Chapter 9

SCARLET'S POV

I am in a dream. I look around me and sense the familiar aura of the demon. She emerges with that haughty expression on her face. I roll my eyes, dreading what's about to come.

"Don't look so scared. I'm not mad at you. Quite the contrary," she sneers.

"What are you talking about this time?! And by the way, I'm not scared of you!" I fold my arms across my chest, frowning.

"You know you don't intimidate me right?"

"Tch! Just why are you here, exactly?"

"I just had to praise you, you know,"

"What do you mean, praise me?"

"I just find it really funny how you terrified the shit out of the human that follows you around,"

"Shut up! It was an accident,"

"I honestly can't wait for your next encounter. He's gonna be quivering in fear," she continues blabbing on, ignoring me.

"H-he won't do that,"

"He will. That's just how humans are. They're not as open-minded as we are. They get scared of anything,"

I punch her in the face and she tumbles back. I know I screwed up, but I don't need her rubbing it in my face. I walk away from her, desperate to get out of this nightmare. She yells as I move further away from her but I don't bother listening.

***

I ponder over my dream. I now feel guilty about my behaviour towards Adam. Of course, I screwed up. I always screw everything up.

"Tch!" I roll over to the side and think. I want to apologise but I'm too nervous to. And I don't want to do it in school; I'll get too nervous since there are so many people, or he'll probably avoid me.

The guilt wins. I roll off my bed then go to the bathroom and get dressed. I leave my hair the way it is, grab my phone and head out.

In the hall, I use my powers to sense where Adam is. I sense a bunch of random people - some human, some supernatural. I am surprised to sense the majority of the supernatural here are demons. Some are weak, some are strong. However, it doesn't intimidate me - I know I'm the strongest here.

Once I finally sense Adam, I unconsciously speed up until I'm standing outside his dorm. I stand there nervously. I'm too scared to knock on it. I feel like turning back, but the nagging anxiety is making me feel guilty for hurting him and not apologising.

"Tch!" In a fit of anger, I roughly knock on the door. My legs feel like they're about to give way as I wait for the door to open. I keep thinking about running away while I have the chance, but then I'll feel guilty. But I'm also extremely nervous. What if he doesn't want to talk to me?! What if something goes wrong?!

I hear a click, then Adam appears before me. I jump back in fright. I regain my composure then study him. He seems nervous. He doesn't make eye contact; he keeps his eyes glued to the floor.

"C-can I h-help you?" His voice quivers and I feel even worse.

"I just... I just wanted to-to apologise. I'm sorry for choking you again,"

"Apology accepted. And by the way, please don't choke me again." I am shocked to hear how serious he sounds. I now know that I have messed up pretty bad.

"Well, I'll see you in class. Bye." As he closes the door, I impulsively stop him. He looks at me confused. I hang my head, shaking.

"Is there something else you need?" He asks as he opens the door properly.

"A-are we- are we s-still... are we still friends?" I splutter out. My face turns red in embarrassment. I feel scared as he takes a while to answer.

"Yes. But I have one condition,"

"Uhhh..."

"I don't wanna sound rude, but could you try to control your anger? I get that you may have anger issues, but could you perhaps try not to get physical? My neck is not a stress ball,"

"Wait! How d'ya know I have anger issues?! Did someone tell you?!"

"I kinda guessed,"

"How?!"

"Well, let's just say you have quite the reputation here. Also, I've been a victim of your anger,"

"I'm sorry. By the way, what have you heard about me?"

"Just that you tend to get... violent,"

"Why wouldn't I? The people disrespected me. I had to teach them a lesson,"

"You know, not everything has to be solved with violence and anger,"

"Yes it does. It's how you get somewhere in life." He looks at me concerned and I remain serious.

"Let's continue this conversation inside." I instantly feel reassured as I see a smile on his face. He steps aside, and I nervously walk in. I stand there awkwardly, not knowing what to do with myself. He closes the door and approaches me.

"Sit down." I sit down on the edge of the sofa, feeling uncomfortable. I start shaking. I keep my head down, too nervous to make eye contact. I flinch as I feel Adam sit down next to me. I fiddle with my hoodie to keep myself distracted.

"Why are you so nervous? Is something wrong?" He asks. I flinch again and start quivering.

"N-nothing is wrong. Are you sure you're not mad at me?"

"I still am a bit,"

"Fuck! I'm sorry,"

"I know it sounds hard to control your anger, but there are ways of doing so." He gives me his usual big smile. I still don't understand how he can remain so positive after I've choked him twice. I can't help but feel envious. Why can't I be so positive and happy? Why do I have to be sad all the time?

"If there's something wrong with me, then just say it. You're always nervous and shaking around me." He looks at me concerned. I feel embarrassed for having my shaking noticed.

"I-it's not-it's not your f-fault." I curse myself for stuttering.

