The morning after the hunt || with Aurora
Vincenzo sat at a long, sprucewood table in the refectory, eating breakfast with his friends. The men gathered together were sharing jokes, laughing as some were dressed, a few were still in their pajamas because they didn’t want to miss the fun. Next to him was Renlin, across from him Chadwick and Bradford… David, Oliver, Henry.
“You guys, why haven’t we done a hear-me-out cake?” Bradford asked benignly.
“You just want an excuse to print a picture of Chad,” Enzo chuckled, and Alex nudged his side.
Chadwick blinked dryly, not laughing, and something washed over Bradford’s face. He froze as if touched by midas. Under the table, there was a hand on his knee.
Then the man snapped back. “You say that like you don’t have an active fan page for Renlin.”
“It’s not mine!! How many times do I have to tell you guys?” Vincenzo rolled his eyes. “Okay but, realistically, who are you guys putting on your hear-me-out cake.”
“Margot Robbie,” David smirked confidently, as if he were the bro of all bros.
Henry smacked him. “A real hear me out, dipshit. Margot Robbie is an obvious choice.”
“The green m&m.”
“Still obvious.”
“Mama coco.”
The table fell silent.
Upon this silence, as the boys looked around at each other in awe, Vincenzo noticed a presence enter through the double-doors. It was Professor Hardman, urgency in her wide, distant eyes. What had happened now? He wondered to himself, as he muffled the voices of the boys starting to talk again. Surely it was nothing important, he assumed, knowing that Hardman had a tendency to be overdramatic, but reflexively, he would admit that the first thought he went to was that it had something to do with the disappearances. No one had gotten answers yet, and in his recent conversations with Hayes, he had only been reminded of how much he was affected by Miles. The guy wasn’t the same, and the feeling you’d get on campus was a little bit heavier. He and his friends, when they weren’t being stupid, tried to get to the bottom of it so much that it was his first thought at most insignificant alarms.
Professor Hardman walked swiftly and purposefully past the lanes of tables in the refectory, the light and airy fabric of her blouse waving with her steps until he watched her turn into the column where he sat. He watched her lock eyes with him, and at this, he scooted back, turning as she arrived to speak with her. He had not been approached by a professor this way since his earlier years, before they trusted him and he was always getting in trouble, but when they did, he knew it was best to comply. Had he done something wrong? Or, more precisely, had he been accused of something again?
“Enzo, I need you to report to the headmaster’s quarters immediately. There’s an emergency,” She said, and his face contorted into something of a distraught. “What happened?” He asked, concerned for why she may need him.
“I’ll tell you in the hallway,” she said, trying to mask her grimace with a smile.
Vincenzo stood, and followed her down. On the way, she told him what had happened. And that Jesse would likely be there too. At that, he tensed. Jesse was the last person he wanted to see, at all times, and the thought of him healing Aurora for more of Adrian’s approval made his blood grow cold with fury.
Stepping into the room, the asswipe was already there, which made Vincenzo roll his eyes in his presence. The nurse began to speak.
“Thank you for coming, you two,” she smiled. “Obviously, the Dears wanted to have as much support a possible, but we really only need one of you in the ro-”
Jesse’s white-toothed smile lit up, but Vincenzo pushed him before he could speak, barging into the room.
But when he walked in, he noticed the way that the two parents sat at their daughters’ side, and witnessed Aurora sleeping, whom they were unsure would wake up anytime soon.
Reluctantly, he forced himself to close the door much softer than he had opened it. Then, he walked to one end of the couch.
“Vincenzo, thank you for coming.” Adrian had said, and as he rarely did, the man sounded… vulnerable. “We need you. Aurora… she’s been affected by something, something dark." He glanced at Aurora, who lay pale and still, her chest rising and falling gently. “She hasn’t woken up since the party last night."
Concern troubled Vincenzo’s expression.
“What can I do?”
@astxrism Aurora
notes:
sorry idk what the first part is auhduehkf i just needed to warm up
mentions:
@Madilfill Renlin
@chadbrad