The next day.
School felt… strange.
Like everyone was pretending nothing happened.
Emma walked into the classroom quietly and took her seat. She set her bag down, posture straight, expression calm—like always.
For a moment, it was just the sound of chairs and voices.
Then—
"I AM BAAAAACK—!!"
The door slammed open.
Heads turned.
A blur of energy burst into the room.
Diana.
Bandage on her arm. Same wild grin. Both arms waving like she was greeting a stadium.
"I SURVIVED," she yelled. "MISS ME, LOSERS?"
The teacher dropped his chalk.
"DIANA—!"
Emma looked up.
Her eyes widened just a fraction.
She lifted her hand and pointed calmly at the empty seat beside her.
Sit.
Diana gasped dramatically.
"THE QUEEN SUMMONS ME."
She sprinted over and slid into the chair, nearly tipping it over.
"Emma," Diana whispered loudly, "did anything fun happen while I was gone?"
Emma looked forward.
"…The usual."
Diana squinted. "That means something happened."
Mostang leaned over. "SHE ALMOST DIED LIKE THREE TIMES—"
Emma glanced at him.
Mostang shut up instantly.
Diana grinned.
"Yep. I'm definitely back."
Diana was still settling into her chair when—
Mostang froze.
His eyes slowly drifted toward the doorway.
Three girls from another class walked past, laughing softly.
A light shone in Mostang's eyes.
He straightened his back.
Ran a hand through his hair.
Leaned casually against his desk like he was in a drama.
"Ah…" he sighed loudly. "Love truly is a cruel mistress."
Emma didn't look at him.
Diana watched with interest.
Mostang stood up, one hand on his chest.
"Ladies," he said smoothly, voice suddenly ten times deeper, "did it hurt—"
The girls walked past him.
Didn't look.
Didn't stop.
Didn't react.
Mostang blinked.
"…When you fell from heaven?" he finished to no one.
The girls disappeared down the hall.
Silence.
Diana stared.
"…They erased you from existence."
Mostang slowly turned back around, dignity shattered.
"…Wow."
Emma finally spoke.
"…Sit down."
Mostang collapsed into his chair.
"Love is dead," he muttered.
Diana patted his shoulder. "You'll live."
Mostang sighed dramatically. "I don't deserve this suffering."
Emma opened her notebook.
"…You do."
The bell rang.
And the class continued—
as chaotic as ever.
The classroom door opened.
A female teacher walked in.
Professional. Calm. Clipboard in hand.
Mostang's head snapped up like he'd been struck by lightning.
His eyes sparkled.
He stood up dramatically, one hand over his heart.
"…Ah," he breathed. "So this is the angel they sent to educate us."
The teacher stopped.
"…Sit down," she said flatly.
Mostang ignored that.
"Miss," he said smoothly, leaning on his desk, "may I say your presence alone has already taught me the meaning of beauty—"
"Mostang," Emma said without looking up, "sit."
Diana covered her mouth. "NO WAY."
The teacher adjusted her glasses. "Young man."
"Yes, my future memory," Mostang replied.
The class went silent.
"…Detention," the teacher said instantly.
Mostang froze.
"A-"
"DOUBLE detention," she added.
Mostang sat down immediately.
Arthur leaned toward Emma and whispered, "…Does he always do that?"
Emma nodded. "…Unfortunately."
Diana laughed so hard she almost fell off her chair.
The teacher turned to the board, muttering, "I need a raise."
Mostang sighed dramatically, staring out the window.
"Love," he whispered, "is pain."
Emma flipped a page in her notebook.
"…You're embarrassing."
The lesson began.
.
.
The door suddenly SLAMMED OPEN.
Everyone jumped.
Valeria stood there, breathing hard, holding something behind her back.
"I FOUND A PIGEON."
Silence.
Absolute.
Dead.
The teacher slowly turned around. "…What?"
Diana's head snapped up.
"IS IT THE DAYUM BIRD?????"
Valeria blinked. "Who's that?"
Diana stood halfway out of her seat. "THE ONE WITH THE BIG FEET."
Valeria's eyes lit up. "SHOW ME."
Diana was already moving.
"I NEED TO CONFIRM—"
"SIT. DOWN." the teacher barked.
Diana froze mid-step.
Valeria gasped like she'd been caught stealing a bank.
"Oh—UH—BYE."
She RAN.
Footsteps faded down the hall.
The door swung shut.
Silence again.
The teacher pinched the bridge of her nose.
"…Why," she asked the universe, "is this school like this."
Diana slowly sat back down, devastated.
"…Could've been the bird of destiny."
Emma didn't look up from her notebook.
"…It wasn't."
Diana gasped. "HOW DO YOU KNOW?"
Emma turned a page. "…I just do."
Arthur covered his mouth, trying not to laugh.
Mostang whispered, "This class is cursed."
