Soft orchestral music flowed through the shiny marble pillars of the hall, its elegance overlapped with the cheerful chatter of its young occupants. A long table adorned with a soft bleached tablecloth provided the students with delicacy that they rarely had the chance to taste. Of course, the majority of the teenagers were far from interested in the food, but to the attractive strangers that they had the privilege to share their Christmas with.

“Hey, see the guys over there?”

“You mean the ones beside the entrance? Yes! They’re pretty hot!”

“The blonde one looks plain gorgeous! But the one with glasses next to him looks so damn cool!”

“I think the red head with long hair is just too cute, and his suit fits him so well!”

The girls started giggling uncontrollably to what they had said shamelessly, their eyes twinkling as brightly as the jewelry that they wore around their healthy porcelain skin.

…

“You have got to be kidding me.” Louis and Olivia groaned, their dress shirts and ties loose and un-tucked.

“And on Christmas too…”

Olivia made slow progress to pick up the mission scroll on the pale white table of the underground laboratory. She reluctantly flipped open the scroll inch by inch and read its contents with a frown on her face.

“Even the professor has gone to enjoy the holiday, but noooo, he has to just give us an ‘emergency call’ and leave us this stupid scroll.” Louis complained, making dramatic gestures to show his detest.

“SHIT!” Olivia yelled into the scroll, making him jump.

“What? What is it?”

Olivia turned to her brother with a panicked face and said, “A witch infiltrated the school!”

“You’re kidding! A witch! Only a witch!”

“No! You don't understand! Look!” Olivia shoved the scroll forcefully in front of her brother’s face, not surprised at his sudden change in expression as he scanned the page.

“Go get Mike! We’ll need him! I’ll look for the witch.” Louis commanded in an unusually serious tone. The siblings exchanged a stiff nod before the both of them sped off to their destinations, their weapons in hand.

…

“Ugh…these heels are killing me…” A petite figured student of St. Patricia’s whined whilst watching the rest of her friends indulging in the company of their male dance partners. She wondered aloud how anyone could walk, or even be able to dance, for that matter, in these feet traps. She fiddled with her long dirty blonde hair that she let down idly before a boy approached her and asked for a dance. She eyed him fiercely with her sharp jade eyes before walking off without a word.

Her high heels clicked softly on the stone floors of the grand school, the chilly Christmas weather seemed to be making the sound echo off the tiles even louder.

She had heard a lot about this school, how there were many stories that involved ghosts and the sorts haunting this old building, but the girl refused to believe in those rumors and continued to stroll away from the dance hall as far as possible.

The girl stopped by a dusty ledge and looked up at the clear night sky, noticing how the moon seemed to be so much more beautiful tonight, so enchanting, bewitched even.

Not being able to tear her eyes away from the full moon, she didn't notice a dark figure stalking her from behind until it put a bony clammy hand on her. She snapped her head around and saw the face that belonged to the hand and screamed in terror.

Her legs had given up on her and she collapsed on the ground, shaking. It smiled a cracked grin before reaching a scrawny hand at her. She wanted to scream, she wanted to run, but all she could muster up was a light whimper.

“…H-help…Help!”

Quick footsteps were heard, her wish had come true. And not before long, the thing in front of her was suddenly blown away by someone. Her savior landed softly on the ground in front of her, looking at the thing intensely whilst huffing jaggedly.

Her eyes widened as she saw the curved blade in his hand.

The thing made a move to leave. The savior shouted.

“HEY!”

But it was too late, it had vanished into thin air.

He sighed and muttered curses to himself before looking down at her.

“You ok? Can you walk?”

She looked up into his deep blood red eyes and was captivated at once. And his ruffled dress shirt and loose tie didn't help her repress the flush in her cheeks. She snapped back to attention and tried to use the wall as a support and stand up. But her heels were preventing her from balancing.

A strong hand helped her steady herself and she looked up at her savior’s face.

“Jeez, whoever invented heels is the dumbest lunatic ever…” He muttered whilst she stood back up.

“My thoughts exactly.” She replied. He stared back at her and the both of them shared a nice laugh before he spoke again.

“I’ll walk you back to the hall, its safer in there. Seriously, what were you thinking walking out to a deserted place by yourself?”

