Scent of Blood [Lesbian Story]

Collateral

“Janitor.”

Michelle kept to herself, her heart on fire from disbelief as she heard Athena – the beautiful blonde she saw nearly dead last night – whisper as she sat on the empty desk beside her. With each passing second, Michelle found it hard to breathe as her heartbeat rang in her ears while her surroundings died down as if it was just the two of them in a room of forty or so students.

Athena did a quick sweep of the room, the stench already nauseated her as a few guys tried to get her attention, but she brushed them off. Even though she still needed to recuperate from yesterday’s… mishap, she could not afford to skip the second day of her school. Although in truth, she was not there to learn one plus one equals eleven.

She had other plans in mind.

“How are you?”

Athena kept her head on the board as her eyes slid to the far edges of her eye sockets as if to get a glimpse of the janitor. Still shivering inside with so much uncertainty, Michelle waited for an answer out of her, but Athena did not respond. “Hey, how-“

The bell rang and muffled her soft whisper. The room stood and left for the next class as a few girls and guys alike surrounded Athena like flies on top of garbage. Athena groaned mentally as she walked past the circle that surrounded her, her nose already clogging from their abhorrent scent – all of which she despised.

“What a bitch.”

Athena did not care what they thought of her or anyone in particular. She was there for a reason, but the reason was something forced upon her. Ears plugged, she walked out the hallways as she eyed it from end to end; students in green, like frogs, converged together and ran their mouths like machine guns with unlimited ammo.

Their stench irritated her with every fibre in her being and as she rounded the corner, she felt herself touched from behind. She stopped and waited for what would happen; a tall, brown-haired girl with hazel eyes stood in front of her, arms crossed with a million-dollar smile plastered across her face.

Athena examined her; hair in a half pony with the prefect badge pinned on her breast pocket. Her stench was different – a good kind of different – but when she stopped her from walking, it got on her bad side.

The tall prefect did a motion of removing invisible earpieces from her ears, which told Athena that she should do that. But she was not one to obey orders, so she refused and just kept staring the prefect down while the people around her disappeared into their classes just before the bell rang.

“Well,” the prefect mouthed as Athena just kept staring at her indifferently with her piercing blue gaze that should have hinted at the prefect that she would not budge. “I guess you better come with me to the counsellor’s office.”

Athena mentally groaned as the prefect pointed the way with her arm and tried to hold her by the shoulder. Athena did not like being touched and had her hand in her pocket, already feeling the small dagger in it as if vexed by the presence of the prefect.

She wanted to jab her right in the abdomen just for stopping her in the hallway, but she held her anger in whilst she gripped on the handle of the dagger inside her pocket. Unable to contain her vex, she waited for her to touch her before she attacked.

“There you are!”

The prefect retracted her hand as she turned to where the call came from. Michelle took deep breaths as she approached the two; Athena removed her grip on the dagger as she studied the janitor as she approached her. Something was different from her too, although this one was far more… mysterious than the prefect was.

“And you are?” The prefect queried as she eyed Michelle, who caught her breath.

“I’m Michelle,” she replied as she stiffened her body and met the prefect’s hazel eyes. “She’s new here and I lost her whilst showing her around.” She continued whilst furrowing her brows on Athena, who remained silent for the rest of the conversation.

“New?”

“Yeah, she just got here late last night.”

“Alright, I’ll let you both off for now.” The prefect replied as she smiled at the two of them.

“Thank you and I’m sorry about this.” Michelle apologised as she held Athena by the wrist and led her round the corridor before she let her go. “What were you thinking?”

Athena merely stared at her as she matched her pace and clamped the bridge of her nose briefly as if she could not believe what she smelt. Amused, Athena stared at her and studied her features; she had slender body that could be mistaken for an athlete with her toned legs, her long, red, silky hair flowed flawlessly behind her as wind blew a low breeze and gently sent each strand in the air, telling her that her how soft it was.

Her amber eyes sparkled as her heartbeat tuned down – one that Athena could hear from the way she took in air into her lungs. She examined her thoroughly from the tip of her nose down to the very sneakers she wore. Michelle on the other hand, had a lot of things in her mind.

