The sound of a rap song that Melmarc had never heard before suffused the entire room. There was nothing but noise as he walked into the house. It was louder here than it had been on the outside, not that he was surprised.

  Beside him, Ark looked intrigued, rubbing his hands together as if he had very nefarious plans that he could not wait to put together and execute.

  His eyes darted around quickly, finally settling in the direction of the kitchen. There were a few boys and girls there. They seemed to be having some kind of conversation. Interestingly enough, they didn’t look like they were shouting to each other in an attempt to be heard over the sound of the music.

  “Empty hands are a travesty,” someone shouted, voice like a chorister’s.

  Before Melmarc had the time to figure out what was happening, the boy shoved a blue plastic cup into his hand. He took it instinctively. Ark, on the other hand, practically snatched the second cup from the boy’s hand.

  “Thank you,” Ark told him, smiling as the boy moved on.

  A girl in a revealing crop top and skirt so high Melmarc was surprised that he couldn’t see her underwear, swished into their front as if on rollerblades. She held two bottles in hand, holding them high enough for all to see.

  She addressed Melmarc and Ark. “Drinks?”

  Ark took one bottle from her and replaced it with his cup. He gave her a flirtatious smile. “Thank you kindly.”

  She was more than happy to return his smile before skating off. Melmarc looked at her feet and found that she had no footwear on. She simply slid across the wooden floor as if she was on roller blades.

  Skills? He wondered. Perhaps the ground was very slippery.

  “That’s Ava,” Ark told him in a raised voice. “She’s an [Elementalist] with a skill that allows her some very high agility when she’s on wood. She’s in my class.”

  Melmarc nodded absently as Ark popped the bottle he’d taken from the girl open and started filling Melmarc’s cup.

  The contents of the bottle were a clear orange, filling his cup until it was half full. That inspired Melmarc to offer Ark a raised brow.

  Ark scoffed. “Don’t be prissy, it’s just fifteen percent. At parties like this, they keep the real booze in the kitchen.”

  With that, he stopped pouring into Melmarc’s cup and drank straight from the bottle. Melmarc watched him gulp the drink as if it was non-alcoholic. Then he sniffed his own cup. The smell of alcohol was clear, very clear, but it was not strong—at least not as strong as he expected. Led by curiosity, he took a sip.

  The alcohol was definitely there. For some reason, however, it wasn’t strong enough to make him make a face.

  Ark chuckled. “First time drinking since getting your class?”

  “What do you think?”

  “I think that you rarely if not never drink so yes.” Ark shot him a smug grin. “That said, let’s go make friends.”

  Someone bumped into Melmarc as he walked past them, offering him a very quick apology. The smell of alcohol on him was strong but he didn’t move like someone who was already drunk.

  Despite the house having a lot of people, it wasn’t as packed as the clubs in the movies when the dance floors were full. Melmarc would’ve liked to say that it wasn’t as packed as a club but the only clubs he had seen the inside of were clubs in the movies.

  Ark threw an arm around his shoulders and pulled him off in a direction. “Come on.”

  Melmarc didn’t struggle or fight against his hold, noticing first that Ark was not taking them in the direction of the kitchen.

  “At parties like this,” Ark said as they avoided a boy and girl who were making out, “you’ve got to look out for cliques.”

  “Cliques?” Melmarc didn’t like that they had to shout to talk to each other.

  “Yes,” Ark confirmed, pausing to drink from the bottle once more. “Cliques. Some friends come to parties to hang out with each other not make new friends. But tonight will be different. The cliques you’ll see are most likely going to be class based.”

  Melmarc allowed his eyes to wander, looking for gatherings. He found a few, even though he wasn’t sure if they were actually cliques. They didn’t really separate themselves from the others. It would take a bit of focus to tell that they weren’t together with the random crowds.

  The mana particles in the house were off the charts, though. They bounced around, igniting and dimming chaotically. Some shone so bright that it was as if they threatened to burst. They clung to dancing girls and hyper boys.

  Melmarc caught sight of a boy grinding against a girl so determinedly that anyone with half a brain could tell that they both didn’t like the fact that there were clothes between them. What held his attention, though, was the active amount of pinkish-red mana particles that clung to them. The same particles filled the house at different points, but those two had so much clinging to them that they might as well be sitting in a baff full of it.

  “Eureka!”

  Ark’s voice was so loud in his ears that Melmarc was forced to flinch away from it. Ark tapped him on the chest enthusiastically before pausing to look at him.

  His forehead wrinkled a bit in thought. “Too loud?” he asked, lowering his voice but still shouting.

