entry #17 | нåѕнтåg

━━━━༻ ♠ ༺━━━━

hashtag

00100000

━━━━༻ ♠ ༺━━━━

It was getting late. As they worked, the three had initially spent the time in silence with Reese and (Y/n)'s occasional whispers, fearful of Leon getting angry again. Eventually, he relented, even going as far as heading all the way to the lobby to buy the two drinks.

"Here," he had said, throwing two cans of soda at his partners. Scratching the back of his neck, he looked away as if embarrassed. "It was wrong of me to snap at you guys like that. Sorry."

Reese cradled his strawberry ramune in his hands as (Y/n) did the same with her (f/d). They looked at each other with wide eyes and then at the male before them.

He flushed pink. "W-what? You have something to say?"

(Y/n) raised her hand tentatively. "You know..." she began, holding up her drink. "Reese has this in his fridge. You didn't have to go all the way down to get it, but thanks anyway." She took a sip.

"Shut up!" Leon scowled, suddenly unsure of where to be, where to look. "I-I wanted to get some exercise. Yeah, that's it. Sitting around all afternoon is bad for your body. Especially you, freakshow." He eyed Reese's arm and raised an eyebrow. "Have you been working out at all?"

The red-haired male shot to his feet and shoved up his sleeve. "You can insult me but you don't insult these beautiful guns! Apologize to them right now!"

"Those 'guns'"—she used air-quotes—"Are a part of you, so you're contradicting yourself. And ze—he can't apologize properly to something he can't see."

"You're supposed to agree with me in times like this, (N/n)!" He whined while making vague gestures with his hands. "Look!" He pulled a random manga book from his table and opened it, pointing at the page and shaking it in her face. "Look at this beautiful friendship, where friend A does everything in his power to save friend B from the titans! Why can't you do something like that for me?!"

"My dream is to be buried in a sea of pillows. I refuse to be eaten by a titan. Besides, chivalry is dead."

"Would you at least try to save me if I was being chased by one?!"

(Y/n) finished the last of her drink and placed it onto the coffee table. "Obviously I would," she said matter-of-factly, her face impassive. "What, do you think I'd leave my best friend to be eaten by those...things, assuming they were real."

Grateful tears shone in his emerald eyes. "(N/n)...!"

But of course, she had to ruin the moment. "But I mean, titans only eat humans, right? Why would they bother eating a tomato?"

"Dammit, I should've seen that coming!"

The two bickered on for the rest of the afternoon as Leon looked on, drinking a can of black coffee. He didn't look irritated in the slightest despite his anger a few hours ago. Perhaps it was because they had successfully finished most of the research and did their part. Or perhaps the coffee made him calm down.

Scratch that. Despite his composed features, the black-haired male was actually trying not to spit out the drink. He was too caught up in his group's antics to remember he despised canned coffee. He loved black coffee, but the canned type?

His exact words: "F*ck no." It tasted like burnt coffee beans drenched in lukewarm water.

"I predict there will be a waterspout in exactly two minutes," Reese said out of the blue. His face was grim and his hands were folded under his chin as he sat on the floor. "My weather forecasts are never wrong. It will hit soon. Very soon. Everyone outdoors must come indoors and take shelter."

"What are you talking about?" The (h/c)-haired girl shot him a confused look. "The weather people said it was clear and sunny today."

"Two minutes," he repeated. "One minute and a half. Waterspout incoming—"

The realization hit her and she shoved the male to the side, sending him toppling over with a shout. "If you want to use the bathroom, just go! It's your house anyway, and no one wants to know when you wanna pee!"

"Gah! I get it!" He shrieked. His hands flew up to protect his face as (Y/n) threw cushions at him. "Stop throwing them at me, I'm sorry!" He ran off towards his bathroom before she could, quote-unquote, "induce more brain tumors."

Fast forward to the present time, as (Y/n) and the silver-eyed male sat in an awkward silence while Reese did his business. Without the redhead to start a conversation or tease them, she wasn't sure what to talk about with the boy.