"What can I do to make you feel more comfortable? Tell you what, I'll get you some cookies." He bounces away into the kitchen and I'm left there. I lean back to try and mask my discomfort. Gosh, his sofa is so comfortable. I feel like I'm gonna fall asleep.

Adam returns, carrying two glasses, some juice and cookies. He places them on the table and brings the cookies to me.

"You should try these. They're amazing." I look at the packet, confused.

"The fuck are these?!"

"What do you mean?"

"They're not cookies. They're biscuits,"

"Huh?"

"Ya know, biscuits,"

"I'm confused. They're cookies,"

"Mate, they're biscuits. Well, in the UK they are,"

"Ooh. But still, they're cookies,"

"Tch!" I frown and Adam giggles. I take one and begin to nibble on it. He's not wrong - they're amazing.

We sit there eating and I look around the room. I spot a bunch of papers thrown to the side. I can make out that it's schoolwork.

"What's with that?" I point to papers scattered.

"Uh, that's my homework,"

"How come it's thrown there?"

"I couldn't be bothered doing it. And I don't know what to do,"

"I'll help." I instinctively my hand up to summon the papers with my powers. Thankfully, I stop myself at the last second. Adam grabs the papers, his bag and a pen then returns to me.

"I'm confused on these." He points to the questions and I explain them to him. He looks confused and I go into more depth, making sure to go slow so he understands. Once he gets the hang of it, I leave him to it. He asks one or two questions and I help.

"Finally, I'm done!" He stands up and throws the papers across the room.

"Woah, careful! You don't wanna ruin it!" I dash to the papers and gather them together.

"I was struggling with this for ages. Thank you so much!" I gasp as Adam throws his arms around me and pulls me into a bear hug.

"Oi!" I struggle to get out of his grasp. He starts laughing at my struggle.

"You're like some genius machine!" Our cheeks are now touching. I turn my head away, blushing. This is too close for my liking.

When he releases me he starts laughing.

"The fuck is so funny?!" I turn my head away so he doesn't see my red face.

"You frown way too much,"

"And?"

"I've never seen you smile, aside from when you laugh,"

"Well, I just don't feel the need to excessively smile. Plus, I can't smile,"

"Why?"

"There's nothing to smile at anyway," I bite the inside of my cheek as I curse myself for oversharing. Adam moves closer to me.

"Then how about I make you smile? If you can't smile at anything, then you can smile at me because I'm so amazing." I facepalm, resisting the urge to laugh. "See? I'm so hilarious, aren't I?" He pokes my shoulder in a teasing way.

"No you're not,"

"I can hear you laughing,"

"Shut up!" He pokes my cheek then freezes. "What?"

"Your cheeks... They're so soft!" He starts to pinch them non-stop.

"Can you not?!" I yell. He ignores me and continues squeezing my cheek.

"I can't. They're too soft!" He's got stars in his eyes as he says this. I frown. "Frowning won't work. It just makes you look even cuter,"

"Me?! Cute?! The fuck?!" He ignores me and keeps giggling. My face turns even redder. "I'm not cute!"

"Yes you are." Finally, he stops pinching my cheek. I rub it angrily.

"What now?!" I ask as he looks at me with his usual smile. He's still got stars in his eyes. I frown and turn away, confused. Why is he looking at me like that? What is so fascinating about me? Never mind that - how is he able to look at me like that? Is he not scared of me anymore?

We talk for a while, and I feel my anxiety shrinking. I don't find myself feeling insecure. I don't wanna get my hopes up, however, because I know that as soon as I leave Adam's dorm it's going to come crashing back down. I push those thoughts out of my mind and focus on our conversation. For the first time since I can remember, I feel good. I feel like I'm being listened to, even though the conversation is not deep. Adam somehow manages to get a few laughs out of me. I surprise both him and myself.

***

The sound of my phone snaps us out of our conversation. I angrily snatch it out of my pocket and glare at the screen - it's a random number. I'm guessing it's a freak wanting me to kill someone for them.

"Who is it?" Adam asks and he comes closer to look at my phone.

"It's just a randomer,"

"Answer it!"

"No,"

"Please! We can prank them,"

"I said no!" Adam jumps in fright. I don't want to answer and have the person ask me to kill someone. Adam would freak out. He is too innocent to know about this.

"I've overstayed my welcome. I should leave now." I stand up and head for the door.

"Wait, no! Don't go! Stay for longer!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't. I have something to take care of." I speed out of his dorm before he can reply. If I stayed for a bit longer I would feel guilty for leaving.

I take my phone out and see the caller sent a message. I knew it - some guy wanted me to eliminate a gang. I ignore the guy. I don't feel like doing this. He keeps spamming me with messages. If he keeps this up, he's the one who is going to be slaughtered.