  Melmarc nodded.

  “Got it.” Ark nodded, then pointed off to one side of the house.

  They currently stood at the center of the living room. At least Melmarc thought it was the living room because of the empty fireplace nearby and the arrangement of the furniture. There was no television or center table, just the couches.

  Ignoring them, Melmarc allowed his attention move to what Ark was pointing out. He found four boys and two girls standing with cups in hands. They seemed to be having a conversation next to a sliding glass door that led out of the house. The door was currently open and there were people outside.

  “Who are those?” Melmarc asked.

  “No idea,” Ark answered. “But I know the boy. He’s in the [Gunslinger] group chat.”

  Melmarc gave him a funny look. “How the hell did you get yourself into the gunslinger group?”

  “I told them I had a mysterious class that may or may not be related to the [Gunslinger] class but didn’t have a group just for it.”

  Melmarc paused. “So you lied.”

  “Yep,” Ark answered unapologetically. “Now let’s go make new friends.”

  Taking his arm off Melmarc, he raised them high.

  “Scottie!” he called out, heading towards the group. “How are you, man?”

  Melmarc saw Scottie pause in momentary confusion. He was a chubby boy with ginger hair and green eyes. His skin looked a little pale, but it was without visible blemish.

  It didn’t take long for the boy’s eyes to narrow in recognition as Ark approached. When they did, he broke out into a wide smile.

  “ARK!” he bellowed very enthusiastically and all but ran straight into Ark.

  Melmarc cocked his head to the side in confusion as the boy slammed into Ark in a hug. Ark reacted with a chuckle as he patted the boy on the back.

  “I take it your conversation with Eliza went well,” he said, laughing.

  Melmarc approached them just as Scottie pulled back from Ark to look up at him. The boy’s eyes seemed to sparkle in what looked like admiration.

  “You’ve got no idea,” he said, happy. “She agreed to go out with me. I’ve got a date after our first day of school.”

  “I told you,” Ark grinned, Melmarc standing next to him. “You’ve got this, just be confident. Act like the benevolent owner of the house and you’ll be good. Fake it until you make it and all that.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  Scottie continued to beam at Ark as if he was heaven sent. Then he paused, his excitement dimming a little.

  Melmarc was stuck wondering how Ark could’ve made a friend so attentive to him without having met the boy. They’ve spent almost every moment together since moving into Grace Hall.

  “I’m a little nervous, though,” Scottie said after a moment. “What if I mess it up?”

  Ark smacked him playfully on the head, dragging his attention away from whatever thought had led him to become subdued.

  “You’ve got this,” Ark told Scottie. “Just don’t take her to anywhere that has to do with anime, coffee, or fine dining. Take her to a fun place or a simple diner.”

  “Don’t girls like fine dining?”

  At this point, the rest of the boy’s group was drawing near, intrigued by who had their friend so fired up. Melmarc picked out how one of the girls ate Ark up with her eyes. The other girl, carrying a pixie cut eyed him suspiciously.

  Melmarc paused, re-evaluating his assessment. The girl with the pixie cut was eyeing him the exact same way the other girl was eyeing Ark.

  So why did you think it was suspicious?

  If not for the other girl, Melmarc would’ve called it suspicious, but having the other girl as a sample, he was able to tell the difference.

  Perspective, he thought. He had seen more than enough girls give Ark that look. He just always associated it with Ark. He interpreted it differently when Ark was the point of attention than when he was the one.

  I’ll need to work on that.

  “Girls love fine dining,” Ark said, agreeing with Scottie, “but unless you’re just trying to get in her pants, I will certainly not advise starting off with an energy you cannot keep. Are you trying to—”

  Scottie reached up quickly, slamming his hands over Ark’s mouth to his confusion.

  “Don’t tell me you’re talking about Eliza, dude,” one of the boy’s said. He wore a buzz cut and had a strong face.

  Ark gave the boy a raised brow. “Who’s Eliza?”

  “Some girl Scottie’s been pining over,” the boy said, then extended his hand for a handshake. “I’m Edison.”

  Ark shook his hand. “Ark.”

  Edison shook his hand. The moment the handshake was over, the girl that had been eyeing Ark stepped in, offering her hand in a sultry manner.

  Ark gave her an interested smile before taking it very slowly. “Ark,” he said. “And you are?”

  “Whatever you need me to be tonight,” she answered, drawing a chuckle from Ark and an eye roll from the girl next to her.

  The girl’s friend smacked her on the arm, but she didn’t even flinch. Leaning into their space she said, “She’s Emerald.”

