if I might add, "What if she doesn't leave."

I looked at him, expressionlessly. Wanting to punch him for no apparent reason. "I will find a way."

"What if she tries to get into the bathroom. And the bathroom will be locked from the inside. What will we do then? How will you explain it to her?" Okay, I think my overthinking disease was getting contagious now.

"...She will not, I'll find a way."

"How can you guarantee you can find a way? Are you hundred percent positive that you will be able to get her to leave her own room when she just got back after a tiring day at school?" He raised his brows, grilling me with all his might. If I didn't know better, I would be thinking he was trying to get me to stay with him hidden in the bathroom just to let me suffer with him. At this point, I wanted to wring his neck and twist it to snap him into two. Lately I feel like my murderous intents were evolving towards a nasty direction.

"...So what do you want me to do?" I gave him a dirty look.

"I suggest we wait here, together until she is gone." He said with a smile. Someone give me a stand-post lamp so I can bash Eric's Warnard's head with it.

"What if she is never gone and doesn't falls asleep? What then?" I asked as I glowered at him with a frown.

"Relax, she will fall asleep." He still had that irritating smile on his face.

"And how do you know that? How can you guarantee that she will fall asleep? Are you hundred percent positive that she will really fall asleep in a while?" I threw his words right back at him. And now he had a poker-face on.

"Intuition." Yeah, that's what the idiot's answer was. Intuition! I really wanted to push him off a cliff at that moment. He was literally giving me a heartburn.

"Why don't you just say that you want to bother me and let me suffer with you? It's not like I don't see your ploys and don't understand how your messed-up head works." I sighed at him, wanting nothing more than to get away from this vermin. But alas! My luck.

"Oh dear, I've been discovered." He snickered and I felt my blood lust raising again. I swear one of these days Eric Warnard will really turn me into a murderer. I could vaguely sense why he was doing this. I was pretty sure he knew I was dead tired and wanted to have a good rest, but he was unwilling to let me do so as I had asked him to become a chicken and ask for forgiveness. I always knew Eric Warnard was a petty guy, why did I even bother to bother with him. Sigh! Now I was the victim of his petty revenge.

"...Why did you beat up Oliver Brown?" I suddenly asked. It was question I'd had in my head for a while and I was meaning to ask Eric about it.

"Ah! That...well he had the balls to play tricks on me, so I had to teach him a lesson." Eric shrugged.

"What? What do you mean? What did he do?" I frowned.

I had a vague idea what tricks Oliver Brown pulled but I still wanted to make sure from the involved party.

"He had the gall to pull a childish one on me. But I guess he didn't know I am a petty person by nature." Who didn't know Eric Warnard was a petty person by nature? If one still had doubts, he would either be the naivest person on the face of this planet or would be a lunatic saint.

"...Right. Are you talking about the fall when you were carrying me to the infirmary?"

"When else have I ever faced such humiliation?" He grumbled. "And by the way, lose some weight, will ya." People described a person like Eric Warnard as a spiteful being. If something was making him unhappy, he felt it was his right to bring at least equal measures of unhappiness to others. Why not? He figured he was just evening the misery out.

And since he was not feeling very great right now after being cooped in my little bathroom for more than half an hour, he had to do something either physically or verbally to let me experience some of his misery.

I figured it was useless to bicker with him over such a trivial matter as I felt I was gradually growing a thick skin while spending my days with Eric Warnard. I just mindlessly snorted at him once and looked the other side to ignore the prick.

After about an hour, I couldn't take it anymore. I was so sleepy my head was drowsing over towards Eric's shoulders. Eric didn't seem to really care as he played games on his phone. Before long I was unable to stop myself from falling asleep and drifted off into a weary hushed sleep.

•••••...

" ...You better wake up if you don't want me to doodle on your face." I heard an indulgent voice conjuring my consciousness. I didn't want to be disturbed as I was really worn-out and swatted off the annoying voice as I continued on sleeping, snuggling deeper into the tempting warmth that seemed to give me a sense of undeniable indemnity.

"Seriously Phina, if you don't wake up in the next minute, I will have your toilet scrub kiss your face." The amused voice slurred in my ears. And that got me to suddenly open my eyes wide and look at Eric's entertained face as he let out a sly smirk into him supple lips.

"You finally woke up. I thought my thighs would go numb before sleeping beauty can complete her beauty sleep." He chuckled.

