"Are you gonna destroy the wall again?" asked the housekeeper, folding her arms as she glared at Cobalt from behind her desk.

"What? No, of course-"

"What about the window? Am I gonna find it smashed this year too? Or the furniture?"

"No, that was-!"

"And the carpet? Any more vomit stains to worry about?"

"That was only one time!"

"Hrrngh... Alright then, head on up. But I swear in the name of all that burns, Mr. Trayer; you better keep that room absolutely pristine!"

Apologising profusely to the housekeeper, Cobalt bid her a shaky farewell and skirted up the stairs, feeling uneasy as he climbed the graffiti-covered stairwell. In his defense, most of the destruction that befell his room the previous year was not his fault. The window lock had always been broken, and he had a few cases of people breaking in through the panes before. As for the furniture, that was all just a terribly-timed accident, and the vomit stain in the carpet was because Whitney got sick. In regards to the massive cracks in the wall... that was something he would have preferred to have forgotten.

Reaching the fifth floor, the Incubus made his way down the hall towards room 521. A bronze plaque had been bolted to the wall beside it, bearing his name.

"Home sweet home," he murmured, unlocking the door and flicking the light on as he stepped inside.

Just as Mr. Hersh had said, all of his luggage was already ready and waiting, but that was not what caught Cobalt's attention.

"Oh wow... Mistress Viola really did do the place up," he remarked, looking around with wide eyes.

Sure enough, the entire dorm had been renovated. The peeling yellow wallpaper had been replaced, and the floorboards no longer creaked when he walked upon them. A brand new couch and coffee table sat beneath the window, and over in one of the corners, the Incubus was delighted to see a desk set up. The kitchenette looked much nicer, and the jury-rigged microwave that Quin had bestowed up him had been replaced with a more official, cleaner looking device. The bathroom looked to have been retiled as well, but most important of all was what lay in the centre of the main room.

"A bed..." Cobalt remarked with wide eyes, gingerly pressing his fingers down upon the mattress.

He couldn't believe his eyes. After having to deal with futons for so long, he could finally look forward to spending his nights in an actual, framed bed...!

"This year is looking up...!" he said with a smile, grabbing his suitcases.

Buzzing with excitement, he began to unpack. Setting all of his teaching supplies down upon his new desk, he placed all of his toiletries in the bathroom and stocked the kitchen with some of the prepacked meals that he had brought with him. This year he had brought some decor items to liven the place up with, like some framed photographs of his family and a map of Hell that he pinned up above his desk. As he pulled out a glass jar from his bag however, Cobalt began to feel a little uneasy.

It was filled with strange green preservative fluid, and within floated a pair of vertabrae; one cracked, the other shattered entirely. Feeling a tingle run up his spine, he reached behind himself and gingerly pressed his fingers against his lower back.

"Why do I still have this?" he sighed, shaking his head.

Regardless, he set it on a shelf and continued unpacking.

With everything in its place, Cobalt took a deep breath and threw his wardrobe open. He carefully disrobed and folded the clothes that Mr. Bretzt loaned him, making a mental note to get it dry cleaned at the next available opportunity. He pulled on a pair of trousers, but as he did up the fly, the Incubus caught a glance of himself in the mirror.

There, a few inches beneath his breastbone, was the warped scar left by Diate's spear. His smile faded as he stepped closer to the mirror, moving his finger from the scar to the scratches spanning his chest; more mementos from the Devil. Swallowing hard, he shook his head and tried to force a smile back on, but balked at the sight of his teeth. They were each jagged and sharp, almost unnaturally so.

"The jaws of a carnivore..." he whispered, shutting his mouth as he drew his wings in around himself.

It all came back to him. He had been trying not to think about it all day, but it was hard to keep the thoughts at bay any longer. Those girls... the ones to whom he was so close... they all knew what he was now. And even though they had tried to reassure him, he couldn't help but feel as though they were-

"Agh!" he suddenly exclaimed, screwing his eyes shut as he forcefully shook his head.

... No. None of that. He had promised himself. No more second-guessing. Not this year. Taking a deep breath, he shut the closet door.

"Get it together, Trayer," he murmured to himself, eyes still shut.

The Incubus' blood ran cold as a he felt a pair of warm arms suddenly embrace him from behind. A feminine voice giggled playfully in his ear, and upon his back he could feel the presence of something... soft.

"Guess who, sugar~?" the intruder cooed, her tail coiling around his leg.

He froze up.

"M- Miss Terna..." Cobalt stammered, inhaling the sweet perfume wafting from behind him.

"Ah ah, come on; aren't we a little closer than that? We shared a bed, after all~!"

"Not like that!" he cried, tearing himself out of her grasp as he whipped around to face her.