'This is almost more awkward than the time I thought Mr. Grayson was Reese calling me and I picked up using the same tone and greeting I use with Reese,' she thought. 'Thank god Mr. Grayson's a chill guy. What if it was my landlady or even worse, Mr. Brooks?'

She thought of the black-haired teacher who was a soul pulled straight from the deepest circles of hell. 'And of all courses, he just had to teach physics. I guess it could've been worse, like if he took Ms. Richards' position.' The very idea of that happening made her shudder.

(Y/n) couldn't take the silence any longer. "So," she began, fiddling with the keyboard cover of her laptop. "What hall were you assigned to?"

His silver eyes flickered to her for a brief second, as if shocked she even spoke. "Summer," he answered gruffly. She waited for a continuation—anything. But there was none.

'He's almost as good at holding a conversation as my tutor is.' "That means you're pretty good at sports, right?"

"I guess."

'Bro, even I talk more than him.' But if he wasn't going to talk, she wasn't going to force him. She wasn't particularly interested in him, and neither, it seemed, was he in her. 'You can't make people suddenly be friends with you,' she reasoned. 'I'll just play 2048 or something to pass the time.'

She had the 2048 extension installed on her browser. Why?

'Because I'm like that.'

A few more minutes passed and Reese still wasn't back. 'What is he even doing in the bathroom anyway, taking a dump? This is why you don't order so much food at once.' The redhead had ordered five people's worth of curry and cake, not the mention inhaled two bottles of his favorite drink with it. If he wasn't feeling the effects of overeating after all that, (Y/n) would be surprised.

She peeked at the other male from the corner of her eyes. He hadn't moved from his position on the couch with an arm draped over the back. His eyes were locked on his phone and he still had his headphones on, immersing himself in whatever he was doing.

He caught her looking at him and furrowed his brows. "What do you want, pipsqueak?"

"I'm not even that short," the (h/c)-haired girl glowered at him. "You're just too tall."

"Not really," he replied. "It's you."

"Oh yeah? How tall are you then?"

Leon paused and looked up from his phone briefly to the ceiling. "Last time I checked was a year ago. 6 feet, maybe."

"You see?! I'm not short, you're just freakishly tall!"

He shrugged. "6 feet is average."

"Average? Average?" She coughed. "Apologize to all the short people in the world. It's not like we asked to be born this tall! Well, I mean, I like being this tall. I actually can lie down on my couch—but that's not the point! You're a freaking giant, and you won't admit it?"

"I've met taller," was his only reply.

"That doesn't mean you're average! Is everyone in your family on the tall side too?"

Leon stiffened. It almost went unnoticed had she not been looking at him. His hand tightened on his phone and she swore she heard something crack. His face was hidden after his bangs that cast a dark shadow over his features. She couldn't see his expression, but something told her she had stepped on a landmine. Guilt began to settle over her. 'I need to apologize—'

When he next spoke, his voice was low and dangerous. "They are not my family," he said through gritted teeth. "Not people like them."

She remembered something Carmen and Lucinda had told her the other day. 'Isn't his dad that politician? The Matthews guy?' (Y/n) opened her mouth to ask him but seeing that look on his face, she changed her mind. Almost made things worse with my stupidity.

"Sorry," she said finally. Desperate to change the subject and lighten the mood, she tried a different approach. Awkward silences were near the top on the list of things she hated. "Wow, what nice weather we have today! What do you usually do on weekends?"

It had started raining, contrary to what the weather forecast promised. Fake news, she thought bitterly. 'Reporters are fake news.'

She saw the male relax a tad bit. He pushed his ebony locks away from his face. "Games," he admitted. "I dabble a little with them."

"Woah, really?" 'Yay, a way to start a conversation!' "What kind do you play?"

"MOBAs, RPGs," he began ticking a list off his fingers absentmindedly. "Shooting games, strategy games. Depends on my mood."

