A/N: Hehehe. Here's an early release for you guys. Next chapter will be out tomorrow so keep an eye out.
-KittCat.
Afternoon clubs usually lasted longer than morning clubs as you had more time to finish your things without the prospect of classes afterwards. It was a perfect compromise for those who hated rushing in the mornings, but still wanted to have a club on their record.
It was also the time for teachers, whether they liked it or not, to catch up on their work and anything that needed their immediate attention.
As for students, it was always first come, first serve. It didn't matter if you were a high tier or a low tier; if you arrived and found yourself at the end of the line, tough luck. Obviously you could fight for a place in line, but it was often too much trouble to go through.
Blyke knew he was no exception as he quickly raced to grab his bag from where it lay. Once he had the straps over his shoulders he slipped through the oncoming horde of students and rushed out the door towards Keene's office.
One thing about the school's grounds keeper: he was always busy.
He was like a ghost half the time. One second he was there, the next he was somewhere else. Trying to get his attention was always a hassle.
Keene usually had a bunch of students and business to attend to after hours so getting there first was at the top of Blyke's priority list.
He raced through the sky blue halls like a crimson blur. He bumped into a few people, but he didn't really care. All that mattered was convincing Keene to give him his room back and with it, his sanity.
.
.
.
Blyke huffed as he stopped in front of Keene's office. Surprisingly, there was no one there yet.
He reached over and flung open the door with newfound energy, the handle almost putting a hole in the wall. "Mr. Keene, I-!" Blyke stopped mid sentence. Keene wasn't in his office.
'Odd...normally Keene is almost always in here. Huh...maybe the headmaster had to call him down or something.' Blyke contemplated waiting a few minutes to see if he would return soon. He did just that and plopped down into the extra chair by the desk. Blyke pulled out his phone and started playing a round of Solitaire.
Round after round went by until he couldn't keep playing anymore.
The redhead eventually wandered about the room, playing with the metronome that sat on the desk, flipping upside down in his chair until he got light headed, and even tossing his stress ball against the wall in a rhythmic fashion.
He eventually looked up at the digital clock sitting on Keene's desk. Originally class got out at 3:00 pm and he had spent about half an hour at the safe house. It was now 3:55 and there was still no sign of Keene.
The teen was about to call it quits for today when he heard the door to the office open. He turned, expecting to see the groundskeeper, only to be met with a familiar blonde.
"Blyke? What are you doing here so late?" Blyke immediately straightened up upon seeing Wellston's former king standing in the doorway.
"Ah, Arlo. I'm uh, just waiting for Keene to get back. I have to talk with him about something."
Arlo only raised an eyebrow. "Well, can it wait until tomorrow? You've been here for ages now." Blyke shook his head. "Unfortunately no. If I don't do this now, I might never sleep again."
Arlo sighed. "Let me guess: it's Isen, isn't it?" Well, he was half right. The redhead only nodded though. "Yup. I've been losing sleep ever since I moved in with him. I was hoping Keene could switch us to my old dorm so I at least have some peace."
Arlo nodded in understanding, knowing how obnoxious Isen can be in his nightly hours. Blyke peered down at the stapled papers resting in Arlo's left hand.
"What are those papers for?" Arlo looked at said parchment before nodding. "I have to talk with Keene about a recommendation for a job and the deadline closes in a few days."
This time, it was Blykes turn to raise an eyebrow. "A job? Didn't think you would be interested in getting one." Arlo sighed a bit. The tall blonde leaned back against the door frame. "Even with helping Remi with the safe house, I've recently found I have a lot of free time on my hands. Besides, it's not like I have much else to do now that I'm officially off the roster."
The redhead clenched his fists slightly at the mention of it. He found himself once again enraged at the situation they had found themselves in.
"You shouldn't be though..." The former king peered over at him. Arlo knew the ex-jack was angry about this and to be honest, he was still mad as well.
But, as he already explained to Isen, there wasn't anything they could do about it.
"Blyke, there's nothing we can do about this. We can be as angry as we want about this whole disaster, but it's not going to change anything. We need to just move on and focus on other things."
Blyke quickly snapped his head over, waving his arms about as he talked. "No it isn't! All this time, John's lied to everyone about who he is! If he was so miserable here, he could've come clean and fixed this sh*t himself! Instead, he's abusing his power as a king to get his way." The blonde only stared towards the floor. Blyke had a point.
However...
"Blyke, whether he had the ability to fix things himself, it was ultimately his choice to leave the hierarchy. He knew he wasn't fit for the position and yet, I still shoved him into this role." Arlo peered down at his open palm, vaguely remembering what happened out in the field that fateful day. "Truly, if I had just minded my own business and left John alone, we wouldn't be in this mess. He may be out of control, but I was the one who created this monster."
Blyke stared sadly at his former king before looking down towards his lap. He didn't see it the same way. To him, Arlo was only trying to do what was best for everyone involved. He was trying to maintain peace and some form of order.