  Ark nodded as if he was impressed. “Thank you.” Then he returned his attention to Emerald. “Emerald, huh?”

  The girl tucked a piece of her shoulder length black hair behind her ear, then bit her lower lip. “Emerald,” she repeated. “My parents thought it would be fun to give me an exotic name.”

  Melmarc didn’t think it was exotic.

  “Tell me, Emerald.” Even with his voice raised, Ark still managed to pronounce the name in the most flirtatious tone. “Are you as exotic as your name?”

  “Ughhh,” Emerald’s friend groaned in exasperation.

  It made Emerald chuckle, but she didn’t take her eyes off of Ark. “I try to be,” she replied. “But, like I said, I can be whatever you want me to be tonight.”

  Then, very slowly and intentionally, she took Ark’s bottle of alcohol from him and drank from it in slow gulps. When she was done, she licked her lips carefully.

  Melmarc pressed his lips into a thin line. It was all he could do to keep himself from rolling his eyes.

  One of the other boys stepped in. “That’s enough of that,” he said. His head came up to Ark’s shoulders. “Let’s put a momentary stop to that before you guys fuck out here. I’m in no mood to see another dude’s dong.”

  Ark guffawed in laughter while Emerald smacked the boy on the arm. “Don’t be so lewd,” she chided.

  Melmarc didn’t think the boy was being lewd for lewdness sake. The amount of pink mana particles clinging to the girl said a lot. It was interesting to know that mana particles also had emotional inclinations. He found himself wondering just how much he could tell from just mana particles.

  Emerald’s friend offered Melmarc a handshake. “I’m Lola,” she said, ignoring the others.

  Melmarc shook her hand. “Marc.”

  “Are you as direct as your friend over here, Marc?” she asked.

  It made Melmarc smile. “Not at all.”

  “What do you say we leave these fools and just find somewhere fun to chill?”

  Melmarc paused. He fought the urge he could feel his brows having to furrow. Was she just trying to ditch her friends to spend time with him or was this something else?

  Is she trying to…

  Melmarc swallowed.

  Was this supposed to be a prelude to her trying to have sex with him? She had the same look as Emerald in her eyes, and the pink mana particles were definitely clinging to her. Melmarc had kissed a girl before, he’d even made out with one or two over the years.

  But he’d never had sex before.

  “Uhhh…” The words rolled off his tongue against his own will.

  Lola chuckled. At least she was entertained by it in a good way. “I promise not to eat you alive.”

  Without meaning to, Melmarc found himself looking to Ark for something, anything. Ark—the bastard—had an entertained look on his face. He was watching them, having fun with it.

  Lola followed Melmarc’s gaze to Ark who currently had an arm draped over Emerald’s shoulders. His hand was dangerously close to her breast. He wouldn’t have to do much to touch it.

  “Can I borrow him?” Lola said to Ark. “I promise to bring him back… eventually.”

  Ark was not the only one who laughed at her statement. The other boy’s laughed too.

  “I promise to be gentle,” Lola added.

  “Gentle my ass,” one of the boys laughed. “There ain’t anything gentle about you Lola.”

  Lola rolled her eyes at him. “I’m not giving you the attention you’re looking for, Fred.”

  With that, she grabbed Melmarc by the wrist and started walking off. Melmarc blinked multiple times, realizing that this was really happening. She was taking him away all covered in pink mana particles, and he had no idea what she was trying to do.

  Whatever you do, don’t blurt out anything stupid.

  Looking back once more, he found Ark waving him off with a cheerful smile. His hand was now on Emerald’s breast.

  I guess he’s getting laid tonight.

  Lola led him through the glass doors that led outside, pulling him out of the house and onto soft green grass. Melmarc assumed it was soft since grass was supposed to be soft. Oddly enough, it was a little quiet here. The music was still loud, but not so much that anyone needed to shout for someone two feet away from them to be heard.

  The funny part about it was that the DJ for the party was actually on this part of the house. There was an elevated platform where a boy stood with all his equipment laid out in front of him. Headphones on, he was talking to someone else.

  Melmarc would not have given him much in the way of attention if not for the active mana particles around him. The boy waved his hand absently towards the equipment. He didn’t touch it, but the mana particles lit up and the music changed.

  He’s DJ-ing with skills, Melmarc noted just before a hand held his own, interlocking their fingers.

  Looking down at his hand, he found Lola’s interlocked with his. She looked at him with soft eyes.

  “Has anyone ever told you how cute you are?” she asked him.

