Ch.18: Truth Reveal

Finally, Alice had enough and pushed Malik away, but this move of hers managed to aggravate her wound. Her face flashed a grimace of pain.

"Are you okay? Did your wound re-open?" asked Malik, concerned for Alice's health, but she had enough of his presence.

"While I appreciate the concern, please leave. I would like to speak with my friends." Displeased that Alice was pushing him away again, Malik wanted to retaliate but decided against it.

"Okay, but don't think that I've given up." A pair of lips kissed Alice's forehead before he rose from his seat.

"Glad to see you again, Alice and Alice's cute friends~!" Jasper threw a friendly wave at the girls, eyes lingering a little longer on Lisa before following Malik out of the room.

"Hopefully, by our next meeting, you'll have an answer to my proposal. I'm happy that you are safe and sound." Ethan flashed Dia a small smile, catching Alice by surprise before leaving the room and closing the door after him.

"How do you know Ethan?" Alice curiously asked .

"He was a damsel. Dia saved him, and he fell head over heels for her at first sight," Lisa dramatically summarized, to her best friend's embarrassment.

"Lisa!"

"What? That's basically what happened!"

"I'm happy to see you two are happy and well!" smiled Alice before she turned somber. "Please allow me to apologize-"

"Stop! Alice, you stop that!" Lisa sat down on the bed, pointing a firm gaze at Alice. "Don't you dare apologize and try to feel sorry for something that's not your fault!" berated Lisa.

"But-!"

"No buts. Besides, we've got bigger problems, like Dia being a witch." Lisa pointed her thumb at a sheepish Dia.

"She's a what?!" exclaimed Alice with wide eyes, setting her sights on the shy girl.

"Yeah. I'm a witch. Surprise?" Dia held up Lilith, who blinked her big eyes at the injured short-haired girl.

"Wait! Wait! How long have you known that you're a witch?" Trying to regain her bearings, Dia could see that questions filled Alice's head, listening to when the other recite the same speech she had told Lisa.

After her explanation, taking note of the speechless look Alice shot the pigtailed girl, Lisa decided to pitch in.

"I know, sounds like something straight out of a fantasy book, right?"

"I mean, the part of you being a witch is not that shocking to me. It's the fact that you never knew. Witches take their ancestry very seriously. Forgive me for asking, but your mother never once mentioned who she really is?"

The somber expression that crossed Dia's face made Alice regret her question.

"My parents died when I was seven."

"B-But what about your aunt? Shouldn't she have told you?"

Di shift uncomfortably in her seat. "You're right. She should've told me, but it seems both her and my brother have been keeping secrets from me."

"Dia," Lisa warned, watching the other sigh before nodding her head.

"But they must have their reasons, so until I talk with them, I'll try to keep my feelings in check and not jump to conclusions."

"That does sound like a good idea, but if you're a witch, that means you'll have to start attending Night Class," said Alice, which triggered Dia to remember the question she wanted to ask the other girl.

"Oh, so I met the Headmistress of this school, and she told me something similar. What is this so-called Night Class, and why am I just now hearing about it?" asked Dia.

"On the outside, Arcane may appear as a normal school, but in reality, it's anything but. As yesterday night has shown you, not all the students that attend here are human, but not every student is aware of this detail. Only a small percentage. Like the 'Gifted Students', and those who are in an allegiance with them."

Getting themselves comfortable, both Lisa and Dia took a seat as they listened to Alice's explanation.

"Unlike day classes, night classes are kept secret from regular students. Their purpose is for the new generation, those involved in the other world, to coexist and maintain the balance that has been upheld since the war ended two hundred years ago."

"So other than vampires, what other races exist, and how are they identified?" asked Lisa.

"The list for supernaturals is long, but the vampires and werewolves are ranked at the top. Every nonhuman attending Arcane is in the 'Gifted Students' category, and the color of their uniform reflects their race. Red and black for vampires. Gold and black for werewolves. Blue and white for witches. Pink and white for fairies. Black and gray for the hunters."

"Hunters? Didn't one of those vampires from the other night call you that?" recollected Dia.

"At the moment, I'm only a huntress-in-training and not an official huntress," Alice cleared up the confusion.

"Hunters are just regular humans put through strenuous training whose goal is to protect the human race and make sure no supernatural being breaks the rules that were put in place when the two sides, the hunters who acted on behalf of the human race and the leaders of the supernatural race, first forged an alliance."

"You learn about the supernatural world and its creatures by attending night class, such as their weaknesses, strengths, and how to combat them."

'Hold on. Alice said all nonhumans are 'Gifted Students' and those whose uniforms are red and black represent that they are vampires.'

Flashes of memories of when she first met Ethan in the classroom and outside on the school bench came to mind. Mainly his uniform, which was worn by 'Gifted Students,' and its color theme.

Dia's eyes widened as she began putting the puzzle together and pondering more about Ethan. Particularly that night when she saved him, feeling that something about her memory was off as if someone had tampered with it. But the more she focused on that night, a sudden sharp pain shot through her head, and she winced.

Gripping her head, Dia faintly heard her friends and Hime calling her name, but like a broken movie tape being put together again, she began to recollect memories of what 'actually' happened that night.

Such as the way Ethan's eyes bled red, jaws ripped wide, showing off those scary protruding fangs, and the pain and pleasure she felt when his teeth stabbed into her neck and he drank her blood.

"He's… a vampire." Dia's emotions were confused, not knowing if she should feel angry that he kept this a secret, hurt by him tampering with the privacy of her mind, or betrayed 'cause a part of her began to ponder if he genuinely liked her or was it just for her blood?

"Dia, what's wrong? Sweetie, why are you crying? You gotta tell me something?" Lisa cradled Dia's heartbroken face in her hands, wondering what could have caused such a sorrowful expression in her best friend's eyes.

"Does he truly like me?" Dia asked herself more than Lisa, recalling those happy feelings she felt when encountering Ethan in the hallway and how her heart warmed whenever he asked her out and called her cute. This meant a lot to her, as boys rarely came onto her as Ethan did.

Lisa was always the one to attract the cute boys while Dia would be forced to watch them ignore her and focus all of their attention flirting with her best friend. It was an awkward experience for her, but overtime she learned to accept it and not be so hurt by it. Besides, if a boy ever treated her rudely, Lisa would immediately break things off but before giving him a piece of her mind.

Actions like those made Dia value Lisa so much as a friend and would not let her insecurities tear them apart. So though she never mentioned it out loud, she knew she was very much attracted to Ethan, but now her heart was about to be crushed because she couldn't help but second guess his actions.