How was he supposed to know that a supposed cripple would turn out to be a god tier?
No one could have figured that out!
Yet here they were with Arlo still beating himself up over this. He just made a mistake; they all have. But he couldn't let it hold him back.
Blyke looked back to the king with a stern expression. "You didn't know this would happen Arlo. Sure you can be hard-set sometimes, but we can't blame you for trying to do what's best. We may be strong, but we're still human. Even then, you shouldn't have had to deal with this on your own. I wished you had talked to us about this, namely Remi and I. We could have helped you figure something out."
The blonde only gave a dry chuckle. "Blyke, there's a reason I didn't tell you guys about John. Remi would have gone after John and bugged him till he put her through a wall. And you? While you have improved on it, your aggression would have gotten you sent straight to the hospital against him. Did you honestly think I wanted either one of you to take part in my mistakes?"
Blyke stood up and stared at Arlo. "Yes. Because whether you like it or not, We. Are. Royals. Or at least we were. You may have been king but as your jack and queen, we also have a responsibility to help you lead and set an example."
He proceeded to cross his arms. "We may not always see eye to eye, but I have always been honest with you when it comes to my opinions. Unlike Cecile, I don't go behind your back! I've always had your back! So has Remi! Honestly, it was insulting to us that you went about this not just by yourself, but in secret! You kept us in the dark while everyone around us was getting hurt!"
Blyke looked away a bit. "It was a selfish move on your part. While you did everything you could to fix it, there still could have been other ways to go about this had you just talked to us. Back when I became Jack, you swore that anything we did regarding the well being of the school, we would decide on together. Yet when we all need to be on the same page, now more than ever, you go at this alone."
Arlo stared at Blyke, shocked at the redheads honesty as Blyke looked down.
Arlo wanted to argue against Blyke but he knew there was a half truth to what he had said. He really couldn't have known that John was a high tier. He was only human and at the time, he did it because he thought it was best for everyone involved. He thought that order was the best thing for everyone to follow.
As for Blyke and Remi, Arlo should have put more faith in them. He remembered how distraught Remi was about finding out he was injured, how she wanted to protect and help him and for him to be honest with her. He remembered how even though Blyke could get ahead of himself, the teen still pushed through and did everything he could to fulfill his duties, doing whatever he was told with no questions and little push back.
He had taken them both for granted, failing to realize that he wasn't alone.
The blonde could only nod slightly as he looked at the ex-jack. "You're right Blyke...but it doesn't matter now, does it? We're still stuck in this madness."
Blyke nodded solemnly in agreement. "Right now, we need a solution to this. No matter how hard we try, nothing seems to gets through to that maniac. Honestly, I don't know what else we can do at this point."
Arlo sighed and placed a hand on Blyke's shoulder. "We'll come up with something. Only this time, I'm not going to make the same mistakes."
Blyke nodded as the room fell into silence again. He eventually sighed, grabbing his bag. "Well, as much as I want to stay, I better get going. I can't keep waiting all day for Keene to show-"
*CRASH!*
Both teens snapped their heads up when they heard a loud noise come from down the hallway.
Blyke raised an eyebrow and moved over to the doorway. "What was that?" Arlo looked out the door. "I don't know..." Whatever it was, it didn't sound good. Blyke followed the former king as he stepped out into the hallway.
It was completely silent. Arlo was about to step back inside when the smell of smoke drifted into his nostrils. It didn't smell like something was baking or cooking.
No, something was burning and badly.
Keene soon sprinted down the opposite end of the hallway from where the smell was coming from, having just jogged up a flight of stairs. He started calling out to the teens. "Someone pull the alarm!" The man pointed behind them to the other end of the hallway.
"THE SCHOOL'S ON FIRE!"
Arlo saw the dark grey smoke start billowing down the hallway behind him and immediately, his instincts kicked in.
Both he and Blyke ran for the fire alarms and yanked the handles, the alarms going off. Students who were still in clubs walked out of their rooms but immediately saw the smoke and booked it in the other direction, yelling and screaming all the way. They didn't care what drills they had been taught. Right now, this was the real deal.
Keene stopped beside the two, huffing as he tried to catch his breath. "Both of you...get out of here now! It's not safe on this floor right no-!" He was cut off by another loud noise.
*CRASH!*
The next crash wasn't accompanied by silence. This time, a wail of pain followed the destructive sound.
Blyke could feel his heart go cold at just how much agony that person must have been in to make such a sound.
It sounded like they were dying.
His eyes widened a bit.
That person very well could be dying.
The same thought was on the blonde's mind as well as Keenes. They didn't know when the fire department would show up and by that point, whoever was still in there would be burnt alive.
Arlo immediately looked to Blyke and their groundskeeper who could only nod back in silent agreement. The ex-king put up his barrier around him and the other two standing beside him before the three ran into the thickening smoke.
Chapter 6: end.