I didn't kiss him

Tessa was genuinely confused about why Chaos was asking her to name Alex's friends, but now she understood the reason.

As she thought about it, she realized that she knew the surnames of Alex's friends, except Arthur, which was surprising given that he was Alex's closest friend. Stranger still, she had never heard anyone, not even the teachers, mention Arthur's surname.

It was suspicious.

But that wasn't all.

Arin dipped his hands into his pockets, casually strolling around Tessa. "Principal Orion told the students a few things this morning, didn't he?"

Tessa nodded, still curious about where this was going.

"He also talked about Arthur's death," Arin continued. "Can you remember exactly what he said?"

Tessa tilted her head, thinking hard. After a few moments, her eyes lit up. "I remember. He said there was an incident that took Arthur's life..." Her voice trailed off, eyes widening as she realized something.

"Good," Arin said, "it seems you've caught on."

Tessa quickly turned to face Chaos. "He didn't mention Arthur's full name."

"Exactly," Arin replied. "In a formal announcement to all the first-year students, shouldn't Arthur's full name have been mentioned?"

Tessa was finally piecing it together, slowly realizing that there was more to Arthur than she had ever considered. And the person who could give her those answers was standing right in front of her.

"You know something, don't you?" Tessa asked, staring at Chaos intently.

Arin chuckled, folding his arms. "At least now you understand why he got dragged into this."

Tessa sighed, closing her eyes briefly. Knowing Chaos, she suspected he wouldn't tell her everything, at least not yet. Still, she felt like he would eventually explain it all. There was likely a reason he was withholding information for now.

The silence lingered for a moment before Arin spoke again.

"Don't worry. I always know what to do, and what not to do."

Tessa understood what he meant, and her mind eased. The guilt she'd been feeling melted away.

"I understand," she said softly.

Arin nodded and lightly tapped her shoulder. "So, did you kiss Alex?"

Tessa's face instantly soured. "Tch... I would never kiss that bastard."

Arin raised an eyebrow, surprised by her outburst. "Okay then."

With that, he turned and began walking away, waving at her over his shoulder.

"Chaos..." Tessa called out suddenly.

Arin stopped and glanced back, seeing her nervously fiddling with her fingers and looking at the ground, something she always did when she was anxious.

"Yes?"

Tessa finally raised her head to look at him. "I didn't kiss him."

"Hmm," Arin muttered. "You already told me that."

Tessa nodded, laughing nervously. "Uhm, yeah. I just touched his cheek with my lips."

"Oh," Arin said, "well, that's still a kiss."

"On the cheek!" Tessa snapped, surprising Arin. "A kiss on the lips and a kiss on the cheek are two different things."

Arin shrugged. "Okay, if you say so."

With that, he walked out of the forest, leaving Tessa behind.

"Hmph... he doesn't understand," she muttered, watching his retreating figure.

As usual, she lost track of him; he vanished out of sight, a result of his walking speed and his Extra's Cloak skill. She would have followed him discreetly, hoping to catch a glimpse of his face without the mask, but he had told her to always wait until he was completely gone before leaving the forest.

Once, she had followed him despite his warning, but he noticed, and she hadn't bothered trying again since.

"I'll find out eventually," she muttered to herself.

********

Arin had already removed his mask and was heading toward the Academy dorms. He was eager to explore his new abilities as a Vampire, especially those connected to blood.

"Master, who was that girl?" Seraphine asked. She hadn't wanted to interrupt earlier.

"An ally," Arin replied, keeping his answer short.

"Oh, okay. She seemed to talk a lot about kissing," Seraphine said.

"I guess so," Arin muttered. "And stop asking me random questions during class."

"But why? I've nev—"

"You can ask me anything when I'm back in my room, but not in class," Arin said firmly.

"Okay, okay," Seraphine replied, her tone cheerful.

During Riya's class earlier, Arin had zoned out, not because of the lesson but because Seraphine wouldn't stop bombarding him with questions. "What's the teacher saying? What's that boy writing? I can't believe it, is that girl sleeping in class?"

"Please forgive me, Master," Seraphine said. "I was just curious. There's also an Academy in the Vampire Kingdom."

"I see," Arin said absently.

"There's not much difference between this one and the Academy in the Vampire Kingdom. I used to be a student there," Seraphine said.

"So you skipped class to go to that forest?" Arin asked.

"Not exactly," Seraphine muttered. "We were on a small break."

"No wonder..."

As Arin approached the male dorm building, something occurred to him.

"That reminds me, how do vampires in the Vampire Kingdom get blood to feed on?" he asked.

"Oh, we ha—"

"Arin!"

Before Seraphine could finish, a girl's voice suddenly called out his name.

Arin froze, instantly recognizing who it was. "Oh no... I forgot about her..."