The "guest" turned out to be a messenger. He gave me a small box with a note and hurried out the door. Thank god that was it. The note said:

The temptation to write back to her with some sarcastic response was strong. I chuckled at the note and opened the box. Inside was an herbalism book- one I've been thinking about getting- and...

"Chocolate mousse!" I smiled like an excited child. Mama Belle knows me so well! A fancy spoon came with it, so I immediately opened the container and took a bite. This is the best chocolate mousse I've ever tasted. I got out a piece of paper and scribbled a short letter.

I didn't bother putting my name at the end. Belle would know I sent it from the Duke's insignia. I called one of the Duke's messengers and gave him the letter with a not-so-subtle threat to get it to Belle by tomorrow.

The chocolate mousse did wonders for my sour mood. What was I even sour about before? Can't remember. Ah, the wonders of chocolate mousse. The bed looks so warm and comfortable now. Might as well call it an early night before anything or anyone tries to ruin my good mood.

~

"You're finally up. I apologize for scaring you before." A warm hand stroked my hair. WIth a groan, I opened my eyes.

"UWAH?!" I bolted up and scooted to the farthest side of the bed. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Fu," Harvard grinned, "why are you so surprised?" Wait a second, this isn't my room! Is this another super weird dream?

"What did you mean by before?" I glared, pulling the blanket up to my shoulders. Dream Harvard is even worse than real Harvard!

"The wall incident, obviously," his grin grew wider. "I want to make it clear that I wasn't actually going to do anything further."

"You touched my ass! That's far enough to be molestation!" I yelled back. I pinched myself hard enough to bruise. Ow!

"?" Prince Harvard looked at the red mark in confusion. Why the hell am I not awake yet?! "What are you- stop that!" He grabbed my arm and pried my hand away.

"Let me go! I need to wake up from this nightmare!" I jerked my arm away. To my surprise, Harvard's face became serious- I don't know if the hurt on his face was my imagination or not.

"Please, I want to properly apologize. I went too far."

"..." Dream Harvard is unpredictable and I don't like it one bit! Give me the usual bastard instead of this... thing!

"I'm sorry, I only wanted to tease you."

"By putting me in a wall and molesting me?!" Anger surged up in me. "How on earth is that 'teasing'?! You bastard!" I punched him in the face with all my might. He tumbled backward onto the ground.

"..." Hair covered his face as he held his injured cheek. "You're the only one who would do this."

"Hah?" Does he want another whack? Actually, since this is just a dream, should I kill him instead?

"...As I thought, I can't say it." Harvard chuckled, but when he looked up there wasn't a smile on his face.

"Say what? You're pissing me off with all this riddle talk."

"Maybe some other time. My time is up." Harvard stood up, "you'll have to wait until it's my turn again." Another one of his infuriating signature smirks appeared. "Unless you want me to stay?"

"No." My immediate rejection was met with yet another chuckle. Seriously, why is he laughing so much?! What's so funny?

"Until we meet again," the smirk morphed into a jovial smile. Oh god, the genuinely happy face he's making is horrifying. Fortunately, I blinked and saw the familiar ceiling of my bedroom. Thank god!

"Oh, you're up!" A maid came in with my school uniform. "I mended your uniform. There was a small tear near the sleeve."

"I need to request a bigger size, thanks." I stretched and got out of bed. The wide-eyed maid handed me my clothes.

"..."

"? Is something wrong?" I looked down to make sure I wasn't naked. Confident as I am, being naked in front of someone I don't know would be mortifying. Thankfully, I was fully clothed.

"Oh, n-no! I'll leave, young master!" She ran out the door. Huh, did I say something weird?

...Oh, I did. I don't usually thank servants besides Belle. Eh, whatever. Small children won't die whenever I say thanks. Or will they- alright, enough acting like a crazy person and having a conversation with myself.

Half an hour later, I sat at the dining table with father. Tabius already left for whatever it is he needs to do. Usually, meal times are peaceful and quiet, but a certain someone looks pissed.

"What happened?" I sipped my coffee.