  Melmarc didn’t need to think about it. “Not really.”

  Lola turned to face him bodily, closed the distance between them and pressed her breasts against him. She looked up at him. “Well, you’re very cute.”

  Melmarc couldn’t focus on much besides the feel of her breasts against him. He grit his teeth, doing his best to control himself.

  She was pressed up against him so well that if he didn’t control himself, she would know just how much effect she had on him very vividly.

  “Marc,” she said, voice sultry, piercing through the soft sound of the music around them.

  Melmarc blinked. He looked down at her. “Yes, Lola?”

  “What will you do if I asked you to kiss me?”

  “I don’t know.” Melmarc hoped his words didn’t come out like that of someone who didn’t know what he was doing. It sounded like that to his ears, though.

  But she’s short, though, he noted. He was feeling her breasts against his stomach. His brows furrowed a bit. Shorter than Pelumi.

  She moved up, head coming higher. He watched her eyes, their lids were half-closed, her eye lashes fluttering. She wanted a kiss, and she wouldn’t be able to get it unless he lowered his head.

  He had all the power.

  The question now was if he wanted a kiss.

  The answer came easily. No.

  A response to that came almost immediately.

  Dissonant.

  That gave him pause. Just because he was aroused that did not mean that he wanted a kiss.

  I definitely don’t want to kiss her.

  Lola’s lids flickered once more as Melmarc sensed no dissonance in that thought. Her eyes opened. She looked at him. A slight frown creased her lips.

  Melmarc said nothing, did nothing. Gently, unabashed, Lola took her hand from his and stepped back. She gave him a curious look, not an embarrassed one.

  “Virgin?” she asked.

  Melmarc fought the urge to raise a brow. “That’s an interesting question. Why do you ask?”

  “You’re stiff,” she answered, as if they were talking about the weather. “Which means that you either really don’t like me or you’re a virgin. And,” she added when Melmarc opened his mouth to reply, “you just met me so it’s not the first one. And I know I didn’t leave a bad impression. And I’m good looking. Or is it that you don’t do one night stands?”

  She has a lot to say for someone unbothered.

  Maybe he was wrong about her being unbothered. Perhaps she was just putting on a show, pretending to be fine.

  “I assure you,” she continued, “I’m not looking for a one night stand. I’m actually looking for something more.”

  Dissonant.

  Melmarc almost sighed. Well, there goes that.

  “It mustn’t be a relationship, though,” she continued. “Just… I don’t know. I wouldn’t mind being friends with benefits.”

  So she just wants to fuck, no strings attached. Got it.

  Watching his expression carefully, she took a step closer to him, closing the distance once more. Still, she didn’t touch him, simply looking up at him with a question in her eyes.

  “So…” she let the words trail off, giving him a chance to say something, to complete it—to let it imply whatever he wanted it to imply.

  “Did you consider the possibility that I might already be in a relationship?” he asked her instead.

  Lola shook her head. “I’ve met guys in a relationship, Marc. The loyal ones react in a way that says they would’ve if they were not already committed. The unloyal ones don’t care. You…” she tapped his chest with her index finger. “You simply don’t seem interested, but you don’t want to break my heart about it.”

  She wasn’t entirely wrong.

  “It’s just that,” Melmarc began, only for his words to hook in his throat as something caught his attention.

  His eyes narrowed as he squinted to see clearer. A frown touched his face. Just there, sitting on top of the roof of another house.

  Is that uncle Dorthna?

  It couldn’t be. Without even thinking about it, he was already walking past Lola when he stopped, realizing that he wasn’t walking past her but into her.

  A slow grin touched the girl’s lips and she smiled up at him. “I guess you can be quite determined when you want to be.”

  Her voice was sultry, and she reached up to grab him by his chest. With a firm tug, she pulled him down to her.

  Melmarc looked away from her and didn’t budge. His eyes settled on the same roof top.

  There was no one there.

  Looking back down, Lola was already on her tip toes. Somehow she was very close to his lips, close enough that he could feel her breath against his lips.

  He could’ve pulled away but the idea would’ve been moot. Her feet were no longer touching the ground. He had actually pulled away, but she’d held on and he’d taken her with him.

  Lola was still smiling, still pleased with herself. She looked as if she thought he was alright with it.

  He wasn’t.

  Should I push her off me?

  She looked so small that doing that might actually hurt her. So, his mind eliminated the option. Would kissing her be so bad?

  Yes.

  “Hey, Marc!”

  He and Lola froze at the sound of the voice. A tingle went up Melmarc’s spine.

  The voice—he did not recognize it.