The teacher slapped the board.
"OPEN YOUR BOOKS."
Everyone obeyed.
The teacher suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
The chalk froze in his hand.
"…You," she said sharply.
Everyone turned.
A student froze with his phone half-hidden under the desk.
"…Give it here."
The phone was confiscated.
The teacher placed it on the desk slowly.
Very slowly.
She inhaled.
Then exhaled.
"And since my ten years of educating students," he began, voice rising, "I have never seen a class like this."
The room went dead silent.
Even Mostang sat straight.
"This class," the teacher continued, pacing, "is loud. Distracted. Chaotic. Animals bring animals. People disappear. People reappear."
Diana nodded seriously, like she was at a funeral.
The teacher stopped.
Put a hand on her chest.
"And sadly," she said, lowering his voice dramatically,
"my… son… died."
Everyone froze.
Emma's pen stopped.
Arthur swallowed.
The teacher paused for effect.
"…to a jumping frog."
One second.
Two.
Diana's shoulders violently shook.
She clamped both hands over her mouth, eyes bulging, face turning red.
DO NOT LAUGH DO NOT LAUGH DO NOT—
A snort escaped.
She bent forward, pretending to cough.
"KH—KH—"
Emma didn't look at her.
But she slid her foot slightly outward and pressed it against Diana's ankle.
Stop.
Diana bit her sleeve.
Her eyes watered.
The teacher sighed deeply.
"…And yet," she said, "you sit here. On your phones."
Diana finally composed herself, wiping her eyes.
Arthur stared at the desk, lips pressed together, fighting for his life.
Mostang whispered, "That frog must've been built different."
Emma's foot pressed harder.
Mostang shut up.
The teacher rubbed his temples.
"…Open your books," she said weakly.
The lesson continued.
Diana leaned toward Emma and whispered, barely audible,
"…I almost lost it."
Emma wrote calmly.
"…I noticed."
----
The bell rang. It's break time
Instant chaos.
Chairs screeched, bags were grabbed, people stood up all at once.
Emma closed her notebook and stood, turning slightly toward Diana.
"Let's go—"
Before they could move—
"E-Emma."
Arthur.
He stood there awkwardly, backpack hanging off one shoulder, fingers gripping the strap too tight. He didn't look at Diana at first—only Emma.
"I, uh…" He swallowed. "Do you want to… maybe come with me? Just— during break."
The hallway noise swallowed the silence for a moment.
Emma hadn't even answered yet.
Diana instantly stepped in front of her, arms stretched wide like a human shield.
"Nope."
Arthur blinked.
"She's coming with me."
Then Diana leaned closer, pulled down one eyelid slightly, and—
stuck out her tongue.
"Bleeeeh"
Arthur froze.
Students passing by stared.
Someone laughed.
Emma just stood there, expression blank.
Diana grabbed Emma's wrist and yanked her away.
"Come on," Diana said proudly. "Before he steals you."
Arthur watched them go, cheeks red, completely defeated.
Emma glanced back once.
Arthur was still standing there.
She turned forward again.
Diana smirked.
"Protected."
After break time, Emma and Diana headed back toward their classroom.
The hallway was… too quiet.
No arguing.
No footsteps.
No Mostang yelling something stupid.
Emma slid the classroom door open.
Empty.
"…Huh?" Diana said, leaning inside. "Did we get expelled while eating?"
Emma stepped in, eyes scanning the room. Chairs were pushed in. Bags gone. Board clean.
They walked back out and spotted a random teacher passing by.
"Excuse me," Emma said calmly. "Where is our class?"
The teacher Looked"Outside. There's a music event in the yard. It'll continue until school finishes."
Diana's eyes lit up. "WAIT—music? Like actual music??"
"Yes," the teacher replied, already walking away.
Diana grabbed Emma's sleeve. "Oh cool."
They followed the distant sound—bass, clapping, someone clearly singing off-key.
The school yard was alive.
Students were everywhere, sitting on the ground, standing in groups, some dancing badly. A small stage was set up. Speakers taller than Diana blasted music. A few students were performing—guitars, a keyboard, someone on drums going way too hard.
Mostang was in the front, arms crossed dramatically, nodding like a professional critic.
Emma stopped near the back, hands in her pockets, skirt moving slightly with the breeze.
Diana immediately leaned in. "If someone sings badly, I'm booing."
Emma glanced at the stage. "…Don't."
A girl started singing.
She missed the note.
Diana inhaled—
Emma lightly stepped on her foot.
Diana hissed. "You're cruel."
Emma's lips twitched. Just barely.
They stood there together, watching, blending into the crowd.
A student goes for the leader of the stage
Whispers something to his ear, the leader nodded.
The music shifted.
Slow.
Soft.
Romantic.
A collective "oooooh" rippled through the yard as couples immediately paired up. Hands linked. Awkward shuffling. Someone tripped. Everyone clapped anyway.
