Page 56 of Villain

“You seem nice, Nix,” Juri told him. “Quiet, a good student. If they aren’t blackmailing you, I suggest you try and distance yourself as soon as possible.”

“How’s he supposed to do that?” Khloe asked dryly. “The whole campus is already talking about how it’s been three generations since the last time a group of Demons publicly dated the same person. He'll turn them into a laughingstock if he tries to dump them now. You really think they’ll let him get away with that?”

She clearly didn’t.

And neither did Nix, if he were being honest. The problem was he couldn’t actually be honest with them. Couldn’t explain what he was really doing with the Demons, or what they were really doing with him.

So he did the only thing he could do and nodded solemnly at them.

“I’ll try my best,” he said.

He just left out the part about how he meant he’d try his best to use them back every bit as much as they were using him.

Chapter 15:

Yejun stared out the window, over the drop of the mountain down at the murky tops of the nearest school buildings. Lights flickered through the foggy haze as water pelted against the thick pane of glass separating him from the elements.

He swirled the dark blue contents of his half-filled glass, the same one he’d been nursing since his arrival over an hour ago. The lounge area of the club was quieter than usual, though every now and again he felt the burning stares of others and caught wind of their whispered words.

It’d had gotten around that the Demons had chosen their sacrifice, and curiosity was brewing amongst the Essential who understood what that truly meant.

Their plan was convoluted, but it wasn’t like Yejun could come up with a better one, especially not in the short amount of time they had. He’d been against using Nix in the beginning, mostly because allowing anyone to get close to them like that made his skin crawl, but in the end, it’d been two against one.

When he’d called Nix to Hunters Cross yesterday, he’d intended to make his displeasure known, only…Nix had arrived looking like a partially drowned kitten, his hackles risen and all, and Yejun hadn’t been able to do it.

It wasn’t Nix’s fault that he’d been roped into this. Lake might seem like a frozen ice prince, but when he wanted something, he was more like an avalanche crashing his way through. He’d bulldoze anything in his way to get his way. Yejun had always admired that in him, even though it was also a trait that could get them into trouble.

“Yo.” West appeared at his side, bumping his elbow against his before taking up a spot against the window next to him. He was holding a beer, his sharp gaze taking in the scenery below.

Even though he appeared relaxed with his shoulder propped against the glass, Yejun recognized the coiled tension in the set of his best friend’s shoulders. Of the three of them, West was the most explosive, the most chaotic and out of touch with his emotions. He liked to pretend things away over dealing with them, but Light help anyone who tried to tell him as much.

They all had their own ways of coping, and who was Yejun to interfere or lecture?

He moved his glass forward, waiting for West to notice before they clinked them together. West wouldn’t admit it, but he’d been on edge since Lake’s return. Probably because he was torn between several different feelings on the matter.

The three of them were one, painted on the same shitty canvas, their splotches bleeding into one another. But that didn’t mean there weren’t issues. They’d both wanted Lake to come home, had missed him while he’d been away. West, however, had to deal with the inferiority complex he’d been gifted from his father, and that was always more difficult when in the presence of their Imperial bestie.

“Did you get any sleep last night?” Yejun had gotten up to get something to drink and had passed by West’s bedroom. The sound of clicking keys had drifted through the door.

“Some,” West said.

“Was it worth it at least?”

“I didn’t find anything new, if that’s what you’re asked. Whoever this guy is, they’re good.”

“Better than you?”

The corner of West’s mouth tipped up. “They have the advantage since I couldn’t predict they were coming. Does that mean they’re better?” He lifted a hand and rocked it back and forth. “I guess only time will tell.”

“You still think we should bring Nix into this?”

West soured some. “Lake isn’t onboard. He doesn’t trust him.”

West had suggested allowing Nix to take a look at the old hacks, but Lake had refused, preferring to keep their pretty little boy toy in the dark as much as possible.

“Ironic, considering the whole reason Nix is even involved is because he wanted him to be,” Yejun sighed.

“He’s involved,” a dry voice carried to them, and when they turned, it was to find Lake slowly approaching, “because he broke into the app. The only person to blame for that is Nix himself.”

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