"Why am I so changed? Why does my blood rush into a hell of a tumult at a few words?" (Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights)

Tough times don't last, tough people do, Fayez told himself over and over again, as they walked in silence into the Institute's corridors.

He might not know Zephyr very well, but he found it weird that the guy was suddenly so uncommunicative. The vampire had struck him as a pretty talkative and straightforward man - flirty, even. Yet, since Fayez had asked him where the Headmaster's office was, about ten minutes ago, he hadn't uttered a single word.

Now, Fayez was beyond stressed, and Zephyr's silence wasn't helping at all. He had wanted to ask the blondie if he was mad at him, but decided not to.

Asking him such a thing would imply that they had a relationship of some sort. They didn't. He was nothing in Zephyr's eyes, or any of the three prefects, for that matter. Zephyr couldn't bother to be mad at him.

Fayez was therefore not entitled to ask him any personal question.

And yet, they had kissed. God knows Fayez wouldn't forget that kiss anytime soon. Surely, kissing someone wasn't insignificant, right?

Maybe it is, Fayez thought sadly. Maybe I'm just too ignorant about how these things work. Maybe Zephyr kissed me out of boredom or worse, because he pities me.

And to say that he had felt so relieved when he had met the other vampire by accident in the school's halls! A few hours after Akhenaton and him had arrived safely at the Institute, he had received a letter requesting him to go immediately to the Headmaster's office.

The problem was - Fayez had no idea where the Headmaster's office even was. He had asked several students, of course, but apparently only very few people here knew its location. It was rather surprising, since Fayez would have expected this kind of information to be common knowledge in a school.

Then again, the ISB was no ordinary school. In fact, only a few weeks ago, Fayez would have never imagined that such a place could exist.

He was starting to feel more and more desperate, as time went by, thinking that if he didn't even manage to find the Headmaster's office, then he probably wouldn't get another chance to explain himself later and would be fired from the ISB without further notice.

In his growing state of panic, he had been almost crying, until he had recognized Zephyr's passing figure.

"Master Zephyr!" he had exclaimed, a huge smile on his face, which quickly turned into a grimace, as the prefect had replied, rather coldly:

"What is it now, Fayez?"

Such a severe tone didn't suit the cheeky blondie at all.

"Huh, I've been summoned into the Headmaster's office, but the problem is, I've no idea where it is."

Zephyr's expression had softened a tad bit, much to Fayez's relief, but then his next words hadn't been the friendliest:

"Why don't you ask other students instead of me? I'm busy right now"

"Actually, I've been asking around, but it seems like nobody knows..."

Zephyr had let out a sigh at this point, causing Fayez to promptly add:

"Never mind, I'll find a way, don't worry"

He had been about to leave, but then Zephyr had caught him by the wrist, and said in a neutral voice:

"No, it's okay, I'll show you the way. It's not very easy to find the room, especially since the Headmaster moves offices every day. You'll probably get lost, and the Headmaster won't like it if you're late for your appointment."

At the moment, Fayez hadn't thought anything of Zephyr's unexpected revelation. He had been too thrilled by the simple touch on his wrist, and confused by the prefect's unusual coldness toward him.

Now, as the silence was stretching between them, he was starting to wonder if maybe the vampire hadn't meant to reveal this information to him. Why did the Headmaster never stay in the same office? Surely, it wasn't a mere whim. He must thought he was in great danger, to do something like this.

It wasn't what worried Fayez the most, though. What made him a bit sick in the stomach was the fact that, under closer examination, the blond vampire currently walking by his sides didn't look so great.

He was abnormally pale, his lovely eyes weren't as bright as usual and there were dark circles under them.

Was Zephyr feeling sick? But vampires hardly got sick. The only exception was when they hadn't fed, but Fayez's eyes were as blue as usual. He wasn't hungry right now. It was something else.

"We're here" Zephyr suddenly declared, interrupting the taller vampire's train of thoughts.

"Oh, I see. Okay. Thank you very much, Master Zephyr."

For one moment, Zephyr seemed to hesitate, like he really wanted to tell him something but didn't think he was allowed to. Fayez looked at him expectantly, but then, much to his disappointment, Zephyr simply nodded, then turned his heels, after muttering a half-hearted "Good luck."

Left alone in a corridor whose walls were made of stones, Fayez had no other choice than to knock on the wooden door of what seemed to be a mere closet.

He waited, then knocked again, as there was no answer.

Still nothing.

After debating for five solid minutes about the right course of action, he decided to open the door.

After all, he didn't know anything about the Headmaster. Maybe the guy was as old as the world, and as deaf as a chamber pot, and didn't hear him knocking on his door.

"What the h-"

He interrupted himself, just in case the Headmaster was nearby.

The room was much bigger than the small door suggested it. It looked pretty simple, with a light wooden desk, a blue curtain, a white carpet and above all, at the other extremity of the room, a huge mirror.

It didn't look like an office. In fact, Fayez would have imagined it to be a playroom, as it was pretty empty with enough space to do gymnastics.

More importantly, there wasn't anyone inside.

Since there wasn't even a chair at the desk, he stood in the middle of the room, feeling rather self-conscious.

What if there was a hidden camera and the Headmaster was currently looking at him? The thought made him straighten his back, in hope to appear more confident.

Ten minutes passed.

Fifteen minutes.

After twenty minutes, he started wondering if perhaps Zephyr hadn't tricked him and this wasn't the Headmaster's office. Maybe it had been Zephyr's plan all along: taking Fayez to the wrong room, so that the Headmaster would think he didn't come to the appointment, and use this excuse to fire him from the ISB without hearing his explanations first.

