4 Pink’s An Obsession

Jotham was waiting when he heard Histoire's soft knocks on his door. It was seven in the morning. Jotham lived in an apartment only ten minutes away from the campus solely out of preference. ÍU's rules and regulations were too much of a pain in his ass. Without factors such as curfews and roommates impeding his work, his apartment studio made his life easier.

"Histoire," Jotham said and moved in to embrace her form. She was tempted to return the hug, her hand unconsciously moving up to touch the soft, pink strands of his hair out of habit. No one needed to be meticulous in order to spot Jotham in a crowd because of his very bright hair. After all, in a world filled with iridescent heads, pink was considered a rare color.

Histoire was surprised he managed to recognize her under the guise she had on. To protect herself from the drizzle and cold, she was clad in a raincoat and had a warm scarf covering half her face. That and the wig and classes would've made it impossible for any other person to realise Histoire was concealed underneath them.

Her main objective was to avoid having people recognize her. She left home and returned early and late because not a lot of people would be on public transport at those times.

Jotham eagerly grabbed her gloved hand and pulled inside, closing the door behind him. The heat of the room enveloped her body and she felt she could sink into the atmosphere. Once she was inside, Jotham wrapped his manly arms around her once again.

"It's been only one measly week, Jotham," Histoire complained as she wriggled underneath his hold. She understood his ostentatious display of satisfaction at seeing her, but it was so much that she was literally suffocating. He was also too tall for her liking.

"I'm expressing how much you mean to me, Histoire. God, you're as callous as always," Jotham replied in a low, disconsolate tone. She pouted, but knew fairly well he was not upset at her lack of affection. She anticipated his next words, the same plea he repeated almost every time they spoke with one another.

She quickly moved on to unzipping her raincoat and let it slide down her shoulders. Everything else followed except for the simple clothes she wore underneath and her contact lenses. Those were not to, under any circumstances, be removed.

"Histoire, all of this is not necessary," he began, motioning to the items she held in her arms. She turned away from the look of disapproval painted on his face. She despised this lifestyle more than he did, and he did not make it any better by expressing his negative feelings towards it.

"I know that already. But I have to put up with it. At least for a few months-"

"No, you don't have to," he said as she walked around him and tossed the items on the couch before she plopped her body down on it as well. He appeared by the door and folded his arms across his chest, leaning against the doorframe.

"You clearly have not heard this yet, but Excelsior has been spending her nights in the girl's dormitory-"

"A Protector? It was just a minor, petty crime. Assigning her to the task isn't necessary," Histoire interjected with surprise. As she had said, Excelsior was an alumni who graduated among the top in her class and went on to become a 'Protector', a job most étranges aspired to have as a dream come true and one that normals could do nothing but admire behind the office desks a majority learned to hate.

"It's not the level of the crime that matters, it's the scale," he began, his voice trailing off as he entered the kitchen, "You aren't the only one who's had a stalker follow them back to the campus."

By now, Jotham had gained Histoire's full attention. She was so shocked that she left the comfort of the couch and followed suit to the kitchen. There she found Jotham having already turned on the kettle and was pouring spoon full lumps of sugar into two coffee mugs.

"I'm not?" She asked and he sighed.

"Yes, it happened to four other girls right after you left. You were just the first. In fact, ÍU suspects these cases to be organized by certain persons," he explained.

"You mean by some organization?" He nodded without turning to face her. Two shivers ran up and down her spine simultaneously. She spoke to nobody who mattered when she attended her classes and was left in the dark about the campus' current state of affairs. She had been avoiding unnecessary human interactions.

"I'm sure it's just a coincidence. At least on my part. With my line of work, I'm bound to have plenty of stalkers in future," she explained to him. While it sounded as though she was trying to convince Jotham, the reality was that Histoire was trying to assure herself that what she said was true.

"I hope you're right. I would hate to have some covert, villainous organization take you hostage," he said. Histoire nodded and brought a broad smile onto her face. He couldn't help but return it. However, the smile immediately dropped as he handed her her mug when he was done and he caught sight of her bruised fingers.

He almost dropped his mug and placed it down on the table, grabbing her hand. He turned it over and looked at the place where he nails were supposed to be.

"What the hell is this?" He almost yelled, his voice filled both anger and concern. Histoire immediately withdraw her hand and turned around to avoid his eyes.

"Did you do this to yourself, Histoire? Again? You promised you would stop." He was disconcerted. Her heart dropped to her stomach and a cavity grew in her chest.

"Let's not discuss this now, Jotham... and don't even think about reporting this to Íroas' Superpower management team, either!" She half heartedly muttered the first part and half shouted the second when it crossed her mind that he would act on his own.

"Histoire, they fixed your eyes. If you consult them I'm sure they can fix-"

"Enough, Jotham! Leave them out of this!" She yelled, suppressing her tears while he could not see. She heard Jotham sigh behind her.

"Fine. Just... promise me you won't do it again..." She nodded frantically and turned around to face him again with another but forced smile.

"Now, let's get down to business."