She just lied straight up to a prefect and her mind remained uncertain as to why she just had to find Athena. When she ignored everyone who tried to talk to her, Michelle thought that maybe this was not the same person from yesterday.

But somehow, she could not forget those piercing blue eyes. As if it drew her to Athena. Why, though, she could not say for sure.

“We’re here.”

Michelle turned to Athena, who stared at her indifferently with her piercing blue. Michelle felt a little shiver in her spine at Athena’s stare, but turned around and slowly turned the doorknob.

The teacher noticed their arrival and eyed Athena carefully as Michelle returned to her seat. Athena eyed the teacher and thought of what to do, unsure whether to just glare him down, but it looked like it would not work from the way he had his brows furrowed at her.

This is bullcrap.

With a heavy heart and annoyed mood, Athena managed to speak with her head slightly lowered, “I apologise for the tardiness,” but it took everything in her not to take a knife out and stab the man in white shirt.

Never in her whole life had she bowed to anyone and apologised. It irritated her and made her blood boil as she lifted her head, then met his gaze that only made her tick inside as he shook his head.

“I’ll let you off for now,” the teacher sighed as he dismissed her. “Take your seat.”

Not a second later, Athena passed through the class and sat on the empty seat in the back, right next to the janitor. Soft whispers erupted around them, most of which made fun of Athena and talked bad behind her back.

As Athena listened to their petty gossip, she felt a fire burn inside her as if she wanted to slice every single tongue that talked about her. But that was not why she was there; she had a different reason for being there.

“You alright?”

Athena turned her sharpened gaze to the culprit of her fire. Michelle locked eyes with Athena as she felt a huge guilt overcome her for embarrassing her like that. She did not mean for Athena to do such a thing and now she was the topic of gossip in class.

Turning away, Athena acknowledged Michelle’s question with a nod and attuned herself to the silence of the class. Michelle sighed in relief as she tuned in on the class, despite the lingering questions in her head. There remained a dozen questions for Athena, but Michelle did not bother anymore.

Three classes had gone by and lunch had come at last. Michelle looked forward to lunch, aware that there would always be something interesting happening there. But somehow, she felt compelled not to attend today’s entertainment hour.

Athena felt disgusted as she turned to the exit just as Michelle saw her, but she did not want to see her at all. After what happened in first period, Athena had an itch in her hand; the want to strangle someone dead grew strong inside her, but she did not want to add more strain to what she already felt.

Her wounds were fresh and it would take a while before she could actually recover. This would leave a massive scar, she thought as she walked towards the outdoor bleachers with just as a few people running in the field. Plugging her ears, Athena leaned back and stared at the sky, then let out a deep sigh.

“Not hungry?”

Why is she everywhere?

“About first period…”

Can you just get lost?

“I’m really sorry about what happened.”

If you’re sorry, you would leave me alone.

Michelle felt utterly guilty as Athena ignored her as she apologised to her. She sat beside her and accepted the silence, she was certain that Athena would not forgive her, but even she remained uncertain as to why she had the urge to take her to class.

“I really didn’t mean it,” Michelle repeated, guilt overtaken her.

“Stop apologising,” Athena finally responded, her eyes on Michelle. “s**t happens.”

A small warmth enveloped Michelle’s heart and elicited a small smile from her lips. Athena noticed her smile and under the warm autumn sun, it looked very beautiful. Her amber eyes sported a few strands of gold and made Athena feel a tingle inside her, which she dismissed as hunger.

“Want some?” Michelle offered as she showed Athena a small Tupperware of cut apples, strawberry, and grapes.

“I’ll pass,” Athena replied as she returned her gaze to the open football field, but her stomach growled loud – enough for Michelle to hear. With a soft giggle, Michelle took a plastic fork and poked a slice of apple.

“Here.”

Athena turned to her and found her lips moistened from an apple slice next to it, offered by Michelle. Athena looked at Michelle then at the slice of apple on a fork, then back at her; Michelle smiled and waited patiently for Athena to take it.

Athena thought of refusing and was about to look away, but her stomach spoke otherwise. Michelle smiled wider in an attempt to hide her laughter, her eyes on Athena as she took the whole apple and looked away immediately as if to hide her face that seemed red from embarrassment.

“Thanks..” Athena spoke involuntarily after she chewed the whole piece.