Behind him stood a raven-haired Succubus, dressed in a casually untucked uniform. The top few buttons of her shirt were undone and her tie was loosened, prompting Cobalt to tear his gaze away. She giggled and stepped back into his field of view, her sapphire eyes glinting playfully as her lips curled into a smile.

"Why so shy, sugar? You've been avoiding me all day," she teased, her wings fluttering behind her back.

"I- I've been busy," Cobalt replied with a stutter.

"Is that a fact? Too busy to say hello to your favourite student?

He swallowed hard.

"Karazelle, you know I don't have favourites," Cobalt urged planting his hands on his hips in what he thought was an authoritative gesture.

She glanced down and smirked.

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"I don't see you treating anyone else to this view."

Eyes widening, Cobalt glanced down at his unbuttoned shirt and immediately lunged to cover himself up. Taking advantage of his distraction, Karazelle stepped closer to him, forcing him to stagger back and bump into the frame of his new bed. Placing a hand on his chest, the Succubus gave him a light push, knocking him down onto the duvet.

"Karazelle...!" he cheeped.

"What's the matter, sugar? Momma went to such lengths to provide these new beds for us. Don't you think oughta put them through their paces~?"

Before he could react, she clambered onto Cobalt's lap, pinning him in place. He was forced to lie back as she planted her hands either side of his head.

"K- Karazelle, what-!"

"Shh... It's been so long since I've seen you, sugar; let me enjoy this...!"

The Succubus lowered herself onto him, lying against Cobalt's chest as she took a deep breath. A small smile played across her lips.

"W- We can't be doing this," the Incubus murmured, holding his breath so as not to disturb her too much.

"What? Enjoying each other's company?"

"No, um..."

She propped herself up on her hands, her smile widening as she gazed deep into Cobalt's eyes.

"Are you hoping this'll go somewhere else, sugar~?" she teased, giving him one of her dazzling grins.

His eyes widened as he felt his cheeks flush.

"Wh- What?! No, that's not what I-!" he stammered.

"Oh there's no need to be shy, sugar! I've been waiting for you to ask me outright...!"

"That's not what I-!"

"I could turn the lights down low... Bring over some chocolates and candles... Lock the door up tight...!" Karazelle continued, her voice a low and sensual purr.

"K- Karazelle...!"

"Let's start this new year off with a bang, shall we...?"

Gripping the open ends of his shirt, she leaned in close, the tip of her nose brushing against his. Her perfume was overwhelming, and the feeling of her skin pressing against his caused electric shivers to travel down his spine. His heart almost stopped when Karazelle licked her lips and clucked her tongue.

"... but not right now. We got a party to attend, sugar!" she laughed, pulling his shirt closed.

Cobalt stared at the Succubus blankly as she buttoned up his shirt.

"... What...?" he breathed, watching her as she skipped over to his wardrobe.

"The students throw a little party every year, whenever school starts back up. I skipped out on last year's because, well... I was having more fun with you up here, wasn't I?" Karazelle said with a wink, rooting through his clothes.

"A student party?" the Incubus murmured, sitting up straight.

"Yup. Music, dancing, a couple of drinks; haven't you ever been to a party before, sugar?" she asked, pulling out a navy jacket and handing it to him.

Cobalt didn't answer. He stared at the floor as he thought back, struggling to remember. He never had time for parties or the like back in college, and thinking further back... well... there was no thinking further back. His memory of his schooldays was patchy at best, and from what he could vaguely recollect, he didn't attend any parties back then either.

Although... he remembered being taken out for drinks on his eighteenth, but couldn't remember by whom...

"Not really, I'm afraid," he answered after a few moments.

Karazelle gave him a surprised look, which quickly became a gaze of sympathy.

"Oh? Well, in that case I'd be happy to be your date for your first ever party!"

"Karazelle I don't think that's such a-"

"Shh. It's just a little student get-together. You don't gotta worry about other teachers looking down their noses at you."

"That's not what I'm worried about."

"What, you afraid to be seen with me, sugar?"

"N- No, it's just... student-teacher fraternisation and all that..."

Rolling her eyes, she tossed a pair of shoes at him and folded her arms.

"'Student-teacher fraternisation', huh? You still think people care about that? After all that happened last year?" she said with a frown, leaning against the windowsill.

As much as he didn't wish to admit it, she had a point. His students were already earning themselves a reputation as 'Trayer's damsels', and the incident last year certainly didn't help matters. At this point there wasn't much point in trying to remain distant.

"I... supposed you're right," he sighed, leaning down to tie his shoes.

Noticing the dour expression on his face, she patted his shoulder and gave him a smile.

"Hey, eyes up. Remember what I told you?"

Cobalt looked up into the Succubus' eyes. They glinted brilliantly in the light.

"You're a hero, and a lot more people recognise that than you think. And believe me, we are more than happy to show you off as our rescuer!" Karazelle said with a wink.

