C:SOD Chapter 20 (Patreon)

Au lightly smiles as he feeds a giggle Hermes with a piece of pancake inside the twins' dorm. The tall and dark young man is shirtless and is only wearing shorts and an apron, while Hermes is in a shirt and boxers. As the unofficial couple enjoys their breakfast, Ray is sitting cross-legged on the table itself staring at them.

"Aww Ray, do you want pancakes?" Hermes takes a piece with a fork to give it to the scowling boy.

"Why is Au still here..." he pouts. "You're supposed to be mine..."

"You're the one who wanted the pancakes, sweetheart..." Hermes says as he shoves the pancakes in Ray's exposed mouth. "Stop being grumpy, I don't belong to any of you."

Au gives Ray a look and he replies with a tongue through his lips.

"Where is Rain?" Hermes asks while washing some unused dishes. "I didn't hear him in the shower..."

"He's probably at the rooftop, smoking," Ray says as he and Au once again make fun of each other, this time the smiley twin grabbing a knife.

But when Hermes turns around, Ray hides the knife and Au returns the frying pan to the stove. "Hmm? Is there a problem?"

"No."

"Okay... hmm, I didn't know Rain smokes, do you do the same, Ray?" As Hermes turns around, Ray pulls the knife on Au and points to Hermes mouthing, 'I fúck him better, you virgin!' while Au is using the pan as a shield and a lighter as a weapon mouthing, 'You fúck like teenager!'

'We're both teenagers!'

'You are like small kid!' Au both mouths and signals, while Ray aggressively replies, 'You small brain!'

"I don't smell it from him at all, maybe it's occasional—what are you doing?" Hermes is very weirded out by Ray on top of the table and Au fighting against him with a long lighter. "Guys, put that down, what the hell?"

Ray was quick to point to Au, "He started it first!"

Au looked panicked but didn't even defend himself, only that he ignites the lighter and scares Ray with it.

"Au, stop! Jesus guys, behave!"

After breakfast, Au had to leave for his 8am first period while Hermes has 9am for his first class. Such a sweet young man who cooked him pancaked with chocolate syrup. Hermes can't help but gift him a kiss while Ray sits there frowning. He can't do anything, none of them are together.

Hermes dresses up in the clothes the twins gave him, definitely one of their own although he has a strong feeling this dress shirt is Ray because the boy is just staring at him by the door while he changes.

"Ray, can you not, please?" Hermes finally tells off the now-masked twin.

He remains staring by the door. "How do you know I'm not closing my eyes?"

"Who the hell would stand by the door eyes closed for no reason?"

"I would."

Hermes sighs, leaving Ray alone to just stare until he finishes dressing up. He then tells the creepy little twat, "I'm... I'm going to class, now. Thank Au for the breakfast, for me okay?"

"Please skip class, Mr. Quinn... I'll cook you omelets!" Ray excitedly beams out.

Hermes scoffs, "Do you know how to make omelets?"

"Yeah, break an egg and spin it until it turns yellow, then fry it. That's omelets!"

The teacher can't help but find him the least bit adorable. He goes up to the young man and kisses the mask's cheek as courtesy. "Don't call me Mr. Quinn unless we're in school, okay? I'll uhm... see you later..."

When Hermes Quinn left the apartment, Ray stood there releasing a dreamy sigh, truly in love with the tanned teacher. "I'll never rat you out, Hermes... such a nice áss..."

Out in the hallways of the students' dorm, Hermes met someone who was leaning against the wall as if waiting for him.

"Rain?"

"Were you expecting your boyfriend?" Such smooth voice that sounded ten years older than Ray's squeaky cracking ones. The changes in their personality are very significant.

"Boyfriend?" Hermes walks towards him since he's on his way to the elevator.

"I was just talking to Au... dude is really possessive of you. Told me to shove my díck in an ice crusher if I ever want to fúck you again. You sure he's not your boyfriend?"

Hermes blushed, eye wide at what he just said. "He talks to you—?! Wait, first of all, no he's not my boyfriend... second of all, he talks to you?!"

"Barely. He sent me an MMS..." Rain casually pulls out his phone and shows Hermes a photo of--

"OH GOD, RAIN what the fúck?!" Hermes turns away from the GIF image of a real private part being ground by an ice crusher, a visible hand bloody while turning the lever.