“Want some more?” Michelle offered as she scooted closer to Athena, who moved an inch away from her.

“No, that won’t b-“

Another loud protest erupted from Athena’s stomach, which irritated her and at the same time made her angry. Michelle merely giggled at her and found her cute. Athena looked away as she tried to hide her vex, but Michelle already poked another fruit and offered her.

“Let’s share,” Michelle spoke and caught Athena’s attention as she slowly met her gaze. Her beautiful amber eyes met hers and she could not understand the heat it gave out. Was it just the autumn heat? Athena did not understand, but nevertheless took Michelle’s offer.

For ten minutes, the two of them ate together; Michelle gave her another plastic fork and ate in silence, whilst they watched cars drove by in the distance. The warm breeze blew past them as the last piece of strawberry remained in the Tupperware. They eyed each other for a brief second before Athena stood up, pocketing her hands in her blazer’s pocket.

“Guess, last one’s mine,” Michelle spoke as she took the last strawberry and held it up to her mouth. But before she could even put it inside, Athena bit it off the fork and swallowed it immediately. “Hey!”

“Payback,” Athena spoke as she descended the bleachers whilst Michelle just watched her. “For first period.”

“I thought you already forgave me for that.”

With a soft groan and short frown, Michelle rolled her eyes as she packed up and followed Athena back to the school building. The bell was about to ring soon and they were still far from their next class. Michelle felt a little miffed about the last strawberry, unsure if she should ask Athena for a replacement. Well, I did embarrass her during first, so fair’s fair?

Athena stopped abruptly as she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Michelle examined Athena as she halted her steps whilst rummaging in her knapsack for a tissue. Athena took her phone out and checked her message, aware that a new target needed a good knife in the stomach.

Target: male; 6’1 able-bodied; raven-hair w/ grey eyes; mid-forties

Reference: Tyler Linde, Teacher

Location: Avian James Academy

With a raised brow, Athena heard the bell ring, which meant she ran out of time to scope her target. Although there was a picture, Athena naturally did not need it. It was odd though; she never got a target within the same proximity as her because of the danger of her getting caught would be tantamount.

She replied;

‘Proximity’

‘100 meters’

‘Collateral Damage’

‘Permitted’

‘Escape route’

‘Security already under control’

‘Clean up’

‘Ready for dispatch’

‘Affirmative’

It all seemed odd to Athena, yet she complied. Her target lie just a hundred meters of her which was not that far. Michelle held her by the wrist and led her to the classroom, which caught Athena by surprise and eventually irritated her. Michelle did not want to go through the ordeal of embarrassing Athena alone, but if she was going to be late, might as well be late together.

“The bell rang if you haven’t noticed.”

Athena jerked her hand back which made Michelle turn to her and met her piercing blue gaze. Athena examined Michelle, unsure what to do with her. She obviously irritated her, but she was unsure just how to get rid of her.

“Come on,” Michelle sighed as she pulled on Athena’s wrist again, which invariably aggravated her every time she touched her. Athena does not like to be touched. “If you’re going to skip, I might as well do.”

Amused by her response, Athena tilted her head slightly as Michelle let go of her and they both fell in tandem as Michelle led the way to the Janitor’s closet. Athena studied her, wondering why she suddenly suggested that. But before she could find an answer, Athena smelt something in the air as they rounded the corner – something she could not forget; it was her target.

Michelle unlocked the door and inside the senior janitor sat with newspaper in hand. He got up in surprise of seeing Michelle before the end of school. Michelle smiled at him and he returned the greeting, but still uncertain why they were there whilst class was in session.

“Michelle? What can I do you for?” Mr. Branforth asked as he hugged Michelle briefly, then took her in at an arm’s length.

“Hey, Mr. Branforth. Just need to pass the hour.” Michelle replied as she tried not to lie to him.

“Are you skipping?” He queried further with a raised brow.

“Technically,” Michelle spoke as she looked at Athena, who remained silent and studied them indifferently with her sharpened gaze. “We are skipping.”

Branforth eyed Athena and immediately felt a tense atmosphere around her, he could not understand why, but somehow he just did. Athena locked eyes with him and she noticed something odd with him; she increased her breathing silently and caught his scent, which made her realise something.

