Nocte Yin: Anti-Villain, Anti-Hero and Anti-Everything Else

Chapter Five

Shifting restlessly, Nocte waited for Pyralis’ class to end. They had agreed to have lunch together before Nocte’s class. Smiling at the thought, she slid down the wall and took a seat on the floor, careful to keep her legs together to avoid a panty shot.

Years ago, Pyralis wouldn’t have agreed to lunch. It was both strange and exciting to know that their friendship had grown deeper. Smiling, she took a moment to cherish the feeling before reality bitch-slapped her across the face.

Now that classes had started, Nocte had yet to see her sister, or perhaps Occult was avoiding her? Not that Nocte would be surprised if that was the case, but she’d still like to know how the psychic was doing.

She liked to know how their mother was doing.

Pulling back her sleeve, Nocte checked her watch.

There was still twenty-five minutes left before Pyralis’ class ended.

She stared at the door to the alchemy laboratory. Twenty-five minutes was a long time, but Nocte had left Pride early for a reason, and the reason was sitting in her pocket right now.

Fixing her glasses, Nocte reached into the pocket of her skirt (Evil’s black and white uniform) and drew out her cell phone. Biting her lips together, Nocte hesitated, but why should she? Was she not allowed to call to her friend? Was Aman busy?

Gathering her courage, she speed dialled for Aman.

Ever since that conversation with Pyralis, Nocte was curious – very curious – about the others. How much and how far had they seen for themselves? What were their hopes and dreams? What did they want in life?

“Hey, Nocte,” Aman greeted after the second ring.

“Yos,” Nocte said. “How’s Hero?”

“Pretty good,” Aman answered, sounding out of breath. “How’s Evil?”

“Same,” Nocte replied, and they shared a laugh. “You okay? You sound tired.”

“Sparring with Sterling,” Aman explained.

“Oh,” Nocte sounded, abashed. “Should I let you go?”

“No, it’s okay,” Aman assured. Nocte could hear the smile in her voice. “We’re taking a break right now. Is something wrong?”

How to begin?

Bluntly, of course.

“Do you have plans after graduation?” Nocte asked.

“Of course,” Aman answered, not missing a beat. “Why?”

Nocte didn’t know why, but she felt offended. “You have plans, and you didn’t even tell me?”

Did they not share everything with each other?

Nocte could picture Aman wincing as she explained, “Well, you were busy.”

With the estate.

With your father’s death.

With your family.

They were words left unsaid, but Nocte knew what she meant. It saddened her, Nocte decided, that she had been neglecting her friends for the last few months. The thought of losing her friends over her family hurt, but could she picture losing her family over her friends?

Nocte flinched.

Wasn’t that what she had done?

“Nocte?” Aman called, growing concerned.

Gripping the phone to her ear, Nocte answered, “Yeah?”

“You okay?” the archer asked.

“Yeah,” she replied. Knowing that Aman wasn’t convinced, she was quick to steer the conversation back on track. “So what are your plans?”