Rain laughs at his disturbed reaction. "Bestgore.com, that's how Au sends his threats."

"Why are you laughing, Holy Mother of Carnations, you boys need therapy," Hermes gasps out, still not wrapping his head around that image. Definitely on purpose; the man seemed to be a cock-and-ball-torture enthusiast.

"You're just too cute, Hermes..." Rain chuckles while tucking the unnerved teacher's hair around his ear. "Let me walk you to class? Our class starts an hour later so we're free."

Aww... how sweet... Hermes released a nervous laugh, unable to decide between letting Rain address him properly or casually. He also hasn't wrapped his head around having an affair with these students. It's very strange for him but... it's Carvalle.

His sinful actions have barely scratched the tip of what has happened within the Lady of Carnations' walls.

"Why does... uhm... if you and Au don't mind me asking," Hermes says as he and Rain walk to the elevator together. "Why does Au never speak? He's not deaf, nor is he terribly mute right?"

"Oh, don't worry about it, nothing's wrong with that dude..." Rain answers, "He just... doesn't like the sound of his voice."

"Huh? What? His voice is fine, gorgeous even..."

Rain pressed the elevator button for the ground floor. "Well, you know how our voices are the loudest we hear since it bounces around our brain... Au is very particular about sound. He may just not like his voice."

"Hmm..." Hermes isn't too sure if that's the full story. "How long have you guys been friends?"

"High school, 2nd year. By that time, Au doesn't talk anymore. Probably has something to do with uhm..." Rain starts to stare at his shoes, his mask matching that of his eye's emotion.

"With?"

"I don't know. He just stopped talking by then. It started when his mother remarried, but there was no violence of the sort..."

So the parents were separated...

"Rain..." Hermes softly says, trying not to provoke or rush the male as they walk out of the dorms and into the official campus. "... can you tell me about how Ray got his uhm... scar? I'm curious, and concerned. It's such a deep one, I wondered what happened to it."

Rain was silent for a moment, debating if Hermes is worth this information. But, hearing him being concerned for his brother seemed to be enough for Rain to cave in.

"Do you know how much I love my brother, Hermes?"

"Congratulations to our son Kevin for winning the National Science Quest competition! I'm so proud of our Champion!" The lady of the house was applauded by the many guests of the celebratory party, standing on top of the grand staircase which is illuminated by a chandelier whose boxes contain flames that only the rich can afford. It was then she noticed her son gone. "Kevin? Where is Kevin?"

The young man snuck out to the gazebo where his brother is playing with the fishes. "Kai... why did you come out here?"

The little boy, identical to the one who joined him replied, "It's your party. They don't need me in there. You should go back."

"It's boring without you. And didn't I say my medals are yours, too? We look the same." Kevin sat beside his twin, both boys currently eight years old. "Hey, stop trying to kill the kois."

"Ray is a very aloof person... refuses to make friends, refuses to even treat the family as family. He wants only himself, and me," Rain tells the attentive Hermes. "And since he also isn't the sporty kind, he remains in the shadows while our parents praise me."

At 10 years old, "We don't have the same weight anymore, Kevin... what the hell."

"I have soccer practice. It's not my fault you're always at your room playing hentai games."

"Kev," Kai starts to cry, leaving his bed to go hug his twin brother from the back. "Kev, you promised you wouldn't leave me!"

"I'm not leaving you!"

"But you're leaving me behind, we should always look alike!" Kai is crying his eyes out so the other little boy goes for a hug to calm him down.

"Hey, shh! I can't stop my training... but, you can train with me. We will do stuff together. Don't worry, Kai... we will always look alike. Nobody will even know which is which."

"Even though I'm the only one who participates in sports, we have the exact same build because everything I do, he did," Rain continues, "We were determined to stay mirrored to each other. Until..."

"Kai, stop trying to burn the lizard!"

"I'm not trying to burn the lizard, I'm trying to warm it up since I froze it in the fridge earlier."

"Kai, we have to sleep, we have a test at school," Kevin goes to pull on his brother. The other 10-year-old sighs, and drops some wax on the table so he can stick the candle beside the lizard to warm it up.

"Can I sleep on your bed? The lizard might become a ghost and bugs me for freezing it," Kai didn't wait for the answer and goes to Kevin's bed to sleep under the covers.