“Well, I guess you can stay here until the hour is over.” He spoke as he turned around and felt a cold shiver graze his spine as he resumed reading the news. Michelle sat on the metal stool adjacent of Branforth while she took a book out to read.

Athena leaned against the empty wall and plugged her ears, cranking up the volume as she enjoyed the sweet strings of the violin. Hands in her pockets, head hung low, eyes shut; Athena took slow shallow breaths as if she wanted to inhale everything slowly, trying to determine where her target was.

As she tried to locate her target, she felt her arms stung inside her blazer as if they would bleed again. The pain she felt physically was nothing compared to the shame she brought herself; her inability to finish the fight early last night was not something her clan tolerated.

Kill or be killed, Athena. You don’t have a choice.

These words rang in her ears as she clenched her jaw whilst slowly lifting her eyelids, anger obviously built up in her. Michelle checked the clock on the wall and as she turned around, she noticed how tight Athena’s fists were. She looked into her eyes and under her blue gaze, she noticed something bothered her.

“You okay?”

Athena slowly shot Michelle her gaze and looked into her amber eyes that showed worry and concern over her. They stared at each other for few more moments until the bell rang and told them that they could leave for the next class. Michelle smiled at Athena, who felt a tingle inside her as she stared at her smile, radiant and warm.

Emotions are a weakness, Athena. You have to let it all go.

Athena exited the room as she recalled the words of her mentor, not even bothering to wait for Michelle who yelled out that their next class was in the gym. Michelle sighed as she watched Athena’s back disappear in the crowd, which would make it hard for her to follow her. But did she really have to?

Walking past everyone, Athena tried to sniff out her target, completely aware that he was nearby. With her fist in a ball, she could not help but feel angry, irritated, and frustrated at the same time. Angry that she messed up yesterday; Irritated that she could not kill anyone openly, especially in a school full of i***t teens and loud-mouthed petty gossipers; Frustrated that she could not do this hit her way – the ones often done within an hour, but not today.

All you ever need to know is that the weak dies and the strong lives on.

She recalled the words as she clenched her jaw tighter as her indifferent eyes remained forward, her nostrils constantly invaded by the repugnant stench of this academy.

Erase your emotions; you’ve no use of them.

Her hand clutched her dagger in her skirt’s hidden pocket as she had the dying urge to kill someone. And by sheer luck, her target’s scent was closer than she ever imagined.

All you ever needed was your blade.

The bell rang and the hallways began to empty, save a few senior students who only had three classes for the rest of their year. Athena attempted to blend in with the seniors as she walked out of the school and felt freedom – freedom to do what she did best: killing people.

As she went through the double doors, she immediately rounded the corner and found herself at the rear entrance of the school. There was an emergency staircase by this side of the school and it would be a good place to sit quietly, possibly detect the target.

“Mr. Linde, I have a few questions…”

Before she could even see the staircase in sight, she heard the name of the target and halted her footsteps as she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes with her arms crossed. She attuned her ears to their conversation and tried to inhale his scent from a distance, knowing full well that she could not possibly deal with him then and there.

“How about I see you later? In my class?”

“401?”

“No, my class.” He responded in a low husky voice, which made Athena nearly puke at the sound of it, but only felt herself vexed.

“Alright…”

A paedophile, should’ve known, she thought as she cringed in disgust as his scent turned sour in her nostrils, which only fuelled her urge to slice him. Repulsed by his stench, Athena walked towards him and winked at him as his brow rose at her. She walked past him as he kept his eyes on her, already conjuring up malicious and vile fantasies that Athena could feel just from his stare.

“You there,” he spoke as Athena heard his footsteps drew near and made her look at him over her shoulder. “What grade are you in?”

“Tenth.” Athena replied curtly as he eyed her with lust, already aware what to do with her as he shook his head and furrowed his brows at her.

“What are you doing out of class?” He crossed his arm as he looked at Athena sternly as if trying to hide his hidden motives.

“Skipping.”

“You want to get suspended?

“Nope.”

“Well from the looks of it, you sure look like you could use some suspension.” He replied sternly as he took Athena by the wrist and led her back into school grounds. His touch felt dirty and it angered her; she eyed his back as he gripped her tight and it already made Athena puke internally.

