Page 9

Absolutely not.

There was no way in hell that the four vampires who had been lurking around, causing trouble, and basically acting like the rulers of the school were now in her homeroom.

And yet—there they were.

Calixto leaned lazily against the teacher's desk, clearly enjoying the tension their presence created.

Silas stood beside him, straightening his tie with an annoyed expression, his sharp brown eyes scanning the classroom like he was picking out prey.

Adrian looked the least interested, stuffing his hands into his pockets and shifting his weight like he'd rather be anywhere else.

And then there was Azul.

Y/N clenched her jaw as his sharp blue gaze swept over the room before landing on her.

His expression didn't change. No flicker of recognition, no acknowledgment of last night's events—nothing. It was like she didn't exist.

Which was fine. She didn't care. Not even a little.

The teacher, Mrs. Holloway, sighed, rubbing her temples as if she was already tired of their presence. "Alright, listen up. We have four new transfers joining this class permanently. You've probably already heard of them, but I expect you all to behave like civilised students."

A murmur rippled through the classroom.

Permanently?!

Y/N immediately turned to Julia and Aisha, eyes wide. "What the fuck?" she whispered.

Julia, ever the chaos enthusiast, just grinned. "This is so much better than whatever class I thought we were having today."

Aisha, however, looked much less amused. She crossed her arms. "Why would they transfer in now?"

Y/N had no idea. But whatever the reason, it wasn't good.

Mrs Holloway clapped her hands, silencing the class. "Take your seats, boys. And before you ask—no, you're not all sitting together."

Calixto's smirk widened. "Aw you wound me, Miss Holloway."

A few girls giggled.

Mrs Holloway shot him a glare. "You. Sit by Andrew."

Calixto groaned but didn't argue, strolling toward his assigned seat.

"Silas, you're next to Candis."

Silas just nodded, before moving toward the back.

"Adrian, you're by Leo."

Adrian didn't react, just quietly slid into his seat, looking bored.

And then—"Azul, you'll be sitting.." Mrs. Holloway scanned the room before settling on the empty desk directly next to Y/N. "..there."

Y/N's stomach dropped.

No. No, no, no.

NO.

She wasn't even given a chance to protest before Azul was already walking over, expression unreadable. He lowered himself into the seat beside her with an effortless grace that was honestly unfair.

Julia nudged Y/N under the desk, barely suppressing her laughter.

"Shut. Up." Y/N muttered, refusing to look at Azul.

Julia leaned in, whispering, "This is fate..!"

"This is bullshit.."

★

She could feel Azul's presence beside her—cold, distant, sharp. He didn't acknowledge her, didn't glance her way, didn't say a single word. Which should have been a relief.

So why did it feel so suffocating?

Mrs. Holloway continued with the lesson, but Y/N barely heard a word. Her mind was spinning; it was impossible to focus when they were sitting right there.

The Four. The Bloodsuckers. The Walking Corpse Squad.

Okay, maybe that last one was a bit dramatic, but still.

Why were they here?

What did they want?

And more importantly—Why the hell did Azul, out of all people, have to sit next to her? Or maybe she was being overdramatic. She exhaled sharply and risked a glance at him.

Still nothing.

He was focused on the lesson, his posture stiff but composed, like he was actively ignoring her existence.

Fine.

Two could play that game.

Y/N straightened in her seat, determined to pretend he wasn't there, even if her entire body was hyper-aware of his presence.

The tension between them was suffocating as the lesson dragged on.

Y/N tried—really tried—to focus, but the air around her felt charged, heavy. It didn't help that Azul was completely, infuriatingly, ignoring her.

Which would have been fine if she weren't hyper-aware of him.

The way his fingers tapped lightly against the desk in slow, rhythmic motions.

The way his posture was so controlled, so still, like he was made of marble.

And worst of all—the faint scent of something sharp and cold, like rain-soaked earth, clinging to him.

She hated that she even noticed.

★

Julia, of course, was absolutely no help. Every few minutes, she would steal glances at Y/N, wiggling her eyebrows or biting her lip to hold back laughter.

Aisha, ever the responsible one, was actually paying attention to class—but Y/N could tell even she was a little unsettled by their new classmates.

When the bell finally rang, Y/N all but shot out of her chair.

Nope, not doing this. Not today.

Unfortunately, the universe hated her. As she turned to leave, a cold hand suddenly grabbed her wrist. Her breath caught. Her mind immediately jumped to every cliché vampire novel ever.

Oh God. Is he about to say something cryptic? Something dark and foreboding?

His icy blue eyes bore into hers, as she cautiously turned to face him, a plain expression yet one hiding the immense tension within her.

His grip was firm but not painful. He parted his lips slightly—and then, in the most serious, grave voice imaginable, he muttered:

"You dropped your pen."

Y/N blinked.

She stared at the black pen in his other hand.

Then back at him.

Then back at the pen.

"Are you serious?"

Azul looked mildly impatient, raising an eyebrow. "Do you want it back or not?"

Y/N snatched the pen from his grasp, her eye twitching. Julia in the cornerlost it. She had to physically turn away to keep from howling. Even Aisha coughed to cover a laugh.

Y/N groaned, shoving her pen into her bag and storming off, ignoring the way Azul just stood there, completely unbothered; and begging internally that her friends would follow after because she was not going back in there.

Julia quickly caught up, nearly bouncing with excitement. "For a second I swore he was about to say something broody like 'stay away from me if you value your life'—"

"Me too..!" Y/N threw up her hands. "I was ready for some cryptic dark message, and then—'you dropped your pen?'—girl bye.."

Aisha sighed, shaking her head. "That's what you get for expecting drama. Not everything is a gothic novel, Y/N."

Julia grinned. "Butwe have vampires at our school now. How much more gothic could this story get."

As Y/N stomped down the hallway with the two, she could almostswear thatshe heard Azul chuckle behind her. A quick glance from her peripheral view where she saw the four of them grouped by him watching as she walked away.