Circuits.

'Who else would be in his room!' It felt like electricity coursed through me, realizing there were probably markings on my face too, but it was too late.

I turned my head just in time for the shutters to open, and Zu to be standing on the other side. His face was so close our noses almost touched.

I inhaled sharply, flinching backward and falling into the snowbank behind me.

"Well, your stealth skills could use some work."

Making sure I didn't raise my head, I stayed lying on my back. "Can you wake Finlo up please?" I groaned. 'If it's just him I should be fine.'

He leaned forward on the window sill. "Your voice sounds familiar, do I know you?"

I chuckled nervously. 'Do I just tell him? Or…'

His feet crunch the snow as he jumped through the window and landed outside.

In a panic, I quickly started to cover my face with snow. "I came here to talk to Finlo!" I announced again, a bit louder than I wanted to. Holding my arms in front of my face as he pulled me up to my feet.

"Siya?"

'How did he recognize me?' "H-hi Zu…" 

"I'm glad you're still wearing the pendant, how's that broken rib." He smirked, but I could only partially see through my arms.

"It would be great if you could tell me how it works… My skin started turning grey, and then this thing started glowing and I was normal again. It healed me too."

"Uh… Yeah, maybe inside though?"

"Sure…" I was covered in snow, and as it melted and turned to water it only seemed to become colder and more uncomfortable. 'How did he know about my broken ribs? 

He walked back over to the room and jumped up into the window, brushing his feet off before he finished climbing through.

I did the same, finally turning to see Finlo, casually leaning again his bedframe wide awake. "You were awake the whole time weren't you…" I pouted, more than a little mad at him. "Why didn't you just open the window yourself…"

Zu chuckled nervously as he sat down at a small table. "Sorry, I let my curiosity get the better of me, I should have let him do it."

'He was never really asleep…' "No, it's fine I–" I started muttering. 

"In my defense, I wasn't expecting you to come sneaking over in the middle of the night wearing something like that. I didn't think you two had a thing." 

I wanted to outright deny it, but my breath caught in my throat realizing what it might have looked like. "That's… not… I'm doing the best I can with what I have, don't make fun of the way I dress!"  'an outfit like this? Sure it's tight… But it is still armor, I mean it covers, well, everything… 

"Fine, fine. Although, you shouldn't hide your face like that just because you're embarrassed. It's a bad habit."

I wasn't at first, but the more he talked the more red I became. In the end, I was glad I was covering my face. "It's not really…" I was still mumbling trying my best to string words together. 'Why is he here… This is Finlo's room… Why am I even hiding my face… Arn't their markings on my hands too?' "I–"

Finlo swung his legs over the side of his bed and stomped the ground, interrupting me again and making me flinch. "Let's get this straight right now. We are friends, nothing more, and if you tell anyone otherwise they are going to kill me. She isn't even my type so just drop it."

His voice resonated with a calm fury that I had never heard from him before. I was glad it was finally cleared up but… 'Did he have to say it like that… I mean, I guess it's not like he called me ugly, but not his type? What's that supposed to mean? No, I guess it makes sense, I mean–'

"You tell anyone she was here and you're a dead man…" He looked over at me, and then back at Zu, thinking about the situation. His eyes were so intense they gave me chills.

"That's… A bit far, don't you think?" 'Since when is he so scary…' 

Zu shrugged off the threat, seemingly unphased. "Hey, if that's what you want you got it, I'm already sharing your room, I got your back."

He let out a groan, still on edge. "Siya, why are you here."

I covered my face tighter, my mind jumping back to the reason I came here in the first place. "I need help… Uhm… My skin, and you know things right? So I thought."

Zu slid his chair back and stood up. "I can wait outside if you two want to be alone."

"Zu…!" I growled.

Finlo growled as well, only much deeper and scarier than mine. "Would you quiet down?" He said calmly, grabbing Zu's arm. "And You, you're not going anywhere. I need a witness to say that nothing happened! Or at least make this all less suspicious." His voice started to strain as he somehow managed to yell and whisper at the same time. "Just deal with it."

Zu did as he was told, but by the time everything was settled I was so red I didn't want Finlo to see my face anymore… Especially after he said I wasn't his type, which led me down an unhealthy rabbit hole of thoughts I wish I wasn't having.

"Ok, Siya. What do you need to show me?"

"W-well, when I woke up I had all these black marks all over my body… And I'm worried how everyone's going to react…"

"That explains the armor. Your hands look clear at least, but I can see what you mean on your shoulders. Let me have a look at your face."

I slowly lowered my arms, turning my eyes to look at anything but him.

"Siya… are you ok?"

"Wh-what, I'm not crying am I?" I had heard those words too many times recently to think of anything else.

He narrowed his eyes again, leaning forward and lowering his voice. "No nothing like that. It's just that these lines are from dark magic right? How did you get them?"