He led her to an empty classroom in what appears to be the southern wing of the high school building, then locked it behind him. He eyed Athena from head to toe as Athena provoked his imagination by sitting on a desk and crossed her legs.

“Why am I here?” Athena played along as she thought of ways to kill him in her head, but it should be clean because of where they were. She mentally sighed as she crossed her arms to prevent herself from touching the grip of her blades that were itching for some action.

“You’re here for some guidance.” He replied as he approached her and grazed Athena’s bare knee with his rough, dirty hands that made her cringed at his touch. He leaned forward as Athena looked away whilst his lips grazed her outer ear and whispered; “You need some discipline.”

Repulsed at maximum, Athena could not take it any longer and shoved him away. He eyed her with lust as if he enjoyed her rough response and smirked as if he expected her to react in such a way. But Athena furrowed her brows at him with the same indifferent blue eyes and waited for him to take another step closer to her.

And as she anticipated, he took a step towards her and took both her arms over her head, then backed her to the desk as if exercising dominance. Athena could already feel his bulge graze her thigh and disgusted her further, which fuelled the fire of anger inside her; her hands itching to strangle him with his own necktie.

“You’re repulsive, Tyler Linde.” He stared into her eyes, surprised at the sound of his name.

“How do yo-“

Athena wrapped her arms around his neck and as if it were pencil, she snapped it easily. Although it took a lot out of her to do that - given the state of her arms – she managed anyhow; she watched as the paedophile in front of her slowly fell on the ground with his eyes wide open as much as his mouth remained agape.

Athena fixed her blazer as she took out her phone, reporting her successful hit on the target after taking a photo to confirm the deceased. She stood over him and inhaled deeply, satisfied that his foul odour no longer invaded her nostrils. It already got her a headache just following him all the way there.

She bent over and held him by the leg and dragged him towards the teacher’s desk. Athena was not sure when the cleaners would arrive, but just to be sure; she arranged him on the chair and made it appear as if he was just napping, even closing his eyes.

With one last look at her work, she exited the room just as the bell rang. As she rounded the corner, she noticed a few stares directed her way, but ignored it. Michelle had been in the gym the whole time and wondered where Athena had gone, but their paths crossed soon as she saw her standing outside the locker room.

Athena eyed her indifferently, her ears plugged with the sounds of violins. Michelle smiled at her softly, but at the same time curious as to where she had gone. Although there was nothing between them, Michelle could not help feel attracted to her – not in a way that would resemble what she saw yesterday.

A friendship, perhaps? She thought as she approached her as Athena eyed her silently as they walked together to their last class together, before they went their separate ways for the last period.

Athena wondered as she walked in the same pace as Michelle, why had she gone and met her in the first place. It was not like her to care about someone, especially a random one. She never once bothered making friends because she knew that they were just anchors.

Friendship? You need no friends who would bring you down.

She recalled as Michelle eyed her, a smile on her face as they got into the room and sat in different places.

Your skills and your blades are the only friends you have and ever need, Athena.

For the most part of fifth period, Michelle had paid complete attention to class. But there were times where her focus waned and her eyes drifted to Athena’s back, who was not paying a single speck of attention to class with her head down on the table. She smiled at her, even though Athena would not notice.

There was something that just drew Michelle to her, but what it was, she did not know. She knew that what happened yesterday remained fresh, but she rather not dwell on it. She had a lot of questions, but from how Athena acted, she doubted that she would answer any of them.

Just sweep it under a rug, Michie.

Fifth finally ended and Athena still had her head down. The classroom already emptied yet she still remained there, Michelle approached her and gently shook her to wake up. The math teacher eyed them as he erased the whiteboard, but let them be.

“Athena, it’s time for sixth.”

Michelle shook her again and she finally opened her eyes, the piercing blue that gazed at her made her feel a bit cold and warm at the same time. Her gaze was intimidating, but after she spent a little time with her, she knew that it held warmth in them.

With a deep breath, Athena got up and followed Michelle out the door. The two of them walked in tandem in total silence as if Athena was still asleep, but Michelle found the silence rather comfortable.

Athena enjoyed the silence as well, but she was used to the silence as her ears remained plugged and the strings of the violin played in her ears. The soft melody it played always calmed her, even if her surroundings smelt of garbage and hormonal driven teens. The music always made it bearable for her.

