Nefarious

C177 - Election day

-Vera's point of view-

Despite the strict orders to keep away from Xavier, I kept seeking him out. It worried me that Xylan had come up with such a rule, so I kept watch of Xavier from afar. He'd suddenly contacted Rain and seemed nothing but anxious. All the more reason to be worried, and so I decided to eavesdrop their situation discreetly.

Begging Rain to listen to him, she scoffed before shaking her head. "You've gone crazy. We all miss Jace, but there's nothing we can do to get him back. Making up stories won't work, Xavier." "It's not some story; I have physical proof of this," he whispered frustratedly. A deep sigh left Rain before she gave Xavier a disappointing answer. "I love Jace as much as you do, but have you ever allowed yourself to look deeper into him as a person? He's flawed with a bad temper, you know, perhaps he deserved being sent away. I won't help you with this, sorry," she said. She really dared criticize Jace's bad temper as if that's all he'd ever been, portraying him as a ticking bomb on legs. Xavier heightened his head, clicking his tongue before nodding faintly. "Whatever," he scoffed. "Why don't you go talk with Valerie about this? I'm sure she would die to hear your story like she always does," Rain suggested bitterly. He shook his head swiftly, not agreeing with her suggestion.

"Ah, do you require someone with more guts?" Rain questioned after a brief thinking pause. "Nope, I just require someone who's not being observed full-time, and who has direct access to Xylan. I've noticed you fawning over him, and it seems you've gotten lost while doing so. Have fun being his future puppet." Walking away, he averted people's gazes as Rain protested against him. "I am no puppet of his! I just made my own decision so that I wouldn't be yours either!" she said. "That's a faulty categorization as it was more than a decision; it was an awful mistake," he answered, still not turning around to face her.

I couldn't take watching Xavier in misery, so I broke the rules and sneakily followed him to a place where I could yank him away from the sights of others. He stuttered my name, giving me a confused frown. "What's wrong? I saw you speaking to Rain," I said. "Oh, no, no, I can't tell you about that. You should stay away from me so you won't face serious consequences. I don't want you losing your vote too," he answered. "I know, but I-" I started. A vicious voice interrupted my sentence, questioning my ability to follow the rules. Straightening my back, I turned around to meet Xylan's glare. "I spoke with him in a formal matter. It was strictly election-related," I said calmly. The side of his lips curled up, forming into a creepy smirk. "I know you, Vera. This small meeting of yours was more than that," he said, stepping closer to me. As though one of Xavier's reflexes, he rushed in front of me in a second. "Keep your distance," Xavier said sternly. The tone of his voice carried the essence of an angry, low growl. Xylan snickered, his smirk almost turning into a smile caused by amusement. "You never stop, do you? Cute that you think you could stand a chance against me, though. Anyhow, Vera and I should get going, and you should too," Xylan said. "And what will happen to Vera, if I might ask?" Xavier questioned. Xylan cleared his throat, his smirk disappearing in the blink of an eye. "She'll be tutoring her group, of course. What else?" Xylan said, sounding somewhat offended.

The way Xavier reacted bugged me more than I'd expected. Xylan had made sure to keep us apart, of course, so there was no way for me to ask him personally. Besides, he usually doesn't keep much from me, so whatever was on his mind must be both confidential and sensitive information. "Vera, it seems Valerie's not showing up for practice tonight. Do you happen to know why?" Nikita asked. I intended to answer her, yet I let Rain divert my focus. She was fiddling with her gloves as though entirely unbothered by her talk with Xavier. For some reason, I'd always felt slightly irked whenever seeing Rain, but this time, I felt a jolt of anger instead.

Approaching Rain, she looked up to greet me. "Whose side are you on, Carradine?" I asked in a low voice. Her eyebrows twitched, making it apparent I'd surprised her with my direct question. "What makes you ask this?" she frowned. "My intuition poked me mentally, urging me to ask you," I said vaguely. "Well, this is a group trained to stay by Alex's side, isn't it?" she said, her eyes leaving mine for a brief moment. Knowing her as a person who lacks loyalty, I scoffed at her and told her to go. "What?" she stuttered. I leaned closer, making sure she would hear me. "It's obvious that you're leaning toward Xylan without daring to admit it. We need people who're confident in choosing Alex, not cowards like you who fall for Xylan's bullshit. Now, get out of the goddamn room."