"Okay, sure. Ahh... I forgot the water bottles! I'll go get some so you won't have to go down later..." Kevin said, exiting the room and leaving Ray to doze off.

Everyone was asleep so there were no servants for the young Master to call. He isn't one to act spoiled though, so he goes down himself.

However... "I couldn't remember what happened, I couldn't remember how long I was out for. I probably slipped and hit my head, because I woke up on the floor... with the fridge open, keeping me cold for hours. It wasn't me who woke myself up... it was the servants, who found me..."

... and they all woke up because of smoke plaguing the house, the night turning into day with how angry the fire is.

"NO! KAI! KAI IS IN OUR ROOM!"

"Young Master, no please get to safety, the firefighters will be here soon! It's too dangerous!"

"Let me go! LET ME GO, I HAVE TO GET KAI!"

"They will find Kai, Young Master, but we cannot let you go back—" Kevin punches the servant in the crotch and evaded the others who try to grab him, thanks to daily soccer practices. "KEVIN!"

"Kevin..." a young boy cries in the middle of a firey hallway, clutching a teddy bear which he uses to cover his mouth with. But now he crawls, because the smoke is hurting his eyes and nose. He couldn't breathe. "... Mo... D... Da... Ke... Kevin..."

His small lips are moving, but his voice cannot overpower the frolicking frames and falling ceiling. He lies on the floor, about to fall asleep for eternity, but at least he's not alone. The bear is here watching him lose breath.

But as the ceiling collapsed on him, Kai was pulled forward and the bear was crushed under the fiery wood.

"Kai, Kai hold on! Wake up!" Kevin cries, dragging his brother by the legs across the flaming hallway. "HELP! SOMEBODY!"

The fire wouldn't wait for anybody else, so Kevin pulls him out by the shoulders and finally carried him. Even though the 10-year-old can barely carry someone equal his size, he did his best to carry his brother to the grand staircase. But there, Kevin couldn't handle stepping down the stairs and painfully tripped, sending both of them tumbling down.

Just then, the natural chandelier fell on the main entrance and its fuel splashed onto Kai as he fell. As Kevin tries to recover from his fall and resist the poison of the smoke, Kai was on the bottom of the stairs burning from the natural chandelier.

"KAI!"

Hermes stayed silent as he can sense the change in Rain's voice, a lot more emotionless than ever before. As if hiding emotions after that accident emptied all of it. "Ray wanted to kill himself after that. I couldn't sleep before he does, I needed to wake up before he does so I can stop him from doing something... irreversible."

"I'M USELESS, I'M USELESS, I'M UGLY AND NO ONE WILL EVER LOOK AT ME NOW!" A boy, so used to being a shadow, now has no hope of ever going into the light.

"Kai... Kai listen," Kevin cried in front of his brother, keeping the box cutter tight in his hands after taking it away from Kai. "You can't die... I'm nothing without you."

"But you're still someone right now!"

"Kai..."

"Kill me," sobs the little boy whose eyes were singed and destroyed, skin so burnt the next injury would reveal his skull.

The three surgeries could only lessen the appearance of burnt skin, but they couldn't extract extra skin from Kai to cover it up. He refused; his damaged body would put him further from being identical to Kevin.

But one day, Kevin comes back to the hospital with a white mask, good as new with no damage. A simple design: two black circles for eyes and a big black smiley face. Kai bitterly stares as his twin hands him a smiling mask.

"So I'm really ugly, huh..." Kai sniffs, wiping his tears away. "You don't even want to look at me anymore."

"Oh shut up," Kevin gives him the mask, before holding another one up for himself. Kai's one functioning eye looks up at him with hope. "Don't worry. Everyone will think we look alike. We always will."

Once again, Rain asks a very important question. "Do you know how much I love my brother, Hermes?"

Hermes whispers, "I think I do..."

"That's why I can never tell you who's running Carvalle... who I work for," Rain calmly says, disappointing Hermes even more. "Him killing me for this would be fine... but Hermes. My brother... he would hurt him, too. I don't want my brother to die."

"Is that..." Hermes' lips quiver, "Is that how dangerous he is?"

"Some would probably say he's more powerful than the Lady of Carnations..." Rain answers. "This is his school, not hers."

