"Hmph, what new students?"
She snorted, a response even more dismissive than I'd anticipated.
I stifled a strong urge to facepalm. Her behavior was truly repulsive, yet I had no choice but to ignore it – just as she'd ignored my comment about her V-Card.
Her V-Card... that reminded me of the night she got completely wasted.
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[FLASHBACK BEGINS...]
It happened the night she got too drunk to remember who she was.
She stumbled out of the party, barefoot, her mana aura fluctuating like a broken circuit. Judging from the haze in her eyes and the red flush spreading across her cheeks, someone had either slipped something into her drink—or she'd decided to obliterate her tolerance on purpose.
What ever it was, either way, any of these made sense.
Self-destruction was her go-to when reality didn't conform to her expectations.
Surprised? So did I.
"Kieran, my love~ ♡"
Yes, she sang that. With the heart emoji. And yes, my brain visualized it.
And no, that wasn't sarcasm. That was delusion.
She threw herself into my arms like I was some savior from a fantasy she made up on the spot. Her voice was sweet, childlike, slurred—and wrong in every conceivable way.
Seriously, this was the girl everyone feared?
I studied her flushed face.
Pupils dilated, breath reeking of fae-wine, and a giggle that sounded like glass cracking.
"Uh... Sylvaine?"
I barely caught her before she collapsed into me. Her body felt warmer than usual—radiating heat like a fever. Her face flushed, her breath smelled like half a bottle of fae-wine and fire rum.
This—this wasn't the Sylvaine I knew.
The girl who used to correct professors mid-lecture. The one who could break down a Tier-V incantation in under five minutes with a voice cold enough to frost glass.
This was something else of her entirely. Or perhaps, her defense mechanism.
"Hey hey~! Hehehe... what are you doing, Kiki~? Oh nooo, are you mad at me?" she slurred, poking my chest
"Let's go party, Kiki~! Let's have some fuuunnn~!"
I ignored the childhood nickname. Not because I was above it, but because it wasn't her speaking. It was whatever she'd become when her shield went down.
"Sylvie, are you drunk again?" I asked, while addressing her childhood nick as well.
Redundant question. I already had the answer.
But I asked anyway—to stall, maybe, or just to hear her lie.
"Yeah, so what?" she snapped, swaying slightly.
"You never party with me. Ever."
"Because I like my brain cells," I muttered.
She giggled. Actually giggled. And then whispered, "You're so stiff… maybe you just need to fuck me, huh?"
My blood iced over.
"Excuse me?"
"You never pamper me. You never do anything. If you love me, then show it. Fuck me. Right now."
"I mean it. Like. Properly fuck me. Not just teasing, not just hands. I want the whole thing. Don't you wanna claim your prize?" she said, lips brushing my jaw. "Everyone else has done it already. Do you even know what bragging rights are?"
"No," I said, softer this time. "Because this isn't you. And I don't want a version of you that has to break to want me."
For a second, she stopped moving. Her arms dropped. Her gaze steadied, just a little.
Then she laughed. Bitter. Hollow. Ugly.
"I see. You're being a gentleman now, huh?"
"C'mon! Why not? Everyone else is doing it. Some of the girls even bragged they didn't use protection spells!"
Risky. Short-sighted. Borderline idiotic. But that was her point.
She wanted to be reckless enough to forget whatever she hated about herself.
She leaned in, her voice dropping to a seductive whisper,
"Just do it, Kieran, my love~ ♡"
"Please... take me to bed. I'll make you feel good. I promise~"
Her fingers traced the line of my jaw, then slid down to my neck, her touch surprisingly steady for someone so intoxicated. "I've been good, haven't I? Haven't I earned it?"
"Okay. Look, you're completely wasted," I said, cutting to the case.
"That's the issue here."
She pulled back abruptly, a wild glint in her eyes.
"Oh, I'm making perfect sense, Kiki~ You're just too much of a coward to admit you want me too."
"All those stolen glances. The way you watch me when you think I'm not looking. Don't deny it! I look really sexy in your view, don't I? Praise me~"
She stepped closer, her chest brushing mine.
"This is your once in a lifetime chance, Kiki~ Because my true self is… kinda complicated, y'know. But this self," she gestured vaguely to herself, "this self... it just craves for it. And you can help me. Make it comes true, just for me hehehe~"
"A chance, you said."
"This isn't a 'chance.' It's a nightmare,"
I stated, pushing her back gently. "You'll regret it when you're sober. Trust me."
Her eyes narrowed, the haze briefly clearing, replaced by a flash of genuine anger.
"So you don't want me, Kiki~?" The question hung in the air, sharp and accusatory.
"Is that it? Am I not pretty enough? Not talented enough? Is that why you keep pushing me away? Why do you think I want to be the best at school then?"
"Your looks aren't the problem. Being completely hammered by whiskey is,"
I replied, my voice even. "It's not about what I want. Rather, what's wise."
"Then what is it about, Kieran?" she challenged, her voice rising. "Tell me. Why won't you take what's being offered? Every other guy would fuck me if given chance!"
"I'm not 'every other guy'," I said flatly.
"I don't get involved with people who can't even stand. It's too risky, y'know."
Her lips twisted into a bitter smile.
"Also, just because everyone else is doing it doesn't make it normal," I pointed out.
"And no protection spells? Ridiculous. That's asking for trouble, and definitely not the fun kind."
She grabbed my hand, pressing it against her chest, right over her wildly beating heart.
"Feel that, Kiki? It's screaming. Screaming for you~ So please, make it stop."
Her heart hammered against my palm. She was clearly distressed. But giving in to this was a worse idea than getting into a fight with a dragon.
So... let me ask you, what would be the smartest move here?