Diana turned her head slowly toward Emma.
"…Oh no."
Emma didn't react. She just watched the stage, calm as ever.
Then Arthur.
He was standing a few meters away.
The moment the romantic song started, his eyes locked onto Emma like gravity snapped into place. His face turned red—ears included. He swallowed, fingers tightening around the strap of his bag.
This is it. If I don't do it now, I never will.
People around him noticed.
"GO ON, BRO."
"ASK HER."
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?"
Clapping started near him. Encouraging. Loud.
Arthur took a step forward.
Then stopped.
He looked at Emma again.
She was still. Composed. Not scary. Just… quiet. The same girl who gave him a pencil. A sandwich. The same girl who stared out the window and drew.
Arthur's heart was going insane.
He walked up to her, hands shaking.
"E–Emma…"
She turned her head and looked at him.
Direct eye contact.
Arthur almost died on the spot.
"I—I was just wondering," he said, voice cracking, "um… since everyone's dancing and—uh—"
Diana leaned in behind Emma and whispered loudly, "If you die, I'll attend your funeral."
Arthur ignored her with heroic effort.
"Would you… maybe… want to dance? With me?"
The clapping grew louder. Students around them started chanting.
"DANCE! DANCE! DANCE!"
Arthur stood there, blushing, waiting.
Emma looked at him.
Silent.
The music played on.
Diana watched Emma's face carefully.
"Don't..." Diana said.
The whole yard held its breath.
Emma thought.
and thought.
Until, she stepped forward.
Not rushed.
Not hesitant.
Just… decided.
Arthur froze.
The clapping exploded instantly.
"YOOOOOOO—"
"HE DID IT—"
"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT—"
Arthur's brain shut down.
Emma stood in front of him, close enough that he could smell her shampoo—clean, faint, calm. She lifted her hand slightly, not even looking embarrassed.
"…Okay," she said.
That was it.
One word.
Arthur's knees almost gave out.
Diana's jaw dropped.
"WAIT—YOU ACCEPTED?!"
Emma glanced back at Diana for half a second. "It's just a dance."
Diana narrowed her eyes. "I'm watching."
Arthur carefully placed one hand at Emma's waist, unsure, terrified of doing something wrong. Emma placed her hand on his shoulder like it was the most natural thing in the world.
They began to move.
Slow.
Awkward at first.
Arthur's steps were clumsy, but Emma adjusted without effort, guiding the rhythm subtly. Her skirt swayed with each step, her expression neutral—yet soft. Not cold. Just… peaceful.
People noticed.
"She's actually smiling—WAIT NO—"
"Never mind, false alarm."
Arthur looked down, then up again.
"I—uh—thank you," he said quietly.
"For asking," Emma replied.
That alone made his heart explode.
Diana crossed her arms, pretending not to care, but watching every movement like a hawk.
"…If he steps on her foot," she muttered, "he's dead."
The song continued.
For a brief moment—
No robots.
No Vex.
No blood.
No danger.
Just two students, swaying under music, surrounded by cheers.
Emma's eyes drifted past Arthur's shoulder, toward the sky.
And for the first time in a long while—
She didn't feel on edge.
Just… here.
Arthur swallowed.
The song slowed—final notes stretching out, the rhythm begging for an ending.
He hesitated for half a second.
Then—he moved.
One gentle push back, careful, respectful. Emma understood instantly. Her balance shifted without resistance, trust automatic. Arthur's hands slid to her waist and he lifted—just enough. Clean. Controlled.
Emma didn't flinch.
Didn't tense.
She allowed it.
For a brief second, she was weightless—skirt fluttering slightly, hair moving with the motion. Her eyes widened just a fraction, not in fear… in surprise.
Then her feet touched the ground again.
The music stopped.
Silence.
Then—
BOOM.
Clapping. Shouting. Whistling.
"GOOD WORK!!"
"BROOOO—"
"THAT WAS CLEAN—"
"MY MAN—"
Arthur stepped back instantly, hands up, panicked. "I—sorry—I mean—"
Emma looked at him.
Then she nodded once.
"…That was fine."
That sentence alone made the cheering double.
Arthur's face went completely red.
Diana stared.
Blank.
Then slowly—
"…Oh hell no."
She stormed over, grabbed Emma by the wrist, and pulled her away.
"Dance is OVER," Diana said flatly, glaring at Arthur. "You survived. Be grateful."
Arthur nodded repeatedly. "YES—YES—THANK YOU—"
Emma glanced back once.
Just once.
Arthur felt like he'd won the lottery.
Diana leaned close to Emma's ear as they walked away.
"You know he's gonna remember that for the rest of his life, right?"
Emma replied calmly, "That's his problem."
But—
For the tiniest moment—
Her lips curved upward.
Chapter end