After seeing no one around and no CCTV cameras viewing this particular blind spot, Rain pulls Hermes inside the Janitor's closet where he didn't even turn on the lights. He is free to take his mask off.

"Rain—!"

"I'm loyal to my brother. Not him. And since my brother favors you over him, Hermes..." Rain lifts the teacher's chin to plant their lips together, offering a kiss of protection. "... I will do as Ray says, and defend you. All I ask... is please, accept my brother. Because you're his only happiness after the last one left."

"My sister?" Hermes whispers out. "Rain, don't tell me you fúcked my—"

"No, happiness doesn't only mean séx, Hermes," Rain corrects him, one hand smoothing over Hermes' frown which made him smile in the dark. "Thena was a light in Ray's dark and depressing life. I couldn't take her away from him. And I can never take you away from him... he likes you very much."

"What about you, Rain?" Hermes asks out of curiosity. All he ever talks about is Ray, he wonders if the feelings are different.

"It's hard not to like you," Rain leans in, "I'm just putting my brother first. And if he tells me not to touch you, then I won't."

"So Ray didn't tell you to stay away from me?"

"He didn't. He wouldn't keep such a beautiful creature for himself..." Rain whispers one last time before engulfing Hermes in a kiss, the two making out inside the dark closet.

Hermes curses at himself yet again, for secretly kissing a student and letting Rain cloud his mind.

later that day,

It was the end of the school day and Hermes wants nothing more than to go home, drink iced tea and prepare for the students' exams. He had prepared Mavis for this as well, and currently texted him Good Luck with the exams.

Hermes had finally exited the Johnson building with the students, when someone disturbed him while texting Mavis. It was a tall man with dual hair tones, a rosary around his hands and his black robes ironed to perfection.

"I want you back, Hermes..."

Why the fúck is he here... The teacher sighs in frustration, continuing his walk. "No, no we're done, Father. I won't make the same mistake as my mom by staying with a domestic fúcking abuser—"

"Hermes, he will go after you, he knows about what you did last night!" He yells out, which made Hermes freeze in the middle of the building's stairs.

His mind is full, frazzled, and panicking all over the place. What the twins said... Au...

Father Daniel noticed his panic and stood in front of him, offering comfort by holding him gently by the head. "Shhh, no one else has to know. You had séx with them, right? Your students... his boys... do you know how much trouble you're in, Hermes? Do you know how much they're in danger?"

People are still walking past them. Hermes couldn't move, his lips quivered and all he can do is shake his head lightly unable to process such possibility. The only reason Daniel could know is...

"Baby, shh... I don't care who you slept with," Father Daniel hugs the paralyzed teacher, some students now staring curiously but the priest doesn't care. "I'll always be here for you. I'll protect you, okay? Just... come back to me and I'll protect you from him..."

"N...no," Hermes steps away and looks up at Daniel with evident tears in his eyes, feeling claustrophobic once more. He can't even run, he can't hide anything, and he's facing a monster.

"What do you mean? You know I'm the only one who can protect you from him..." Father Daniel said with a low voice. "They can't, because they work for him!"

Hermes shakes his head, "No, no... we're done, I can't... h-how did you even find out..."

"He told me." Father Daniel said something that made Hermes' knees even weaker. "Nothing is going on in Carvalle that he doesn't know."

Au... Hermes backs away and turns around to find his secret lover. He's probably in the library. Au!

"Hermes! Hermes, where are yo—"

"AHHHHHH!"

"CALL 911!"

"FIREEEEE!"

Both teachers were stopped as everyone had turned to witness the sudden burning of the Teachers' dorm, the students panicking and teachers rushing to evacuate from the building.

"All teachers evacuate and leave the building immediately.

All teachers evacuate and leave the building immediately.

All teachers—"

"What..." Hermes gasps, counting the floors to where the fire is and realizing... "THENA'S DIARY!"

... it's his dorm on fire.

"Hermes!" Father Daniel runs after him but immediately gets stopped from entering the building, while Hermes dodged everyone who tries to stop him and used people's panic to camouflage himself. "Hermes! Shít, let me through!"

"Sir, you can't—" Father Daniel was strong enough to push two teachers away and go after Hermes in a building where nothing but the emergency bells can be heard.

Hermes ran up the stairs until smoke was visible around him, using his handkerchief and a water bottle to put a wet cloth against his mouth. Thena... Thena, no... please... it's the last thing left of you...