“I…I needed some fresh air.” She stuttered a few times, looking away. “I don't like dance parties much…”

“Hm? That’s kinda rare.”

She didn't know how long they had been walking, but before she knew it, she was in the dance hall again. She turned to the boy and smiled at him.

“Thank you. For saving me from that stalker earlier, and walking me back. I’m Lorraine.”

“No problem, Lorraine. See you later.” He turned around to walk away, Lorraine noticed with shock that that curved sword he was carrying earlier was missing.

“Wait!” She called out to him. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Oliver!” He said without turning back and disappeared into the crowds.

…

“Mike! Mike!”

The red head turned around along with his two companions.

“Oli? Why are your clothes so messed up?”

“Yea, what’s up? You look really out of breath.” Larry questioned.

“No time to explain, I need you.” She said to Mike and dragged him away by his hand causing a light pink tinge on his cheeks.

“Hey! I want to be dragged away by Oli saying she needs me…” Larry whined and said to himself. Eric decided to ignore his wistful comment and said, “I’m going to ask that girl over there for a dance, bye Lare.”

“And you’re leaving me too? Why is everyone leaving me?”

“Because you’re just too weird.”

“Hey! You come back here Erickson!”

…

“Her records say that she usually takes the life out of people and replace it with something artificial. The victims are known as ‘the living dead’ because they aren’t conscious anymore.”

“How on earth did she get in here?” Mike yelled as he and Olivia ran through the still corridors.

“She must have slipped through our sensors around school. But it must have taken a lot of work to do that. She’s not just any ordinary witch.”

They turned around yet another corner. Olivia stopped abruptly when she sensed a tiny movement near the shadows. She retrieved a sword and passed it to Mike before summoning her own scythe from the stone ground.

“Can you try using telepathy?” She whispered in a low tone as she scanned the dark hallway. Mike could feel his throat turning dry at the thought of being flooded with voices again, but he still obediently took off his watch with a shaky hand.

His senses were overcome immediately with all the thoughts of the people in the school. it didn't help that there were over a thousand people in the vicinity, specifically in the dance hall. Mike reverted to his usual habit of holding the sides of his head.

Olivia immediately pried his hands away from his head and held them tight. She could see tiny beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

Mike! Mike!

“I know! I’m concentrating!” He hissed out loud as noises began to fade. And not before long, he could fully collect his thoughts. He looked at Olivia and immediately knew what she wanted him to do. He closed his eyes and scanned the secluded area as if traveling in air, his hand gripping her own softly.

Die, Grim Reapers!

His eyes flew open and he roughly pulled Olivia to his chest as something pierced through the air at where her head was a millisecond earlier.

“Whoa…” Both of them said, relieved and shocked at the mere speed of the thing. They heard a noise from where the weapon came from and snapped their heads towards the direction. They readied themselves for the attack. But it never came.

Olivia motioned for Mike to follow her and the both of them slowly crept along the wall, staring intently before them. Mike’s ears suddenly perked up as he heard a familiar voice of thought.

“Louis is up ahead!” He pointed towards the corner and the both of them started running over. They stopped as they saw Olivia’s brother on his knees, huffing with a hand over his mouth as if suffocating.

“Louis!” Olivia yelled and sprinted to her brother.

“Don’t come over!”

She stopped on her tracks and noticed a thin curtain of smoke around her brother. Mike pulled her back by her arm with a strong grip as the both of them stared uneasily at it.

Mike saw a shadow from the corner of his eye and noticed a person standing behind the gas.

“Who’s there!” He shouted to the person even though it was obvious that it was the witch responsible for this.

Olivia’s eyes widened as the witch held a test-tube and readied to pour it on her brother. She didn't know what it would do, but she had to stop the witch from doing what it wanted. She bolted at the thing and swung down at the witch, creating a deep gash at its arm. The test-tube crashed harmlessly on the ground, its contents spilled all over the stone ground. The witch held its arm in pain as dark liquid oozed out of the cut. Olivia gazed at the witch with a cold stare.

“What did you do to him?” She hissed at it. Her glare turned into a scowl as the witch chuckled in a low voice.