"Hm?" Father snapped out of his daze.

"You were looking at that egg like you were ready to massacre its entire family and the chicken that laid it."

"..."

"Was it that 'damn O'Brien'?" I forced my grin back.

"You still remember that?"

"Yep. Memories are weird like that," I put the cup down. "Don't try to avoid the subject, father. I know your tactics."

"Didn't realize I've become so predictable in my old age," he huffed dryly. "It's nothing you should worry about."

"Remember when you said that two years ago and it nearly killed me?" I raised an eyebrow.

"That was a very unfortunate coincidence."

"Uh huh, sure. You can tell me that when you almost get crushed by a piano." I shuddered at the memory. Haven't touched a piano since.

"This is completely different. It has nothing to do with you." Father took a bite of egg. Guess that's all I get from him.

"Fine, don't tell me then. Stubborn old man." I didn't bother hiding the last part.

"..." The look father gave me was his version of an eyeroll. "Get going. You're going to be late if you keep dilly dallying about."

"Yes, sir!" I gave a mock salute and left the dining room. A faint grumble from father was all I heard. Heh, it's kinda fun messing with him. Payback for my childhood.

~

Elliot was back in full bound. The moment I stepped off the carriage I heard him yell my name. Wish he'd stop causing a ruckus every time he sees me.

"Miss me?" He smiled with a hearty slap to the back.

"Not hardly," I rolled my eyes at his antics.

"Can we eat lunch at the student council room again?"

"Don't we always eat there nowadays?" I raised a brow.

"Yeah, but I thought I'd ask," Elliot shrugged. "Be generous for once." That made me huff in amusement. "What? I'll have you know I'm a saint! Be honored I've graced you with my presence!"

"I'm so honored, Saint Elliot," I scoffed. "Why do you always want to eat there? And why do you need me to be there too?"

"It's quiet and I don't want to eat with those guys alone. Besides, I'd get kicked out if you weren't with me."

"Why?"

"Because you're Tabius' brother and you don't take their shit. You're like... a shield."

"Ah, okay." It didn't make much sense to me, but I don't feel like questioning him further. I'm tired from that dream, maybe I should skip the next class and take a nap until lunch break.

~

After the first class, I snuck away and found myself by the student council room. Since Elliot wants to eat lunch here, might as well take a nap here. Besides, no one's in here at the moment.

I plopped on one of the comfortable couches and basked in the sunlight streaming through the open windows. Ha, this sounded like a scene straight out of a fairy tale. The warmth comforted me and I fell asleep.

This time I didn't dream of the bastard prince. Only darkness greeted me in my dreams.

What felt like a minute later did I wake up to a ticklish sensation. Like someone stroking my hair.

"Mmng," I grunted and tried to pry my eyes open, but my heavy eyelids refused to move. I felt too cozy to care who was touching me. It reminded me of back then when Belle would stroke my hair until I fell asleep after a nightmare. The thought made me smile a little and I drifted off again.

Next time I woke up, my body felt heavy and my throat itched. I coughed and lifted a hand to cover my eyes. My hand grazed something warm. With a jolt, my eyes peeled open. The clock on the wall said it was five minutes until lunch break.

"Did I wake you up?" I craned my sore neck to look up into amber eyes. That's when I realized the pillow under my head was actually Zachary's thigh. "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."

"...It's fine. Elliot would have woken me up by jumping on me." My words came out a bit slurred. The sleepiness made my movements slow and lazy. "You're pretty comfy."

Zachary's lips twitched up in a miniscule smile. "Glad to hear it." He went back to reading. As much as I would love to go back to sleep, I wasn't lying when I said Elliot would jump on me if he caught me sleeping.

"What are you reading?" I closed my eyes again.

"Oh- uh, just something for my studies," Zachary mumbled, "nothing interesting."

"What topic?"

"...Herbalism."

"Herbalism? We have a class for that?"

"No."

"So it's something you do for fun?"

"...Yeah."

"Nice, I like stuff like that. Nature is interesting."