"I play a little too. Have you heard of KsF?"

Leon finally lowered his phone. "You play?" His disinterested tone was gone, replaced with a mild curiosity.

'A group where everyone's friends with each other means better productivity!' "Yup! Do you?"

"Yeah, I started a year ago. It got too easy after that so I quit."

'I think I just met a pro player.' "It's still pretty popular these days," she said. "Reese introduced it to me the other day."

"Cool."

"Yup." 'At least the silence is no longer awkward,' she mused. Time to crash. "It was a nice talk. I have...things to do now." His only answer was a nod before he lost all interest and closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the couch.

'Darn, he got a head start on me.' She placed her head on the arm of the couch and stared up at the ceiling. She closed her eyes in a vain attempt to fall asleep, but the ticking of Reese's clock and the occasional screeches from his bathroom—'That must be one hell of a dump,' she sweatdropped. 'Or he's playing a mobile game in there'—kept her awake.

Usually, it would be easy for her to fall asleep no matter how loud their friend group was. It didn't matter if Isla was screaming bloody murder at Reese or if Carmen was cackling over one of her cat videos. Nor did it matter if Jasper had two vacuums in both hands and speedily cleaning the houses they crashed at. She could fall asleep anywhere and anytime, especially if it was in an environment she was familiar with.

So why couldn't she now? Was it because Leon, someone she wasn't familiar with, was there? No, she was still able to rest when she first met Keller. (Y/n) didn't think it was just his presence. Perhaps it was the newfound information he gave her, the fact that he did not see his family as his own.

It sparked a familiar feeling in her. And it wasn't a feeling she liked. She remembered that feeling from a decade ago.

She thought she had buried everything in that explosion.

She thought wrong.

As if sensing a shift in the air, Leon's eyes snapped open. He was used to sleeping with one eye open lest some idiot decided to sneak up on him in his sleep. Murderous auras and killing intent were two of the triggers that woke him up easily. And he felt that just now.

He looked around; where was it coming from? Was it the napping (h/c)-haired girl beside him? That was impossible; she looked like she could barely hold her bookbag. Perchance the red-haired creature in the bathroom? He was taking a rather long time, after all. But Reese was anything but evil, and even Leon realized that in the short time he knew the other male. Reese was dramatic, social, friendly, and sweet. He was all of those things, but definitely not capable of harm.

That only left the pipsqueak. He frowned as he discretely observed her from under his eyelashes, his eyes slitted. It wasn't uncommon for those who had a grudge against him to send someone into the school to get at the raven-haired male. Was she one of them?

Leon unlocked his phone and casually angled his body away from her so that she could not see the screen even if she tried. He swiped through his screens until he found a folder hidden in a cluster of other folders, seemingly useless and innocent. He clicked on it, scrolling through the apps until he found the one he wanted.

He tapped it, and immediately a black screen popped up with a white bar at the center. The male entered his password and waited for the app to load. When it did, countless profiles and names ran down the screen in neat rows. A full list of every single student and staff member in Fortuna Institute.

Leon Matthews was unpredictable, antisocial, and burdened with countless dark rumors. But it seems he wasn't just that. He was also proficient with computers.

Hacking into the school system was a piece of cake. Or in his case, a can of coffee.

His mouth still tasted funny from the coffee, though.

Leon scrolled through the records of current Year 11 Autumn Hall students until he found (Y/n)'s. He skimmed through it with a disinterested air. '(Y/n) White,' it read. 'Year 11 student of Autumn Hall. Resides outside of school grounds, entered Fortuna Institute through admissions. Adoptive Father: Aaron White. Adoptive Mother: Paisley White (deceased).'

The list went on and on about her educational background, her grades, and so on. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary and Leon almost smacked himself. There was no way someone like her would ever try killing him. It had to be someone spying on him from outside. He checked Reese's records for good measure. Again, nothing out of the ordinary.

