"By accepting this collar you're consenting to submit to my orders."

"With this collar, I am giving my mind and body over to my master— What the frickety-frack? Hell no!"

Shuuhei blinked as he scooped up the red and white collar I'd chucked to the floor. "Why not? It's very pretty."

"That's not... I don't even know where to begin with that!" I snapped, shivering as I put down the sheet he'd forced me to read.

Ten minutes until the final bell. I could make it. He couldn't keep me here after school hours. At least, he shouldn't be able to...

I brushed the thought aside. No, stay calm. I could do this.

Swallowing hard, I peeked past my eyelashes to stare at the blond who went to recline on one of the chairs. If I hadn't forgotten my phone in the principal's office I would've been able to call for help. Well, I wouldn't have been nearly expelled in the first place if I wasn't too focused on being such a goofball... but that was a lesson for another time.

I had more important matters to deal with.

Did Shuuhei drag me out of the office so quickly because he knew this was going to happen? A chill ran up my spine. Considering a guy like Shuuhei that could be the case. But the guy I'd known as Shuuhei wasn't even him after all. He had just about the worst alter ego that anybody could ever possess. And the thing was, I couldn't even escape it.

I did try breaking the glass but no matter how much I punched and kicked—and trust me, I packed a lot of muscle—nothing happened. It absorbed the impact as easily as acrylic glass would, only proving my capture.

I was left here, stuck waiting for my opportunity to escape—in this case: the bell. If Shuuhei was the president of the school, he had no choice but to follow school rules... or at least, society's motherflippin' rule of not harassing people with his sadistic pleasures.

Or I could wait until the rest of the Student Council showed up to save me from this madness. There were three of them—four including me. We could take Shuuhei easily.

Right?

At the respective desk he was seated at, Shuuhei had started running a pencil across a page of a sketchbook. It hadn't been too long of a time for me to catch a glimpse of just how great an artist he was. Almost Picasso worthy, honest. But that was another skin-crawling revelation that only added to this 'perfect' dude.

"Kasumi."

My shoulders stiffened at once. I craned my neck to find Shuuhei had stopped his sketching to smile at me. That ingratiatingly mischievous smile he specialized in, mind you.

I swallowed hard. "What?"

"It seems no matter what I say you're not succumbing to my power," he said. "I pictured your behaviour made you more liable to be a masochist."

I bit my lower lip. Masochist? The heck? Clearly this guy was a fan of anime and manga. The stuff went over the top with that kind of relationship all the time.

"Let's do a simple test shall we?" he said.

"Would I be able to leave afterwards?"

"I want you to wait until the rest of the council arrives," he replied. "If you'll be returning every day you need to familiarize yourselves."

"I'm not returning."

Shuuhei lightly laughed, as if there was no definitive behind my words. And honestly, there wasn't. Especially if he was blackmailing me with expulsion. At this point, I truly had no choice but to return.

"Show me your nails," Shuuhei said.

I scoffed. "So now you have a nail fetish?"

"Fetish?"

"That is what I said, idiot."

He automatically glowered. "Watch your language—"

"I don't think I will, thank you very fucking much."

Shuuhei opened his mouth to respond but promptly clamped his lips. The way his face grew so conflicted made him look a little constipated. Maybe his exhaustion of having to pretend who he really was every day was finally getting to him.

I didn't get to hear what was causing him turmoil because the bell chimed, resounding so loudly even within the sanctuary we were in. All the pressure pushing down on my shoulders blew away like paper in the wind and I sat straighter in my seat. I was already up on my feet, reaching for my bag and darting to Shuuhei with my hand outstretched before the bell could finish ringing.

Disapproval was clear on his face, opposite to the smile painting mine.

"Give me the key."

"The other Student Council members—"

"Should've given me a warning days in advance. I have somewhere to be today," I lied through my teeth.

Shuuhei stared at me for a long while then surprisingly dropped his head. "Then, officially we begin tomorrow."

He dug into his pocket and when he retreated with a keychain, hope swelled inside of me like a balloon. I snatched it out his hand before he could dare change his mind and triumphantly grinned from ear to ear.

"Finally!" I hailed, dashing for the doorway. "Freedom!"

"You must return first thing in the morning to assist our duties," Shuuhei called after me. "Student Council members arrive at 7AM and after school at 3:30PM."

Oh hell no. I fiddled with the keychain once I reached the doorway. Well, not that I could say that out loud. He'd probably try to take these keys back.

As soon as I picked up the keychain to eye level and stared at the flourish of keys—identical ones, mind you—my jaw fell at once. I straightened my back, the veins in my clenched knuckles beginning to boil.

"Is something wrong?" Shuuhei hollered.

"Asshole." I swerved on the balls of my feet. "Which key?"

"One of those."

"No freakin' duh!" I yelled, hoisting my arm into the air and jingling the keys. "These are all identical!"

A smirk upturned the corners of his mouth as he took leisure steps towards me. "They do cover most doors of the school."

My fingers curled into fists and I planted my foot forward. "I swear—"

"Shuuhei, I know you're in there!"

The muffled shout didn't escape my ears.

Eyelids high I spun around to the window behind me only to have my heart leap to my throat. I nearly tripped over my own feet as I fumbled backwards, gawking at the face implanted on the glass.