He raised an eyebrow.

"We?"

"Yup! C'mon, the others are waiting!"

As soon as he tied the bows on his shoes, Karazelle grabbed her teacher's hand and dragged him over to the window. She shunted it open - causing the lock to break with a dismaying "pop" - and clambered out onto the outside sill, causing Cobalt's heart to lurch.

"Wait, I'm not good with heights!" the Incubus cried as he was pulled out alongside her, his eyes screwed shut.

"Don't be such a baby, sugar! You've walked it before!"

By the time he saw fit to open his eyes, Karazelle was already halfway across the great metal beam connecting his bedroom window to hers, the very thing that granted her almost-unrestricted access to his dorm. Spinning on her heel, the Succubus flashed him a grin and cartwheeled along the beam, completely unfazed by how high up she was.

"Come on~! They're waiting~!" she chimed, slipping through her own window.

Swallowing hard, Cobalt sunk to his knees and began slowly shuffling across it, freezing up every time the wind threatened to blow him off the beam. Wrapping his arms tight around the cold metal beam, he took a shaky breath. At one point, his fear of heights had begun to abate, but since spending a few weeks on Earth, all of his old anxieties had begun to crawl back.

"Get... Get it tog-"

"Hurry up!"

"C- Coming!"

-----

The last time Cobalt braved the support beam, he tripped on the windowsill and toppled onto Karazelle's couch in an undignified heap. This time, he completely overshot the mark and collapsed directly onto her floor.

"Agh!"

As he winced and rubbed his forehead, Cobalt heard someone snicker to his left.

"Nice of you to drop in, blood brother."

Lifting himself off the floor, the Incubus groaned and looked up to see Quinn sitting cross-legged on Karazelle's bed. The Succubus herself was sorting through various bottles of perfume on her desk.

"I see everyone's gotten new furniture," Cobalt murmured, peering around Karazelle's room.

Surely enough, it was an exact mirror image of his own dorm room, with all the brand new trappings to match. All that differed was the purple LED lights strung across the ceiling, the posters and notes tacked to the walls, and the general mess that came with the territory of being a student. That being said, it was nothing short of impressive how quickly Karazelle managed to clutter her room up considering it was the first day.

"Yeah, solid workmanship too. None of that flatpack bollocks you get Earthside these days," the Imp remarked, giving the corner post of the bed a good kick.

"Quinn, do you mind? If anyone's gonna break my bed, I'd rather it be him," Karazelle remarked, pointing at Cobalt as she spritzed herself with a fancy pink bottle.

The Imp snorted as her teacher went red in the face.

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say. Only reason I'm here is to keep you on task. Izzy's about ready to bust a fuse if you take any longer."

"What? Everyone else got time alone with him today!"

"Not everyone else is trying to ride him raw, Kara."

"Hmm... Wouldn't be so sure of that, now."

"I- I'm right here!" Cobalt abruptly spluttered, unwilling and unable to listen to any more.

With a sigh, Quinn hopped off the bed and threw the door open.

"Whatever, if you wanna risk making Izzy any madder, I'm not gonna stop you. I'm gonna go make sure Lottie's ready," she remarked, stepping out into the hall.

As soon as she said that, Karazelle whipped her head around, her eyes locked onto the Imp like a cat that just spotted its prey.

"Oh? Worried about her?" the Succubus said with a teasing grin, folding her arms.

Quinn faltered, something she didn't often do.

"I- I just want her looking her best. She was real excited for this party," she replied after a moment, though she sounded oddly unsure.

"Mmhm. Why's that? You gonna be staring at her all night?"

"I-!"

For a woman whose skin was already red in colouration, it was quite a sight to see Quinn Redtile somehow go even redder.

"Oh get bent, Kara!" she snapped before bolting out.

The Succubus sighed and placed a dramatic hand on her chest as she watched her friend flee down the corridor.

"Ah, for all your technical prowess, Miss Redtile, you still can't figure the workings of the heart."

Clapping her hands together, she buttoned up her shirt and smoothed down her skirt. Throwing her blazer on, Karazelle turned on her heel and offered her teacher her hand.

"Shall we, sugar? The rest should be waiting for us downstairs. Though I may have promised to be there a few minutes earlier."

He raised an eyebrow.

"How many minutes?"

"Hm... twenty?"

Her devilish grin returned as she suddenly grabbed Cobalt's chin and pulled him close.

"Unless you wanna make it forty~?" she purred, eyes alight.

"B- Best not to keep them waiting, I think."

"Aw, boo."

With a little sigh, the Succubus took Cobalt by the hand and led him out into the hallway, her wings fluttering excitedly behind her as they went.

"Well, the night is still young, right sugar?" she said with a wink.

Cobalt just cleared his throat nervously in response.

Best to hope this party was a modest one.