***

I hide in the school library. I'm too pissed off to be around pesky humans. The demon is being a cunt, and I am getting fed up of her. I go to the hidden area and sense around to make sure no one is here. Once I've confirmed I'm alone, I let my powers loose. My eyes turn red and my fangs pop out. The books on the shelf start the float around me. Ahh, it feels good to let my powers out.

ADAM'S POV

I walk around the library, searching for Scarlet. I know she's in here somewhere - this place is like her territory. I try going near the back. I stop in my tracks when I feel something strange in the air. It feels weird. I don't like this. It feels unsafe. I try to ignore it and continue walking. All of a sudden, the ring that my father gave me feels weird. It feels like it's vibrating and it looks like it's glowing. That's strange. I've had this ring for as long as I can remember and it's never once done anything like this. What's going on?

I finally spot Scarlet and am stunned.

"Uhh... T-The books are floating?!" I splutter out in shock. She looks at my and I catch a glimpse of bright red eyes before a book comes flying in my direction. I throw myself in the other direction. I stumble and run up to Scarlet. I stop when I see that there are no books floating. Everything is in place, Scarlet's eyes are black. The weird vibe in the air is gone. Everything is back to normal.

"What's the matter?" She asks as she approaches me.

"I... Uhhh... The books... The books were floating,"

"What do you mean?"

"They were floating around you!" She turns serious, before chuckling.

"You always say the most weirdest stuff. Books don't float. I think you didn't get enough sleep last night." She walks ahead, avoiding eye contact. "Anyway, did you hand in your homework,"

"...Yeah..." I reply half-heartedly.

"And? How was it? What did the teacher say?"

"Nothing much. She still needs to mark it,"

"I see." I fall silent. I've seen Scarlet's eyes turn red before. I'm sure I'm not hallucinating. Yes, she's scary, but I'm sure I wouldn't imagine her eyes turning red. And I'm sure I wouldn't imagine books floating.

"Hallucinating is normal when you don't get enough sleep. Did you stay up late?"

"Uhh... Yeah, I guess,"

"Then that must be the case. Don't concern yourself with it too much." I find it hard to witness Scarlet being so positive. It's not like her - she's usually so grumpy. But I guess it's a good thing.

"Yeah, your right," I agree with her, however I'm still concerned. I should be taking this more seriously, considering this isn't the first time I saw Scarlet with red eyes.

'I'll research stuff about it after class,' I think as I watch Scarlet inspect the books. Once she's finished, she takes one out of her bag and hands it to me.

"Here's that book you wanted to read,"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Thanks,"

***

"Ugh! This is so stupid!" I lean back in my seat. I don't even know why I'm doing this; it's so pointless. Plus, I'm scaring myself. There are so many stories about things moving by themselves and people encountering ghosts. But, something tells me that this had nothing to do with ghosts. I have met all of Scarlet's cousins - they're very protective of her. If she was possessed, she would have been saved ages ago.

The sound of my phone almost makes me fall out of my chair. I rest a hand on my heart as I check my phone. I'm getting a call from my father. I smile as I answer him. I haven't talked to him in a while.

"Hey, son. How are you?"

"I'm tired. Uni is too exhausting,"

"I know it is. You'll get used to it,"

"I hope so. By the way, how's everyone at home?"

"They're good. Ellie doesn't want to admit it, but she misses you more than she shows,"

"Cuz I'm the best,"

"No, it's because her second eldest brother has now left home. But since Paul and Lola are staying over, she's been doing fine,"

"Tell Ellie I said hi,"

"I will. Anyway, I called because I wanted to know how the job hunting was going,"

"...Not good. I haven't found anything yet. Plus I can't be bothered working,"

"You're going to have to. I can't keep paying for college. You need to start being more independent. You're almost twenty-three,"

"Don't say that. It makes me feel old,"

"How do you think I feel?"

"Hehehehehe,"

"Myself and Paul will help you. You can count on us,"

"Thank you. You guys are the best,"

"Don't worry about it,"

"I'll call Paul right now and see if he's found anything,"

"Alright. I'll speak to you later. Take care,"

"I will. You too. Bye, dad,"

"Bye Adam,"

I struggle to ignore the strong feeling of being homesick as I call Paul.

"Hey, Ads. What's up?" I smile even more when I hear his cheerful voice.

"Why do you call me Ads again?"

"Because you're annoying like adverts are,"

"Leave me alone,"

"Hahahaha. Anyway, how's life?"

"How did you survive uni?!"

"I see you're already struggling,"

"Yes, I am!"

"Hahahaha!"

"I spoke to dad earlier. He wanted to know how my job hunting was going,"

"And? Did you find anything?"

"No. I need your help,"

"You free after classes tomorrow,"

"Yeah,"

"I'll pick you up then we can discuss this face to face,"

"Sounds good. I get to annoy you again,"

"Do you want my help or not,"

"No! I'm sorry. I won't be annoying!"