“You will not be able to heal him without keeping me alive. Because I am the only one with the cure, young reaper.”

Olivia snickered and held her scythe up high. “That's an empty threat. I’ll just get the cure out of you once you’re dead and down in hell.” She charged at the witch who dodged only in a hairs length.

“Mike! Get Louis!” Olivia shouted back at the redhead as she continued to attack the witch. Mike ran to retrieve Louis, covering his mouth and nose as he tried to help Louis up on his feet.

The witch had dodged all of Olivia’s attacks before it took another test tube out of its cape. Before Olivia could try and stop it, the witch had flung the thing at her. Olivia ducked just in time as the test-tube crashed into the wall behind her and a small explosion occurred, sending Olivia off to the ground and onto the opposite wall.

“Oli!!” Mike yelled as he saw Olivia on the ground motionless. He took his sword from the ground after setting Louis on the wall and ran towards the witch, but by the time he was close enough, the witch had disappeared. He growled in anger but was stopped as he heard a small grunt from the direction of Olivia. Realizing that she was in pain, he dashed over and held Olivia in his arms.

“Oli! Oli!” He felt a sting in his chest as he saw a thin line of blood trailing down her forehead. He held on to her tighter and she opened her eyes.

“And you call yourself a guy.” She managed to mutter, reaching out to wipe a droplet of tear that appeared in his eye with a tender finger.

“I’m sorry. I’ve just never seen my friends this injured before.” He bitterly smiled and said to her as he wiped the tears off his other eye with the sleeve of his blazer.

“Then you know how the rest of them thought when you went to hospital because of your powers.” She said and proceeded to slowly stand up, Mike hesitantly held her steady.

Dusting of her suit pants carelessly, she kneeled next to her unconscious brother. After shaking his shoulders a little bit and receiving no response, she motioned Mike to come over.

“Can you hear him?” She asked Mike, not tearing her eyes off her brother. Mike scooted over and put his hand to Louis’ forehead. He scrunched his brows in concentration and slowly began to hear a slow breathing sound.

“Yea, but hardly.”

“Good.” Olivia said after a brief sigh of relief. “Would you mind carrying him back to the lab?”

Mike nodded stiffly and immediately made to lift his injured friend off the floor.

…

Olivia slumped on the bleach white walls of the underground laboratory. Her injuries had been treated by the professor, who rushed over after an emergency call she made. A sigh escaped her lips as her brows furrowed beneath the band wrapped around her head.

“We should go search for the witch.”

“No.” Mike stood firmly in front of her. “You shouldn't strain yourself, you’re injured. And I’m pretty sure she’s well away from school for now.”

It was true; he could even hear the old lady from the run down café down at the town, but he couldn't find the witch from miles off with his telepathy. Olivia looked a bit more relaxed upon hearing that, but he could still tell she’s worrying about her brother. Mike put his hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

“Don't worry, he’ll be fine. So don’t look so depressed.”

She smiled wryly. “Thanks.” She sat on the cold tiled floors and heaved another sigh. Mike could suddenly see just how battered she was, and how blank her usually blazing eyes looked. He sat next to her and put his arm around her, feeling exceptionally useless.

“You should get some rest, you look horrible.”

“Gee, thanks.” She rolled her eyes, but still let her head rest on Mike’s shoulder. She closed her eyes and breathed in the clean air deeply.

“You must regret ever agreeing to be a reaper.” She said, feeling her body relax as her heavy eyelids shielded her from the glare of the white surroundings.

“No such thing. Well, I was kind of wondering what I got myself into during the beginning. But now that I see that you’re not as tough as you look, I guess it’s kind of my duty to…protect you.”

Silence.

“Oh god. That sounded cheesy, didn’t it?” Mike put his hand on his face to hide his embarrassment. He blushed even more as he felt Olivia shake in her silent giggles.

“Don’t laugh! It’s already embarrassing enough as it is!” He bopped softly on her head with his fist, he looked away when she finally burst into laughter. He smiled a little when the sound of her giggles reached his ears.

“You’re so cute, Mike.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment? Because it doesn't really help my male ego.”

“Aww, I’m hurting little Mike’s ego?”