"...What!" I abruptly got up as I looked at Eric with widespread eyes. I...just now...I was sleeping on Eric Warnard's lap!

I was dumbfounded. How the hell did I ended up on Eric's lap? Wasn't I leaning onto his shoulders? Damn it. My pride!

All my remaining sleepiness vanished into thin air and I felt so embarrassed I refused to look at Eric even for a moment.

"Do you know for how long you have been asleep? Its past dinner time now." He snickered under his breath, "If we don't hurry now, I'm afraid you shall be deprived off food for the night."

I was unwilling to look at him, but still reluctantly raised my head and mumbled, "What about Lena?"

"Oh her, she has already left the room and headed for the dining hall." He said nonchalantly.

"...Then why didn't you wake me up sooner?" I couldn't help but scowl.

"Because your drooling face was quite amusing." He got out his phone and showed me a hideous picture of myself drooling happily while hugging Eric's waist like a body-pillow. As I stared at the picture with horror dancing in my eyes, I had gone beyond the edge of mortification. I made no sound and could only dumbly stare at the bane of my existence(the picture).

Eric, in turn couldn't help his laughter as he toppled over and howled in a swift roar of laughter. Looking so pleased like he got to see just what he wanted to.

A minute later, when my head started working again, I gritted my teeth and growled, "Warnard! DELETE THAT PICTURE!"

But he was already fast on his heels and ran out of the room and jumped out through the window.

"WARNARD!"

•••••...

I was as mad as a hippo with hernia, so angry I couldn't help stomping my feet on the hard floor as I rushed towards the west wing on the third floor. My face was an angry red and contorted with a venomous outburst.

Today, I was sure I was going to commit homicide. And no one could stop my mad splurge.

I headed into the direction of Eric's room when I saw a shadow pass through. Was that Dilylah? I frowned.

I almost forgot she was supposed to meet me here tonight. I subconsciously followed her, thinking about the anonymous intruder Eric was inquiring about a few days back. Could it possibly have been Dilylah?

When I turned around a corner to follow her further, my footsteps abruptly halted; and a horrified scene emanated into my sight.

Dilylah Adwell was lifeless on the floor...No, she was bolted to the floor with big iron nails, penetrating her in arbitrary areas of her body; one of which had pierced through her throat, making her unable to scream. Her body was bathed with her blood as the blood predominantly flowed thickly from Dilylah's chest enveloping her whole body into a crimson smear. In the deem light of the corridor hall it was indecently red, as red as any flower in bloom, but for me that moment would forever be horrifying.

Her heart was gone. Instead there was a deep crevasse encasing her chest, as if someone had dug out her heart out of her chest.

I stood there, trembling but unable to look away from Dilylah's dead corpse. There was a rusty disturbing smell of death in the air and I felt my lungs stuffed with that smell, almost impeding my breathing. I was convulsing and my watery eyes enlarged as the hairs on the nape of my neck bristled. I reach out for the nearest grey wall as my only support since I felt my knees giving out on me.

My senses were so heightened that the corner of my eyes felt something passed by me. It looked like a dark shadow and I couldn't stop from frantically looking around to find anything unusual. Then I saw it. It was just a glimpse, but it was something. Nothing good obviously. Rather it emanated a sinister aura. It was as if a silhouette of a man wearing a top hat. Looked like an umbrella in hand but I couldn't tell clearly. My eyes were as wide as if someone was coming to deliver the fatal blow, my palms were sweaty, and my mind was blank. I was like Dilylah's corpse, bolted to the ground in fear. For a flicker of a second, I think I imagined the top hat man smiling at me. But how could that be, he was but just a shadow. And shadows couldn't smile.

A gaggle of goose pimples laminated my frigid, naked skin while I strained my vocals as hard as I could, but nothing came out. Still, I screamed hoping someone would hear me. Hoping Eric would hear me. My body couldn't take it anymore and it consequently wracked with raw sobs as I shook like a leaf. Fright consumed every cell in my body, swelling them with terror. With every second I practically felt the rise of my blood pressure, but I knew that this was the least of my worries.

I had to call for help. Someone...anyone for help. And since I was petrified to my place with fear, I had no other alternative than to scream. But even screaming was a luxury to me at the moment. With all the force of my body I finally let out a sky splitting scream, for I didn't know what else to do.

TO BE CONTINUED...