A Fool's Guide to the In-Between [A Twisted Wonderland Fanfic]

Chapter 14

"Azul~"

The young dorm head looked up from his contracts, frowning when he saw Y/N poking her head in through the doors to the VIP room. 

It was strange to see her without the Leech twins, even to Azul who saw the three of them more than anyone else in the school. It seemed as though the twins had adopted her as their unofficial triplet. The former Leech twins were now the Leech triplets. 

"What is it, Y/N," the boy asked, drawing another tally mark on a piece of paper with his fishbone quill. 

"Do you know what today is~" she asked, striding up to Azul's desk and taking a seat on the edge. She smirked when she noticed that Azul was filtering through his contacts, sorting certain ones into another pile to the side. With each golden contract he pulled from the pile, another tally mark was drawn on the pad next to him.

"Yes," Azul said simply. "How did you do on your exams, angelfish?"

Y/N grinned. "Top twenty-five," she purred. "It seems that all those long study nights you forced me into had a beneficial outcome." She pulled out a coin and flipped it between her fingers, focusing on the sensation of the cold metal flipping over each knuckle as it ran back and forth.

"And the twins?"

"Right above me," Y/N reported.

"Good," Azul said. "I can't have my own elite slacking off and doing worse than those who struck a deal with me." He glanced up from his contracts and grinned. "I suspect that we will be having some visitors soon. Join Jade and Floyd in the lounge. They'll need all the help they can get."

Y/N nodded and leaned over the desk. She pulled Azul's hat up and kissed him on the forehead. Azul's cheeks turned rosy as he froze, watching as Y/N's body disappeared from his desk. She was always affectionate with those around her, he had learned that quite early on, but it still shocked him every time she showed him affection. 

Y/N appeared in the lounge and quickly noticed Jade and Floyd conversing quietly by the bar. Jade was working on cleaning out one of the glasses, while Floyd was sitting on a barstool on the opposite side, fiddling with one of the poker chips that he and Y/N had been playing with just a few nights before. 

"Ah, N/N," Jade said as he noticed the girl approaching them. "Did you speak with Azul?"

Y/N nodded and took a seat beside Jade, flipping her coin up into the air. "Uh-huh. So, how long until the... purr unfortunate souls arrive?" She twirled around in the seat, her newly dyed h/c and teal hair spinning around. It had been Jade's idea to dye her hair, removing the old colour and replacing it with something that could tie her to her new position in Octavinelle. She had, of course, agreed. 

"They should be arriving soon," Jade said, glancing up at the clock that hung above the bar. "The results were posted just a little while ago."

Suddenly, the dorm started to shake and the three turned towards the entrance to Mostro Lounge with identical smirks on their faces. It seemed as though the anemones had done their jobs. 

In a matter of moments, the lounge was full. Students of all different houses and years filled the main floor of the lounge, leaving the raised section for the four Octavinelle elite. Azul stood in the middle of the group, Jade and Floyd on either side and Y/N sitting on one of the tables closest to the edge. All were pleased with the result that had come from the exams. But with the lights in the lounge dimmed, no one could see the four silently watching the two hundred students that had fallen victim to Azul's contracts.

"Y/N," Azul said.

Y/N smirked and disappeared from the table. She reappeared next to the light switch and flipped one, allowing a spotlight to shine on Azul, stunning the newcomers into silence.