“I’ll see you later?”

Michelle waved her bye as she went down the other hallway whilst Athena watched her back disappear into a classroom. There was something about Michelle that Athena could not figure out, but did she want to figure it out? She knew that she would have a lot of questions for her, but she wanted her to ask her for it. Yet for the whole of the day, nothing about yesterday came out of her mouth, which caught Athena’s curiosity.

Later, janitor

She went her own way as she headed for her last period, which she assumed was chemistry. With her hands in her pocket, she entered the classroom and sat in the rear, her eyes already out the window as she watched the clouds pass by.

School ran by faster than both of them had anticipated. Athena had nothing to do for the rest of her evening and she was sure as heck not returning to her house. It was far colder there than anywhere else, but what could she do for the rest of the afternoon?

Michelle headed immediately to the Janitor’s room and as she entered the room, her eyes widened at the sight of Athena sitting there with Mr. Branforth. He looked really tense while Athena remained calm and collected with her ears plugged, back against the door.

She eyed Mr. Branforth, who appeared to be sweating just by Athena’s presence, which made Michelle raise a brow in confusion. She closed the door behind her and as the locks clicked, Athena turned around and met her gaze.

“Hey,” Michelle spoke softly as she tried to figure out what Athena was doing there. “What brings you here?”

What brought her there actually? Athena pondered on an answer, but she just looked into Michelle’s eyes and found the same warmth in them as she had seen earlier on. Why was she there?

“Nothing, just wanted to tell you; see you tomorrow.”

Athena spoke involuntarily as she stood up and walked towards the door, where Michelle felt a little flattered and smiled at her.

“Oh, okay. See you tomorrow then.”

Athena nodded as she left the room, a thought had entered her mind; why was I even there? As she pondered on her answer, she saw the same prefect from this morning and noticed her. The prefect smiled at her as she walked away with a strawberry blonde girl beside her, their fingers interlocked.

The scene she witnessed made her raise a brow – something she does not often do. It got her brain thinking as she heard the door open, her eyes found her way to a familiar pair of amber eyes and red hair that was now tied into a high pony tail, in overalls.

Athena and Michelle stared at each other for a moment, where Athena took in her features and found Michelle rather… attractive and beautiful. Michelle tilted her head as she waited for Athena to stop looking at her, unaware of what she was thinking.

“I thought you left?”

Michelle’s lips opened and woke Athena from her daydream, then nodded and left. Michelle watched Athena’s back disappear at the corner and sighed as she scratched her nape, unsure what was going through her head.

“What a weird girl.” Mr. Branforth mumbled as he got out of the room with a bucket-on-wheels on one hand and a mop on the other. Michelle silently agreed on that sentiment as she proceeded to do her job. There were a lot of things in her mind and hopefully thunder does not strike the same place twice – that last night does not occur again.

Hours had gone by and by sheer luck, nothing extraordinary happened that night. Michelle was exhausted beyond belief as she headed out before Mr. Branforth who locked the school and surrendered the keys to the guard – something she forgot to do yesterday. But can you blame her?

It was eight in the evening and Michelle had already entered the centre of town that was always buzzing with nightly activities. As she rounded the corner, she bumped into a wide muscular chest and made her look up to a familiar set of grey eyes and dirty blonde hair.

“Why do I keep seeing you here?” David smiled as he helped her adjust.

“Because it’s an intersection?” She smiled back as he chuckled.

“Hah, yeah right,” he looked away a little embarrassed as he noticed his friends already calling out to him. He turned around and waved them as Michelle prepared to head home, but he called out to her; “Want to hang out with us?”

Michelle thought about it for a second, but the pain she felt in her arms protested and made her frown at him. She shook her head and said; “I’m quite exhausted from work, David.” His smile disappeared and was replaced with a small frown as she continued; “Maybe some other time?”

“Alright, I’ll see you later, then.” He smiled again as if he did not want Michelle to see his disappointment. He waved her bye as he walked away, hands in his pocket as he let out a soft sigh.

Michelle watched his back disappear into the crowd of friends as she proceeded to go home. Her thoughts still remained on the events of the day; how was it possible for Athena to even be at her school, when she saw her nearly bled to death? Who could recover that fast?