Hermes finally reached his floor and grabbed a fire extinguisher to make a pathway for him to go through. However, he couldn't reach his room. He stands there hopeless witnessing his room being the origin of the fire.

No... Thena... Hermes' eyes can't help but leak tears, the smoke supporting it along with preventing him from breathing proper oxygen. Just as he starts to become light-headed, someone wraps an arm around him and pulls him out of the hallways and back down the stairs.

"Daniel?! Daniel, no—! Let me—!"

"Stop thinking of me as your ex and start thinking about your life! Are you crazy?! Going up there like you're invincible when you're fúcking not?! Sit still and let's get out of here!"

"The police is still investigating the cause of the fire," the Principal said in the gymnasium's microphone, on a meeting with all teachers and faculty. Only one student has joined them, and that is the 'White King' Frost sitting behind the Principal, pissed at this tragedy with one teacher almost becoming a casualty.

"But it began on the dorm room of Mr. Hermes Quinn, who was absent at the time of the fire. All twelve teachers from the affected floor may seek temporary shelter with fellow teachers."

After the meeting, the Principal approached Mr. Quinn who is staring blankly at nothing, a blanket covering his body.

"Mr. Quinn, is it true you broke protocol and went up to your floor?" She sighs, frustrated. "Willingly risking your life for something already burnt?"

Hermes, too depressed thinking about his sister's diary could only croak out, "I'm sorry, Ma'am..."

She also checks the papers, "You didn't list down your temporary stay. Do you plan to sleep in the streets? There are no apartments within two hours of travel, that is why we have dorms."

"Hermes," Father Daniel calls from behind him, "You can stay with me."

"Oh, Father Daniel. That's perfect," The Principal acknowledges the Priest, about to write his name.

However, Hermes stands up to stop her. "I'm not staying with him. I uhm... I'll sleep in my classroom."

Daniel is not happy about this, but he understands that Hermes wants nothing to do with him. The Principal disapproves of the alternative, though. "Mr. Quinn, the classroom cannot provide you with living facilities for a minimum of four months as we renovate your rooms. You're gonna have to stay with Father Daniel."

"I don't want to! I'll rent a car and take the two-hour travel to the nearest apartment!" Hermes starts to get desperate, and his little outburst was noticed by none other than Frost.

"What seems to be the problem here?" The man in white leaves his paperwork to approach the teacher, priest, and principal. Hermes looks at Frost with a little bit of surprise, while Father Daniel is silently staring at the White King.

"Ahh, Frost... just a little argument on the living arrangements on one of the affected teachers, nothing to concern yourself about," the principal smiles.

"Hermes' living arrangement?" Frost looks at him, whose face is a little dirty from the fire. "Why not stay with Father Daniel?"

"I refuse. I'll take any alternative, I don't want to live with him!" Hermes protested.

The Principal once again disapproves, "Mr. Quinn, you have no choice—"

"No, it's his decision," Frost professionally states, taking pity for Hermes' state. "However, I would offer an alternative. Our house is just a 45-minute drive away from here, if a sports car is being used."

"Y-you mean the mansion...?" Hermes mutters. "N-no, I can't live with y—"

"You won't. Mavis and I only come home on the weekends, we have our own dorms here. I'll provide daily transportation and a room closest to the entrance so you won't have to walk far. Wouldn't that be best? You tutor Mavis every weekend."

The Principal shrugs, "Well, that's a great alternative."

Father Daniel protests, reaching for the teacher's arm. "Hermes—"

"I'm fine with that!" Hermes snatches his arm away from Daniel and steps towards Frost, desperate to get away from the priest. The Principal will not let him do his own suggestions and instead will force him to stay with Father Daniel if he can't find other people to room with. He now regrets not making friends on this campus.

Frost can see how fearful Hermes is towards Father Daniel, so he glares at the priest while putting a hand on Hermes' shoulder.

"Let's go. I will provide clothes as well." He then instructs to the principal, "Find backups from Hermes' computer and print all of the lesson plans and files. Give Mr. Quinn and the other affected teachers three days to adjust and recover. Hire substitutes to supervise the exams."

The White King really is fit to rule Carvalle. He acts like a King already. And Hermes feels strangely safe with him, although the same can't be said for where he's about to stay.