No, Zephyr seemed way too nice to do such a thing. Ashur, then? But then again, that trick would be a very childish thing to do, and Ashur seemed very mature.

Akhenaton? The guy didn't like him that much, and he wasn't mature nor nice.

But, Fayez thought immediately after, Akhenaton has always been quite straightforward with me. I can't picture him going behind somebody's back, no matter his opinion about them.

He was starting to hyperventilate at the idea that the prefects had joined forces against him, and had to force himself to focus back on the present situation.

He had to believe that Zephyr had lead him into the right room. It was too late already to start wandering in the Castle. Maybe there was a clue here he was supposed to find. After all, that's how the ISB seemed to work - with constant fucking riddles.

He took a closer look at the room, but everything seemed normal - boring, even.

There was a table, a windows, a white carpet, blue curtains and -

The mirror.

Thorn between excitement and a sense of being ridiculous, he took several steps in the direction of the mirror.

What was he supposed to see in it, apart from his own reflection?

No, he told himself, driven by a sudden intuition. The mirror is the key to the enigma.

He touched the polished surface with his fingertips, then tried to move the mirror but it was too heavy.

"I didn't want to die during this mission" he eventually started, as he couldn't figure out what he was to do with the mirror.

Nothing happened, but it felt as if something had shifted in the atmosphere. It seemed to him that he suddenly had someone's entire attention.

"Akhenaton - Master Akhenaton, I mean, was wrong about my suicidal tendancies." he kept on going, feeling more and more confident as he started forgetitng about the true purpose of his presence in this room. It felt good, for once, to talk openly, even if it was to his own reflection in a mirror.

I really am a lonely fucker.

"I have this - ah, anomaly. My hands can kill, but I know my parents have told you so already. Everything I touch turns rotten, without the filter of the gloves."

He unconsciously started to scratch his wrist, as he felt the surge of self-hatred which always threatened to overwhelm him when he thought about his hands.

"When Master Akhenaton asked me to take his hand, I realized that my gloves had been shred to pieces after my fight against the werewolf. I didn't want to hurt him. I mean, him being a Prefect, I thought that his life was more important than my own, which is why I decided to sacrifice myself for the greater good."

Was the Headmaster really listening to him? The last part of his statement wasn't exactly the truth, and he wondered if the Headmaster, whoever the person was, had picked up on that. The Greater Good? He sounded like he belonged to some cult.

"I really want to remain a part of this Insti-"

"Is the fact that Akhenaton is a Prefect the only reason why you decided not to take his hand?" a voice suddenly interrupted him, causing him to let out an undignified yelp of surprise.

Where was the voice coming from? Fayez couldn't have tell. It seemed to be coming from everywhere in the room at the same time. The voice had an artificial quality, making Fayez uncapable of telling if it was a young, old, masculine or feminine voice.

They are using a sound modulator, he realized, a bit weirded out by the fact that the Headmaster was going to such extents to remain anonymous.

"Even if he wasn't a Prefect, I probably wouldn't have let another student die for me" Fayez replied cautiously.

Silence. Why did he have the feeling that whoever was behind the robotic voice wasn't entirely pleased by his answer?

"But I - Master Akhenaton is quite special for me" he admitted a bit sheepishly, thinking he had nothing to loose so he should be honest.

It was hard to keep starring at his own reflection, which was now turning as red as a tomato. Still, he had the feeling the mirror was part of the evaluation, so he kept his eyes on him.

"The idea of Master Akhenaton dying - or Masters Ashur and Zephyr... I don't know why, but I find it unbearable. I've been strangely drawn to them since the first day."

Silence. This must be how a teen would feel after confessing their love to their crush.

Of course, Fayez could only imagine it would feel like that, since he had spent the last centuries of existence deprivated from the company of his pairs.

"I do believe you didn't want to hurt Master Akhenaton" the voice eventually declared, as Fayez was starting to believe that the person must have fallen asleep, or left. "I am just wondering if perhaps Prefect Akhenaton wasn't partially right in his assumptions... Do you have self-destructiveness tendancies, Student Fayez?"

"No!" Fayez shouted back. Too quickly. Too loudly. Shit. There was no way the Headmaster believed him.

Another moment of silence. Fayez couldn't say he was getting used to them. What was this person thinking right now? Surely, their mutism wasn't a good sign.

"Huh, I suppose I am fired" he eventually said dejectedly, although he had a feeling that in times like these, he should just keep his big mouth shut. "I'm sorry for being such a disappointment. I will go n-"

"You will stay" the voice interrupted again. Rude.

"Wow, really? Well, thank y-"

"I am not sure if I can trust you, though. This is why the three prefects Ashur, Zephyr and Akhenaton will have the responsibility to keep an eye on you at all times. For this purpose, they will share their room with you, starting tonight."

"But-"

"You are dismissed. You may go now."

He had to lean against the door, after he had closed it behind him. His legs were now wobbling under him.

Well, at least I am not fired from the ISB, as I had feared.

Living with the three Prefects, though?

Oh, God, the three lovers will just be thrilled by this new turn of events. Especially Akhenaton.

Fuck. I can't disobey the Headmaster's order, can I?

What am I supposed to do now? Knock on their door, with my luggage in my hands?

"Hey guys, guess what? I'm your new roomie! Let's play some video games together. The more the merrier"

In other circumstances, he would have been thrilled at the idea of getting closer to these fascinating men, but now, given how cold they were toward him...

He was mostly scared.