As he pocketed his phone with a sense of relief, he didn't realize he had missed out on one crucial detail. The records listed every student's educational background, from childhood to their current age.

So why didn't it hold any information on (Y/n)'s elementary school?

ROOM:707

━━━━━༻ ❀ ༺━━━━━

αftєяησση

5:20 pm

isssla.myers: so? did you get anything useful (Y/n)?

me: bro did you know he takes a hella long time in the bathroom

me: longer than lucy omg

lucindale: excuse me i need to be perfect

lucindale: i mean im already perfect but even more so

me: you're pretty without the makeup, lucy. you don't need it

lucindale: can i give you a hug right now?

me: i like my bones intact, thanks

parkyercar: hA you were REJECTED lucy!

lucindale: ooh is that your bat i see in my closet? :)

lucindale: i suddenly feel like snapping it in half!

parkyercar: PLEASE NO

isssla.myers: um anyway

isssla.myers: i don't need to know about his bathroom habits

me: ew why would anyone want to know his bathroom habits

parkyercar: lol i know right

isssla.myers: did you finish your project?

me: yep! and i have a surprise for you izzy

isssla.myers: y-you do?

lucindale: awww look at her. she's probably jumping up and down right now

parkyercar: dramatic much

parkyercar: don't kill me i love you isla

isssla.myers: grrr hush

me: so the other day i asked reese to go to the movies with me

me: i have the tickets and everything

me: and all we need now is the perfect date to go with him

lucindale: i like where this is going ;)

me: i mean, bro. why would i go all the way to such a loud a** place?

parkyercar: i know right

lucindale: sweetie, you ARE the loud one

parkyercar: eh?

lucindale: hmm?

me: sooo, izzy. that's where you come in

me: izzy?

parkyercar: isla.ex has stopped working

lucindale: im coming over to do your makeup, isla! carms you're in charge of driving

parkyercar: why? i don't even have my license yet

lucindale: look at your username

parkyercar: is that seriously your only reason

lucindale: have you driven before?

parkyercar: um yea

lucindale: exactly. none of us have so its all up to you carms

parkyercar: uh

parkyercar: ok

lucindale: (Y/n) you're in charge of getting him there

me: was going to do that anyway

lucindale: i was sure you forgot about isla's confession to be honest

me: how could you think so low of me...im sad now

me: kidding i'd never forget something that involves you guys

isssla.myers: i-

lucindale: i can hear you screaming, isla

lucindale: and even though our rooms are next to each other, it's techinically soundproof so im not supposed to hear you

isssla.myers: im not screaming!

lucindale: and your hair isn't purple

isssla.myers: but it is??

lucindale: exactly

isssla.myers: :0

me: holy you're acting like reese

me: it's scary

isssla.myers: rude

parkyercar: omg help

lucindale: what happened now? you got caught drinking?

parkyercar: bish i don't drink

parkyercar: but uh i kinda took the wrong car

me: oh lord

parkyercar: so uh now im kinda being chased. by the cops

lucindale: kinda or you did

parkyercar: i did 😳

isssla.myers: w-what's happening?

me: you, my friend, are not taking them anywhere in a stolen car

parkyercar: i didn't steal it! i swear it's my bro's! he called the cops on me!

lucindale: your family is wack

parkyercar: your dating habits are wack

lucindale: you make me laugh

me: the movie thing starts at seven, so that's a hour and a half from now

me: it's the theater on XXXX street

lucindale: how are you going to sneak away?

me: the good ol bathroom excuse

me: i'll pull a disappearing act

lucindale: have fun with that

parkyercar: good luckk!

me: k gotta go, bye!

~ ❀ ~

(Y/n) logged off before the other girls could respond, as the red-haired male finally left the bathroom. As expected, he was fully engrossed in his game on his phone. He was mumbling something under his breath angrily, no doubt cursing the "noobs" in the game, his emerald eyes locked on the device. Reese had long developed a skill that allowed him to subconsciously avoid obstacles he could trip over while walking with a phone in his hands.