She sighed as she arrived at the dorm and rode the elevator all the way up without even thinking of dinner. She was not hungry; her mind though was hungrier than her stomach would be. She wanted answers to the questions in her head.

Who was that man? Why did he want to kill Athena? What was he? Who is she? Who was the guy with forest green eyes? How did he know where Athena was? And how did he clean up everything overnight?

With a deep sigh, she opened her room and flicked her lights. As she hung her bag on the hook behind the door, she could not help but think of Athena. For sure she knew that she was gravely injured, but from the way she acted today, she was the least bit injured or in pain. How was she able to tolerate such pain?

The thought of it made her sad as she turned around and started undressing, but noticed that there was a soft breeze flowing. It was odd, she knew she was almost nude, but it was never that cold in her room, unless the fan was on. She looked up and turned to the window, which made her eyes widen in an instant.

There on her bed, sat Athena still in her uniform, but without her bag; her legs crossed with her chin resting on her palm whilst her elbow rested on her knee, slouched as her eyes stared at her. Feeling embarrassed, Michelle immediately took the towel off the hook and wrapped it around herself as Athena merely stared at her.

“How-“

“Window.”

Michelle raised a brow, confused and afraid at the same time, but calmed herself as Athena put her headphones on.

“What are you doing here?”

“To answer your questions about yesterday.”

Michelle looked sceptic of her answer, but believed her as she proceeded in the bathroom and left Athena on her own. She sat on the toilet bowl and contemplated at what is happening. All this time she thought it could not have been Athena yesterday, but to see her inside her small bedroom, she thought otherwise. Somehow, she knew that she would not leave or do anything to her.

If she came to answer me, then that’s a good thing. Right?

After ten minutes in the shower, Michelle emerged out of the bathroom and just as she had left Athena; she remained seated on her bed with her headphones on, but her eyes closed this time. The sound of violins overflowed from her headphones from how loud her volume was, but Michelle did not peg Athena to be into rock.

In fact, classic suited her very much.

As she began to dress, she felt a cold chill in her spine as if there were eyes on her. She felt a little embarrassed as she dressed before Athena. Even though she could have dressed in the bathroom, she forgot to take some clothes from her wardrobe.

It’s alright, Michie. It’s just Athena. She’s also a girl so there shouldn’t be a problem.

She reiterated these words in her head as she proceeded to dress up in a shirt and some short shorts. Athena had her eyes on Michelle, carefully watching as she dressed up; her slender waist hugged her shorts as her T-shirt bore too big for her, which exposed some skin as Michelle tied half of it in a knot and revealed much of her navel.

Athena waited for Michelle to face her, aware of her embarrassment as she listened to the sweet strings of the violin. Not a second later, Michelle finally turned to her and their eyes met; her piercing blue eyes met her warm ambers and for a minute their eyes locked in silence before Michelle sat beside her.

“So,” she began as Athena stood up and sat on the floor to face her. “You can sit on my bed you know.” Michelle sighed as Athena just stared at her as if waiting for a question.

“What happened last night?”

“I was passing by and a,” Athena stopped and chose her words carefully, hoping not to reveal herself. “Threat came.”

“A threat?”

“Yes. I minded my own business until he came along.”

“What was he?”

Athena pondered on her question as she removed her headphones and paused the music as she kept her eyes on Michelle, whose heart palpitated against her chest – loud enough for Athena to hear.

“I’m not sure.”

“You’re not sure?”

Athena nodded as she carefully examined Michelle’s expressions; her brows furrowed as if contemplating on her answers, unsure whether to believe her or not. Athena watched Michelle’s face shift from uncertainty to determination. Amused by her expressions, Athena eyed her carefully and waited for another question.

“How did you get in school?”

“Through the gate, it was unlocked.”

“What was he after?”

“Your blood.”

Michelle jerked backwards at Athena’s response. What did she mean by that? Is she joking with me? She examined her piercing blue eyes and looked for any sign of waver, but none arose. It confused her, unsure whether to believe Athena’s words or dismiss them as a joke.

“My blood?”

“Yes, your blood.”

“Why?”

“I’m not certain.”

“You’re uncertain?”

