It have been 2 days since Vanessa and Arsène went out to a cafe to hang out. The day was going fine, Yami visited Arsène as soon as he woke up. And later, Vanessa visited Arsène and took him out to have fun. Though Arsène had fun, he also had some… surprises waiting for him. Like how Vanessa confessed how she was interested in someone like… Arsène. And this was quite the revelation.

Arsène had finally recovered and returned to the dorm. But he spent majority of the day laying on the bed, thinking of what Vanessa meant. That women was already a mystery to him, since Arsène felt like he knew Vanessa, even though they have never met before the day at the school. Its also because Arsène always acted impulsive around Vanessa. Asking questions without thinking twice, doing stuff without thinking of the consequences, etc.

Arsène just laid on his bed, looking at the ceiling at he thought of all this. He sighed, sitting up on his bed. He looked around, wondering what he could do.

“Man… I am bored… What to do…”

As Arsène sat on his bed, looking around his room, his thoughts kept drifting back to Vanessa's confession. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was different now between them, but the mystery of it all only made him more confused. The way she looked at him, the way she spoke—there was a certain intensity in her words that he hadn’t expected. He rubbed his temples, trying to organize his thoughts, but it only made everything feel more jumbled.

Arsène glanced at the clock. It was still early, but he had no idea what to do with himself. Normally, he would be out there training or battling demons, but he couldn’t bring himself to focus on anything too serious right now. The lingering feeling of uncertainty about Vanessa was clouding his mind.

He stood up and paced around the room, trying to distract himself. He could go out and find something to do, maybe talk to Yami, but he wasn’t sure he felt like being around anyone just yet. His mind kept returning to Vanessa, and how her confession had thrown him off balance. Why had she told him that? What did it mean for their friendship? Or was it something more?

“Ugh, this is ridiculous.”

Arsène muttered to himself, running a hand through his hair.

“I barely know her, and now I’m thinking like this. What’s wrong with me?”

He paced around the room, occasionally running his toes into the bed. He then halted as the door to the room opened. Arsène looked to the who was at the door and it was Ethan. Ethan walked into, originally looking down at his phone. Then he looked up, spotting Arsène just standing in the room.

“Oh, hey Arsène. Are you alright”

Arsène nodded, despite the fact he was quite unsure if Vanessa was messing with him or not.

“Yeah, I am fine. Why do you ask?”

Ethan looked at Arsène with concern.

“Well, it was just that… You skipped school for 2 whole days. And you also weren’t present at the dorm for some time until recently… So I am just kinda worried.”

Arsène’s eyes widened, realizing Ethan was worrying for his sake. It honestly made Arsène feel a little guilty. He did randomly disappear 2 days ago, was not present in the dorms during said time and randomly came back without an explanation. All in all, Ethan and the others had all the right to question Arsène. But he was kind of worried if revealing any sensitive information may anger Yami, and Yami is one person Arsène didn’t wish to enrage or upset.

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“I am sorry. I was just busy with something in the city. I should have told you sooner.”

Of course, it wasn’t entirely a lie. Since Arsène was healing and taking rest in ‘his’ room in Yami’s building. But he did lie about being ‘busy’ with something in the city.

Ethan raised an eyebrow, clearly not fully convinced, but he decided not to press further.

“Alright, if you say so.”

He said, slipping his phone into his pocket.

“Just don’t disappear like that again, man. You’ve got everyone worried, especially Vanessa. She’s been asking about you.”

At the mention of Vanessa’s name, Arsène stiffened slightly. He tried to keep his expression neutral, but Ethan caught on immediately. A sly grin spread across his face.

"Oh-ho, what’s this? Did something happen between you two?"

Ethan teased, walking over to the Arsène and standing beside him.

“Nothing happened!”

Arsène shot back, a bit too quickly. His voice betrayed his nerves, and Ethan's grin widened.

“Really? Because you’re acting kinda... weird. Vanessa’s been really concerned, you know. She even stopped by a few times to check if you were back.”

“She did?”

Arsène blurted out before he could stop himself. Realizing his slip, he groaned and ran a hand through his hair again.

“Look, Ethan, it’s complicated, alright? I don’t even know what’s going on myself.”

Ethan’s expression softened slightly.

“Alright, alright, I’ll back off. But you know, Vanessa doesn’t seem like the type to mess around. If she said something, she probably meant it.”

Arsène sighed, slumping back onto his bed.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m worried about. I don’t know what she meant, and I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel about it.”

Ethan walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

“Take your time, Arsène. Don’t overthink it. Just talk to her when you’re ready. She’s a pretty straightforward person; I’m sure she’ll clear things up if you ask.”

Arsène nodded, appreciating Ethan’s advice. Even though he still felt unsure, having someone to talk to about it made the weight on his chest feel a little lighter.

“Thanks, Ethan. I’ll figure it out... eventually.”

Ethan smiled.

“Good. Now, how about you grab some food? You’ve been cooped up in here all day, and I’m starving. Let’s head to the cafeteria before all the good stuff’s gone.”

Arsène hesitated for a moment before deciding that some fresh air and a change of scenery might do him some good.

“Alright, let’s go.”

He said, standing up.

As the two left the room, Arsène couldn’t help but wonder if a simple conversation with Vanessa would really be enough to untangle the knot in his mind—or if it would only make things even more complicated.

*