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On the stone path back to the dormitory, Vic's behavior was a bit odd.
He no longer walked in the middle of the path with his usual swagger. Instead, he acted like a frightened rabbit.
One moment, he shrank behind Enid, using her petite frame to shield himself. The next, he quickened his pace to practically glue himself to Wednesday's side, as if seeking some form of icy sanctuary.
His peach-blossom eyes, usually twinkling with manic light, were now darting around nervously, scanning every shadowy corner with vigilance.
"Vic, what are you doing?"
Wednesday finally stopped walking. Her cool voice carried a trace of imperceptible exasperation.
This guy was practically shoving her into the mossy wall by the roadside.
Vic snapped out of it, looking startled. He leaned close to Wednesday, lowered his voice, and wore an expression of unprecedented seriousness and... mystery?
"Wednesday, I feel like I'm in grave danger right now."
Wednesday raised an eyebrow slightly, watching him silently, waiting for the punchline.
"Think about it."
Seeing he had her attention, Vic immediately began his "crisis analysis," his fingers gesturing unconsciously.
"I am currently dating the #1 and #2 most popular beauties at Nevermore simultaneously! Do you know how much aggro I'm pulling?"
"The guys will be jealous that I found such beautiful and powerful girlfriends. The girls will be jealous that a handsome guy like me is 'two-timing' but didn't consider two-timing with them!"
The more he spoke, the more logical it sounded to him. His expression grew more tense, and he even shivered exaggeratedly:
"Thinking about it that way, I'm basically a walking hate-magnet right now! Super dangerous! Seriously, I feel like something has been watching us from the dark this whole time. That gaze... it's chilling!"
"You silly~"
Enid, listening from the side, finally couldn't hold back a laugh. Pfft. Her blue eyes curved into crescents as she rolled them at Vic good-naturedly.
"Are you fishing for compliments for us, or are you just roundaboutly praising yourself for being handsome?"
"Ooh... even Enid doesn't believe me."
Vic's face fell instantly. Like a large dog misunderstood by its owner, he puffed out his cheeks in grievance and turned his head away, leaving them with a view of his "I am hurt" profile.
"Okay, okay, I believe you~ I believe you, alright?"
Seeing him like this, Enid's heart softened immediately. She patted his back like coaxing a child, her tone filled with doting helplessness.
"Our Vic is the handsomest, that's why the whole world is jealous, right?"
"Hmph."
Vic let out a sound through his nose that meant "That's more like it," and his expression relaxed significantly.
"Stop thinking about that."
Enid skillfully changed the subject, trying to dispel Vic's inexplicable persecution complex.
"Think about the bonfire party Acting Principal Dort mentioned earlier! I heard they prepared lots of good food this time, and there will be improv performances too!"
"Oh! Right! The bonfire party!"
Vic's attention was instantly sucked away like iron to a magnet. He snapped out of his "being hunted" fantasy. His eyes lit up swish, and a brilliant smile bloomed on his face again.
Earlier in the Quad, they had run into Nevermore's new Acting Principal for the year—Barry Dort.
He had informed them about the bonfire party tonight.
"This Acting Principal is way more open-minded than Aunt Larissa! We should have played like this ages ago! This is what campus life is about! I hope Principal Dort can keep acting for a while longer!"
As soon as his voice faded, Wednesday's flat, waveless voice rang out.
"Rest assured. I have inquired. Principal Weems has formally applied for academic sabbatical, temporarily stepping away from management duties until..."
She paused, her dark eyes slanting a glance at Vic. Her tone carried her signature, precise toxicity.
"...a certain someone graduates. After all, I imagine she does not wish to deal with the endless 'surprises' caused by a certain someone on a daily basis."
Vic: "..."
The smile on his face froze instantly.
Watching Vic get roasted, Enid couldn't help but laugh again. The corner of Wednesday's mouth also curved up by a microscopic pixel.
The setting sun stretched the shadows of the three long, weaving them together on Nevermore's ancient stone path.
Vic's inexplicable "sense of crisis" came quickly and left just as fast, replaced by anticipation for the party.
However, he didn't notice that near a distant sculpture, a figure had suddenly appeared, silently watching the direction they left, the corner of their mouth hooking into an elusive arc.
---
"Whoa, this is astounding!"
Standing at the door of their dorm room, Vic looked at the oak door plastered with colorful papers and issued a heartfelt exclamation.
The door was covered in all kinds of hand-drawn art. The styles varied—some exquisite, some rough—but without exception, they all depicted the three of them... or rather, the four "people."
There was a cool profile of Wednesday wearing the symbiote battle suit; a moment of Enid bursting with wild power in werewolf form;
Many drawings were accompanied by slogans written in exaggerated calligraphy: "Our Heroes!" "Guardians of Nevermore!"
"It appears we need to set some bear traps here. Or perhaps more effective defensive measures."
Wednesday looked at these "fan works" expressionlessly. Her tone held zero emotion, only the annoyance of being disturbed.
She reached out without hesitation, tearing down the papers efficiently, as if cleaning up annoying spam flyers.
"Hey, don't!"
Vic watched the drawings being torn down with a bit of heartache.
"I think they're pretty good. Look at this one, look how handsome they drew me!"
He pointed to one of the more normal portraits of himself.
"Are you sure?"
Enid, suppressing a laugh, peeled a drawing with a distinctly different style from the corner of the doorframe and held it in front of Vic's eyes. Her blue eyes twinkled with mischief.
"Here, this one is 'you' too."
Vic looked closely, and the smile on his face froze instantly.
The picture was indeed him...
But it was just a severed head, solitary and expressionless, eyes empty and terrified.
And right next to his head was a drawing of a rusty hatchet, covered in dark red "blood."
The art style was grim, and the implication was self-evident.
Vic instantly felt a chill on the back of his neck and shrank it subconsciously.
"Wh... whose 'artistic creation' is this?"
His voice was trembling slightly.
"Pfft—" Seeing his cowardly look, Enid finally burst out laughing, her shoulders shaking.
"So? Still think it's 'pretty good'? Mr. 'Hero'?"
"Enid, you're so mean..."
Vic glared resentfully at his gloating girlfriend, feeling his newly established "Hero" pride chopped to pieces by that hatchet drawing.
Wednesday had efficiently cleared most of the artwork. Finally, she crumpled the "Hatchet Vic" drawing into a ball and tossed it precisely into the trash can at the end of the hall.
She clapped the nonexistent dust off her hands, pushed open the dorm door, and dropped a sentence without looking back:
"It seems your 'popularity' is indeed as complex as Venom stated. I suggest you maintain vigilance when you sleep tonight."
Vic touched his neck and followed them into the room with a mournful face.
"I think my neck needs some black magic protection."