“Possibly a blood-sucker or a cannibal.”

Michelle sighed as she looked away, trying to ingest all these things in her. Athena already had some answers prepared about who she was and how there was no body last night or even a single spill of blood. She had it all ready by the end of her work shift, but she was not good at making stories up, but she could twist one.

“How are your wounds?”

Athena stiffened her body and leaned against the wall, caught off-guard by the question. She silently stared back at those amber eyes that seemed concern over her, but at the same time confused. She did not anticipate a question about her wounds, but she was also unsure whether she should reply.

“If you want me to believe you, I want to see them.”

Michelle spoke her mind even before she could think the words over. The two of them locked eyes as Michelle anxiously waited for a response from her. Athena examined her eyes and her body; she could hear her heartbeat and smelt something… different about her all of a sudden.

Without saying a word, Michelle watched Athena as she stood up and took her blazer off, then her necktie. Her eyes stayed glued on Athena as she removed her headphones and then started unbuttoning. Her heartrate increased involuntarily as her eyes remained on Athena, then suddenly widened them.

Michelle saw them; the deep wounds Athena acquired from yesterday remained bandaged as much they remained soaked in her blood. There was an undeniable sense of pity in her, lamenting on her words as she stood up and hugged Athena.

“This is my fault.”

What?

“If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have gotten these wounds.”

It’s not your fault though…

Michelle hugged her tight as Athena felt the same tinge she felt all day long turn into a sense of warmth that enveloped inside her. She was unsure what it was, but she did not like it and at the same time, wanted it. Never in her entire life had she wanted anything and it scared her. Athena took a step back and immediately covered herself with her button up shirt.

Emotions will get you killed, Athena. Deprive yourself of it!

“Hey? Are you alright?”

Friendship? Bah, don’t delude yourself, Athena.

“Athena?”

These things would get you killed. Never ever have them.

Putting her blazer on, Athena ignored Michelle’s words as her memories of training echoed inside her head, telling her that this was all wrong. She should not be here to begin with. Why did she even come here?

Headphones on, Athena approached the window and climbed out as Michelle watched her dropped down eight floors. Michelle rushed to the window and as she peered outside, Athena was nowhere to be found; only darkness and the trees in the back could be seen.

As she closed the window, Michelle sighed. Her head even more confused than it already was and left her lying in her bed, thinking about what just happened. Throughout their whole conversation, Michelle realised one thing; she never asked Athena who she was.

It left her even more confused and uncertain, whether or not she should believe Athena’s words. But seeing her wounds was enough to know that yesterday did in fact happen and that someone wanted to take her blood. But why?

As she pondered on these questions in her head, her eyes slowly drifted off into slumber.

On the other hand, Athena sat on the edge of the tallest building of the town as she looked down on the streetlights. Her mind in a daze as she recalled the feeling she had inside her, which made her clench her chest as if there was a pain inside her that she wanted to get out.

Emotions will get you killed, Athena. Deprive yourself of it!

The words echoed once again in her head as she got off the ledge and punched the open sky at the roof. Anger filled her as she tried to forget what happened in that small room with Michelle.

“I am not weak!”

She told herself as she punched the air a few more times as she felt her wounds suddenly ache and made her stop as she fell back onto the ground. She took in deep breathes as small beads of sweat trickled down the sides of her temples, her eyes staring at the moon-less night.

But as she stared into the night sky, she recalled Michelle’s eyes and how they looked so beautiful to her. No, I shouldn’t even think about this. She mentally scolded herself and forced herself to forget by closing her eyes, allowing herself to be surrounded by the words of her mentor.

Emotions will get you killed, Athena. Deprive yourself of it!

Friendship? You need no friends who would bring you down.

Your skills and your blades are the only friends you have and ever need, Athena.

As she recalled all these words, her heartbeat slowed down and her breathing normalised, which allowed her to look at the night sky like she always had: indifferently. She tried to erase Michelle’s existence in her mind as she was just a side effect of her inefficiency and nothing more.

She stood up and looked down at the town with the same indifferent blue eyes as if devoid of emotion. She gripped her dagger and put it in front of her as a crest of an eastern dragon glimmered under the night sky.

These things would get you killed. Never ever have them.

“Yes, grandfather.”