Page 53 of Villain

This was it.

This was the break he’d been looking for.

And all he had to do was sell himself to three Demons.

Yejun was too busy working on his drawing to notice when Nix shivered at that thought.

Chapter 14:

“Nix!” Grady called out to him from across the library when he entered. His roommate was seated with a group of three, two male and one female. They’d chosen a spot in the corner of the room, furthest from the stacks and the scolding eyes of the librarian who was usually seated behind the front desk.

It’d only been a few days since the start of classes, and Nix hadn’t really made many friends aside from Grady. In the past, that wouldn’t have bothered him. He’d always been busy with his nose in his studies or playing the latest release of one of his favorite game series.

Branwen used to tease him over summer breaks when she’d visited his house that the entire world could end, and he wouldn’t even know it until he pulled his head out of a book or away from a screen. She’d teased him, but she’d also been the first person to fully accept his dream to become a game developer and root for him.

The two of them had grown up apart, only seeing each other at major family events once or twice a year. It hadn’t been until they’d gotten older and been allowed to have their own multi-slates that they’d started communicating more frequently. He hadn’t been a complete loner in high school, but there also wasn’t a single person from that period of his life he’d kept in touch with.

It was the same with Hyacinth Academy. He’d gotten along with his roommate there and the other students he attended regular classes with. They’d joked around, and there’d always been someone to sit with at lunch. When the professors had assigned group projects, he’d never feared being left the last one standing with no one wanting to work with him. A couple of those people had reached out after the death of his cousin, but none of them had known her, and none of them had been close enough with him to push the issue when he’d made it clear by giving them only offhand replies that he wanted distance.

Call him crazy, but friendship was never something Nix had felt the need for. He’d had Branwen for when he needed to talk to someone, and online friends he gamed with to help blow off steam. He understood it was unconventional, but it’d worked for him. When Branwen had called and gossiped about her friends, he’d laughed along with her and secretly thought he’d made the right choice not to get close to anyone.

The old version of him would have waved absently at Grady and gone on his way. Instead, he found himself approaching the table, a smile already set in place. He nodded in greeting and when one of the guys he didn’t know offered the empty seat next to him, Nix took it.

“You’re new this year, right?” the female student propped her elbows on the table and asked. She was pretty, with curly black hair and wide violet eyes. The crimson eyeshadow she’d chosen helped to highlight them, and when she smiled, Nix could tell it was with genuine happiness. “I’ve seen you around campus. I’m Khloe.”

“Hi,” he waved. “Nix.”

The male sitting closest to Grady was giving him a funny look, almost as though he were trying to place him. He had a similar coloring to Khloe, but it was hard to tell if they were related or not, especially since his hair was a deep shade of red. Before Nix could formulate a good way to ask, the guy snapped his fingers and pointed at him excitedly.

“You were in Hunters Cross the other day, weren’t you?” He nodded, answering his own question. “I saw you with Yejun Sang!”

Grady groaned and pulled his friend back into his chair. “Man, don’t encourage him. In fact,” he motioned to the student who’d offered Nix the seat, “Juri, please help me out here. We all know what the Demons are like. Explain to my roommate why they’re bad news. Maybe if someone else tries to warn him off of them, it’ll actually get through to him.”

Juri was a dirty blond who seemed laid back, but he frowned at Grady’s comment. “You’re trying to make friends with the Demons?”

“Not trying,” the redhead interrupted. “From what I saw the other day, they’re already pretty chummy. They were walking down the hall and Yejun was whispering something to him. Seemed like they were close.”

After being super normal the entire time they’d been in his studio, Yejun had finished up, walked Nix out, and threatened him. It hadn’t been anything too extreme, just a passing comment about how if Nix planned on ruining their plan, or Light forbid, had any thoughts of siding with the hacker if he came calling, Yejun wouldn’t hesitate to destroy him.

It’d gotten a little colorful toward the end, when he’d leaned in and said he’d make Nix wish he were never born if it came to that, but it’d been said with that same flirtatious smirk, and afterward, he’d winked and bid Nix farewell on the path. He’d gone right toward the Roost, and Nix had gone left toward his dorm.

If that’s what the redhead had seen…

“I wouldn’t exactly put it that way,” Nix replied, uncomfortable with this topic.

“According to gossip,” Khole said, “that’s not true, like, at all. Aren’t you dating them?”

The redhead gasped. “Like all three of them?! At the same time?!”

“Man, shut up,” Grady hissed, glancing toward the head of the room. Fortunately, the librarian still wasn’t at her station, so there was no one there to scold them. Once that was settled, he turned back to Nix. “Seriously though, I’ve been wanting to ask…Is it true?”

“Sort of.” He couldn’t deny it, but it felt strange admitting to something like that to a group of strangers, especially when the vibe was so torn.

Half of them seemed interested and excited about the news and the other half…

“Are they blackmailing you?” Juri asked.

“Oh,” the redhead set his chin on his fist and stared, “are they? Scandalous.”

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