"That's what I thought. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye you idiot,"

"Bye you weirdo,"

I put my phone down. I still feel homesick. I really miss my family. It's weird not seeing them when I step out of my room. Thankfully, I'm handling this feeling much better than before. I guess I've been distracted with things. Or rather, with someone.

I look at my laptop. I decide to continue researching. I need answers. I have a feeling Scarlet is pretending to act so jolly with me so I don't think about this too much. If that's the case, it has the opposite effect. I know what I saw. I wasn't hallucinating.

***

My eyes open and it takes me a while to adjust to my surroundings. I realise I must have fallen asleep whilst searching. I rub my eyes and stretch. Perhaps I could talk to her cousins about it? They must know something. But would they be willing to tell me?

'Gosh! Since when did I become a detective or something?' I switch my laptop off then throw myself in bed. I'm too tired to change into my pyjamas, so I just throw my clothes on the floor.

***

I'm walking Scarlet to her next class. She seems normal, which I hope is a good sign. I try to talk to her about paranormal activity, but her answers are blunt. I question her further but she starts to get irritated, so I shut my mouth. She stops in her tracks and gives me a serious look as if interrogating me, "Why are you so obsessed with this all of a sudden? Did you watch a horror movie or something?"

"Uhh, no reason. I just saw some videos on the Internet, and they kinda spooked me,"

"Don't concern yourself with them. They're probably staged. People do that for attention,"

"Alright. I'll try not to think about it too much,"

"Good. Don't scare yourself unnecessarily. Instead, you should focus on my wrath the next time you try to touch my cheeks,"

"I can't help it. They're soft,"

"Whatever,"

"My class is here. T-thank you for walking me,"

"No problem." I give Scarlet a big smile and she just rolls her eyes, before disappearing into the class. Now that she's gone, I search for someone who can answer my questions.

I walk into the cafeteria, exhausted. I can't find anyone. It's like they've all disappeared. I spot a vending machine and head towards it. I need chips. However, the machine doesn't want to cooperate.

"Come on. Please don't do this to me." I try nudging, then shaking the machine, but my chips don't budge. "Ugh!"

"You look like you could use some help." I turn my head and spot Jaden. Finally, I've found someone!

"Uhh, thanks. How are you gonna get this out?"

"Watch the master." I watch James as he prepares himself. He looks at the machine with a serious, concentrated look before nudging it. The chips casually fall, along with a drink that was hanging on the edge. I stare in disbelief.

"Woah! How did you do that?!"

"Magic." James hands me the chips and drink. I gladly accept.

"Ya wanna sit with us, mate?" Jaden offers.

"Sure,"

When we find a table, we sit down. I dig into my food. I'm starving.

"Has Scarlet been okay with you?" James gives me a look of concern.

"Yeah, she's fine. I walked her to class just now,"

"Has she been acting up?" Jaden adds.

"No. She was fine with me the whole morning, actually,"

"That's good. Just let us know if something is wrong. We'll sort it out,"

"Um, actually, there is something I'm concerned about,"

"And that is?" James questions.

"Well, I don't know how to put this. I... I've seen something, concerning, and was wondering if you could help me out with it,"

"Sure. What's the problem?"

"Well... I think Scarlet's possessed by a demon," I spit it out rather than hesitating. I don't want to beat about the bush.

"...What makes you think that?" Jaden leans forward with a serious look on his face.

"It's just that... I've seen her eyes. They've appeared to be red at times. A-and I've seen her with fangs. The other day, books were floating all around her, and there was something weird in the air. I can't explain it." I hope the twins don't take me for someone crazy. They give each other a worried look.

James finally talks, "You don't need to worry about that. We've got it covered,"

"So I'm not crazy?"

"Yeah, you are perfectly normal. Just don't bother looking into this too much. It's a family matter,"

"Oh, okay. I'm sorry for being nosy, then,"

"No, you're fine. Just don't do it again, please,"

"I won't,"

"Anyway, we gotta go now. See ya." The twins wave goodbye and leave in a hurried pace. I feel somewhat relieved that what I saw was real, but also quite scared. I don't want to get possessed by a demon.

'Too much craziness. I should just take their advice and ignore it. It's their problem, not mine,'

SCARLET'S POV

I enter my dorm and before I can close the door, I hear two pairs of rapid footsteps running. I look in the corridor and see the twins. I let them in my dorm.

"What's the matter? Why do you look so panicked? I didn't hurt anyone today. Are you proud?" They exchange a worried glance.

"Scarlet," Jaden begins, "It's quite bad,"

"Okay? What is it?"

"It's Adam. He's close to the truth,"

"...What do you mean?"

"He thinks you're possessed by a demon,"

"...Shit!"