That lucky bastard.

"Ha! F*cking savage!" He cackled evilly as he spammed his fingers against the screen of his phone. "Total wipeout. You can't beat a mythic, you epic noobs! In your face, Lesley. Who were you calling a noob? Leomord hella OP, thank you very much."

Again, she had no idea what he was talking about, but it probably another one of those MOBAs the redhead played. "Reese," she interrupted his tirade. "If we don't start leaving now, we'll miss the movie."

"Movie?" Reese echoed. Leon opened his eyes curiously and glanced at them. Reese's face brightened in realization. "Oh yeah! Movie! We're still going, right?"

"Um, yeah." 'I mean, you're going with Izzy.' "It starts at seven so hurry your lazy a** up or I'll leave without you."

"Okay, okay! I'm coming!" He ran towards his bedroom to change his clothes.

(Y/n) shook her head in amused exasperation and turned towards the black-haired male. "I don't want to kick you out or anything 'cuz it's my fault for not telling you," she said. "But we gotta go now. So, uh..."

"It's fine," Leon pocketed his phone and sat up. "I was going to leave anyway." He stood up, easily towering over her, and made his way towards where his shoes were.

"Oh...okay," she said awkwardly. "We'll see you in school tomorrow then. Bye!"

"Yeah." He stepped into his shoes and pulled his hood over his head. He opened the door and was about leave, but then he paused.

Leon looked back at her. "Tell the freakshow I left," he said hesitantly. "And...I guess the food was good."

And then he was gone.

'Thanks, I guess,' the (h/c)-haired girl shrugged. 'It's not like we made it or anything. At least he didn't completely hate our presence.' Then she paused. 'Uhh...could it be he heard our conversation before about him in the classroom? Oh well.'

Reese ran out of his room a few seconds later. His long red hair was ruffled hazardously, stray locks escaping the ponytail and cascading down his shoulders. His clothes were hastily thrown on, giving the male a disheveled appearance. He wore a simple white shirt with a black collar. Over it he threw on a black jacket with a red hood.

(Y/n) would not call that "cleaned up." She fixed a flat look on the male. "Why is your shirt half-tucked? Why are your clothes wrinkled? Why are you wearing green shoes? I have no fashion sense but even I know that doesn't work."

He threw the shoes across the room and straightened his clothes. "Done!"

She sighed again. She was aging with every sigh she let out because of him. (Y/n) walked up to him and untied his hair. "Your hair looks like a bird's nest," she said. "Seriously, why did God give you this hair when you aren't even going to take care of it?" She knew Lucinda would die to have Reese's hair. Just maybe not the color.

"Eh? You like my hair?" The cursed cinnamon roll chirped. "Okay then, I'll sell it to you. How about a Benjamin Franklin for each strand—"

"I'll strangle you with your hair."

"Sorry, madam."

(Y/n) attempted to retie his hair and then promptly gave up. "Nevermind, you look better with it down anyway."

"You think so?" His eyes lit up eagerly. 'Compliments go a long way for some,' she sweatdropped.

"I guess so. Now"—she spun him around and pushed him towards the door—"We're really going to be late, no joke!"

As Reese put on a decent pair of shoes out of the many crocs he had in his shoe drawer, (Y/n) discretely sent a text to the girls. He's on his way, she told them. 'You guys there yet?'

'Isla looks sooo pretty!' Lucinda texted back. 'I wouldn't let her go home tonight if I was Reese.'

'Woah, send me a picture!'

'Okayyy.'

Isla did look especially stunning that day. Then again, she was always effortlessly pretty. But being surrounded by those three has never made (Y/n) lose her self-esteem. Why?

They had a certain friend named Jasper. Lucinda had a bone to pick with the navy blue-haired male after all the times the guys flirting with her decided to go after him instead.

Jasper made all of them lose their self-esteem as a girl.