“Alright, that's it.” Mike said and jabbed his finger between her ribs, sending her back to giggle-land.

“Hey! How did you know I was ticklish?”

“I didn’t. But now I do.” He grinned evilly and motioned with his hands, ready to pounce.

“Gyah!” She tried to stand up to run away but was pulled back down by his strong hands, he defended herself helplessly and ultimately got the tickling of her life.

“Stop it! Stop it!” She breathed in between fits of laughter, her back on the floor.

“Only on one condition!” His grin still in place, threatening her with a held up finger.

“What?” She held her sides and asked breathlessly.

Mike smiled on top of her, his red hair brushing against her cheeks.

“Dance with me.”

…

“Ughh!! Where did Mike and Oli go?” Larry whined as Eric sipped from the paper cup of punch.

“I wonder where they could be? We haven’t even seen Louis either.” He said matter of factly and pushed his glasses up.

“I want to dance with Oliiii!!”

“Wouldn't it be weird for two guys do dance?”

“I don't care, my reputation of being straight has went down the drain since you walked in on me and Oli.” The blonde huffed and crossed his arms against his dark suit.

“Well, it wasn’t only my fault. It was you who always acted so gay.”

“It’s called humor, humor. Something you obviously don't possess since you’re such a stuck up brat who sits in front of his laptop all day looking for blackmail.” Larry mimicked Eric, using his fingers to type on an imaginary keyboard.

“What did you just call me? You little queer?” Eric crushed his paper cup with his hand, a vein throbbing at his temple.

“You heard me, you stuck up bastard!”

“Oh! At least I’m not homo!”

“Yes, I am homo! Homo Sapien! Unlike you who doesn't even have a life!”

“What did you say? you queer!”

“Stuck up!”

“Homo!”

“Stuck up!”

“Homo!”

A few meters away, a boy and a girl who overheard their conversation looked over.

“Are they ok? They’re arguing pretty hard.” The girl asked, frowning. The boy in front of her waved his hand in dismissal.

“It’s ok, I’m in their class. It always happens.”

“Calling each other names or arguing?”

“No, lover’s quarrel.”

…

“Come here! I found the storage closet when I got lost a few days ago.” Mike pulled onto Olivia by her hand. They turned the corner and found themselves in front of a door labeled “Clothes storage”. Mike flung the door open and the both of them found themselves in front of a huge walk in closet.

“Why do we have this?” Olivia questioned, not expecting anyone to answer. Mike shrugged.

“Who knows? But now we can turn you into a girl.”

“I am a girl.”

“Exactly.”

“…What?”

Mike sighed. “Ugh, never mind. Just come and pick out a wig that can cover those bandages on your head.” He motioned towards a cupboard full of different coloured wigs.

Olivia just stood at the door way. “Are we seriously doing this?”

“Yes. Now do you want this curly blonde one or the wavy black one?”

“Mike...”

The red head only looked back expectantly in return. She exhaled slowly.

“Fine…I’ll take the black one…”

Mike smiled, “Now for the dress…”

…

“I hate heels!” Olivia said as she held her dress with one hand and the other around Mike’s arm. “Even after a few decades of having to wear them, I still hate them.”

“Uh-huh.” Mike nodded indifferently, holding onto the hand on his arm and leading her into the ballroom. Music and voices filled their heads as they weaved through the crowds.

“Why can’t I just wear flats instead?”

“Because that way I won’t be able to hold your hand.” He said, with a hint of a grin on his face. Olivia rolled her crimson eyes.

“You’re just like Larry…”

“Hey! Don't compare me with that sexually confused idiot!”

“Aww, am I hurting your ego again?” She teased as they neared the dance floor.

“You will if you don’t dance with me.” They stopped as they stopped at an empty place on the dance floor. Mike turned so he was facing Olivia and took a short bow before looking straight into her crimson eyes with one outstretched hand.

His hazel eyes twinkled as he asked,

“Shall we dance?”

End of chapter seven.

Ugh…I’m so sorry I haven’t been updating both my stories, I just hope that people are still interested in the stuff I write. I’ve been experiencing a huge writer’s block…if that’s even an excuse.

But I hope everyone liked the chapter! Please review!