"You do?" Even with my eyes closed, I could envision Zachary's shocked face.

"I bet you just thought I don't seem like the type of guy who does anything besides swordsmanship or fooling around." The leg under me tensed, which made me grin. "Don't worry, I get the same reaction whenever someone finds out."

"S-Sorry, I-I don't think you're dumb o-or a-anything like that."

"I never thought you did, so calm down. You're making my head shake." I heard him mutter another sorry. I shouldn't tease him too much or he'll combust. To ease his nerves I moved the subject back to the book, "which book is it?"

"I-It's the fourth volume by Eddie Walden."

"Really? I've looked for that one, but haven't had any luck."

"...Do you.. Want to read it when I'm done?" Is it odd I found his hesitance endearing? It was like an adorable child came up to you and shyly asked if you wanted to play with their favorite toy.

"If you're sure, then hell yeah I would."

"Okay," I cracked an eye open to look at his face. He had a shy smile as he continued reading. Ah, he's like a little kid. Makes me wonder why he's always by the bastard prince.

Three loud dings from the bell tower signaled the end of class. My stomach still felt full from breakfast, so I won't go to the cafeteria.

"Do you need to get up?" I asked. Zachary shook his head and held up a small bag. "Then I'm going to stay here."

"You're not going to eat?"

"I'm not hungry." Silence fell over us- minus the muffled noises from the hall. Now that I'm fully awake, it feels awkward to have my head on his leg. This is the first time we've talked and here I am laying on his lap like we're close! Wait, wouldn't he have put my head on his leg since I was asleep?

"Why didn't you sit on the other couch?"

"Oh, a-am I bothering you? I'll move."

"No, you're not. Just curious."

"...I like sitting in this spot," he admitted. "Sorry."

"You apologize too much. If I didn't like it, I'd let you know. You should do the same. Especially with the bastard."

"? Who?"

"The bastard prince, who else would I be talking about?"

"He's not a bastard," I bit back a laugh at his offended tone. "He just likes to tease."

"And harass," I added.

"...I know he's forceful, but he isn't bad. He knows when to stop."

"Hm." I heard the door open, but I stayed where I was and kept my eyes shut.

"Hey Zach- what are you doing?" That's Tabius. "Why are you laying on Zach?"

"Because I'm tired and he hasn't told me to move." More people came in. None of them were Elliot. "Ugh, don't want to get up."

"What do you do at night? You're obviously not sleeping," Tabius questioned.

"Your motherly side is showing."

"I don- ugh, whatever. Stop being a dumbass and take care of yourself before you collapse from sleep deprivation."

"Yes mom." The only reply was a weary sigh from Tabius. I opened my eyes yet again, nap time was over. Jackie and Christopher were seated at their own desks, silently eating. Right when I pondered sitting up, I heard loud noises in the hall. Well, loud stomps to be exact. Oh dear, my time has come.

"Hup!" I forced myself to sit up and ran a hand through my hair. "He's here." The door slammed open.

"Randall! Why did you ditch me?!" Elliot yelled.

"Calm down before you rupture my eardrums. I was tired, so I took a nap." Elliot scowled, but sat next to me anyway and shoved something in my hand. A sandwich. Pfft, even when he's pissed at me he still gives me food. "Thanks, Saint Elliot."

"Yeah, yeah," Elliot grumbled with a pout, but it quickly crumbled into a smile. "Dammit, I can't stay mad at you!" Tabius shot him a look of disbelief. I munched on the sandwich even though I wasn't hungry.

Then came the bastard.

"Oh, Zachary, have you finished the report yet?" Prince Harvard asked before swiveling his eyes to mine. "Have a nice nap?"

"..." He better not have done anything weird to me. The dream Harvard made the urge to punch the real one much harder to ignore.

"On the desk," Zachary didn't look away from his book. "Under the red folder." Prince Harvard strode to a desk and sat down. For once, his face was serious and he didn't try to goad or tease me.

The next half hour was quiet and disturbingly peaceful.

We all know what happens when things get peaceful.