《A Flower in Death's Embrace》


 Chapter 1

    It had been more than a month since the school term started, but it didn''t feel like Gloxinia would get used to the school any time soon.


    First of all, she didn''t know how to talk to people, so she had no friends. Her looks--luscious black hair and purple eyes with long eyelashes--invited some admirers but the fact was that no one had approached her personally yet.


    She wondered what she did wrong as she watched everyone else in the class mingling with their own circles.


    At this rate, she wouldn''t be able to fulfill the promise she made toher.


    Go to school, will you?that girl''s voice echoed in her mind.Live for my part too.


    The school bell rang and snapped Gloxinia out of her daydream. She tidied up her desk and straightened her position as her other classmates hurried back to their seats to begin class.


    A moment later, the homeroom teacher entered the class. Gloxinia wasn''t paying attention because she was busy staring at her pencil case that was somehow missing an eraser.


    "Good morning, class," the teacher greeted, with the class responding back with the same greeting.


    Gloxinia started to take out the stuff in her pencil case one by one to check the eraser''s whereabouts. But even when she finally emptied the case, she still couldn''t find it.


    She tilted her head in confusion. How could an eraser just evaporate like that?


    Right then, someone passed by her seat.


    Gloxinia''s eyes widened when she noticed a familiar scent. A scent that she first encountered on the worst day of her life.


    The scent of death.


    She turned her head to look at the person who just passed by. She never saw him before. A transfer student? He had dark brown hair, tall body, and a wide back. He was walking towards an empty desk behind hers, and when he reached it and took a seat Gloxinia finally saw his face for the first time.


    He was quite good looking, even to Gloxinia. His pupils were like the color of the moon, his eyes were round and a bit drooped. His modest bangs were brushed to the side.


    Gloxinia kept on staring at him even when he already sat down. She felt like they already met before, but he looked different from the person she remembered.


    The new student noticed her glance and looked at her. His gaze gave her chills all of a sudden, as if he was putting her under observation. She quickly turned around to look forward and ignore him.


    He didn''t seem like a good candidate for a friend. A friend should be nice and caring, and he didn''t look like he was. It was better for her to not get involved with him, she thought.


    The scent disappeared when he sat down, even though he was right behind her. Maybe it was just a coincidence.


    The classes went by in a blink for Gloxinia. She listened to the classes well even though she actually didn''t need to, and now it was already time for lunch.


    Gloxinia sighed while leaning back. Nothing interesting happened to her today so far, again. Whensheleft, Gloxinia thought she would feel the same excitement like when she was withherif she went to school. Reality was not as kind.


    She looked around the class. She wanted to eat lunch with someone else, but nobody seemed to be approaching her since they were all surrounding the transfer student behind her. It was a bit noisy, but Gloxinia didn''t mind a little noise.


    She glanced at the crowd surrounding the transfer student and felt that it was a bit unfair. Even though she was around since the beginning, the transfer student got a different treatment.


    But it would be fine. She knew high school has three years in total, so she had plenty of time to make friends.


    Supposedly.


    Gloxinia opened the lunchbox she brought to school and ate it by herself on her table. She had never gotten the chance to go to the cafeteria with friends, even though she wanted so badly to.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    When the class started again, the Biology teacher dropped a bomb on the class.


    "We''ll be doing a little surprise quiz," the teacher said, earning grunts of protests from the students. The teacher just laughed at the students'' reaction.


    "Calm down, you won''t be doing it by yourself! Work in a pair of two. The students in row 1 will work with the students in row 2, while the students in row 3 will work with the students in row 4, and so on," the teacher explained.


    That meant, Gloxinia needed to turn around her seat. She was ecstatic of this chance. Even though she said the transfer student might not be a good candidate for a friend, she was still excited to be able to connect with another person through this quiz.


    Gloxinia turned her chair around and sat right across the transfer student. He didn''t look at Gloxinia at all and was just staring at the papers the teacher handed out.


    Gloxinia thought maybe he was just a quiet person in the first place. She didn''t mind that.


    "I need to look at it too," Gloxinia said while shifting the paper''s position a bit so she could take a look at it. She scanned the paper''s contents.


    It was a quiz on the characteristics of blood. She could answer all these by herself if she wanted to, but this was a team work. She glanced at the transfer student, attempting to communicate with him, but he still didn''t spare her a glance.


    Gloxinia sighed. She didn''t know what she should do with him or this quiz. She decided to get her stationeries from her desk first and turned her body to reach to them.


    "It''s been a while, Spirit," the transfer student said all of a sudden.


    Gloxinia froze in her place. There was only one person who knew her and called her that. She turned her head to look at him and this time, he was looking back at her with his greyish eyes. Cold and unfeeling.


    "I suppose it has been, Death," Gloxinia replied after a while. She fixed her position and faced him again.


    "But I go by Gloxinia now, if you would," she said.


    "Gloxinia. I see," Death said. He cast his eyes downwards to the desk. "You can call me Vincent too."


    Gloxinia nodded. That was the first time she heard his name. Even back when they met for the first time, she only knew him as Death. She could''ve found out his name much earlier if she was paying attention when the teacher introduced him to the class, but she didn''t.


    Gloxinia clicked her pen and started writing their names on the paper.


    She tucked a stray hair behind her ear while focusing on the quiz in front of her.


    "The answer for number 2 is B," Vincent said. Gloxinia looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. He leaned forward a bit and pointed at the question number two on the papers. It was a question with a case sample.


    "Bloodtype A can''t be transfused into any other type but fellow A''s. So the answer is B," he said, his expression as unchanging as ever. Gloxinia stared at the question. She did understand theories but truth be told, her reading comprehension was pretty low. If she read too quickly, she would misunderstand the meaning.


    After reading the question over carefully, she nodded to accept his help.


    "Thank you," Gloxinia said.


    She wasn''t offended when he pointed out her mistake at all. In fact, she actually found it quite fascinating and friend-like.


    "So why are you here and not working?" Gloxinia asked when she finished writing all the answers with Vincent''s help. Her question wasn''t with ill intent at all. She was just making small talk and partly curious. After all, an angel of death being at school is quite unthinkable.


    Vincent didn''t answer immediately that Gloxinia wondered if she was being rude. But then he opened his mouth to talk.


    "What about you? What''s a Spirit of the Lake doing in school?" Vincent asked back. His tone was flat, as if showing he was as uninterested in her answer as much as he was uninterested in answering her question.


    "I''m fulfilling a promise made to a friend," Gloxinia answered. From the corner of her eyes, it seemed like she saw Vincent freezing but when she looked at him again, he looked normal.


    "Your turn to answer," Gloxinia said. She wasn''t going to press for answer if he didn''t want to tell her, but it felt like he was challenging her when he turned the question back at her. She didn''t like it. Now she had to get answers.


    "I''m being punished," Vincent said.


    Punished?Gloxinia tilted her head.


    "What punish--"


    Ring~ ring~


    "Time''s up! Submit your work now!" the teacher announced at the same time the school bell rang. Vincent stood up almost immediately and snatched the paper from Gloxinia, then carried his bag over to the teacher.


    He went out of the class as soon as he submitted their quiz.


    Gloxinia watched him walk out with a confused look on her face. That was such impeccable timing. When did he even pack up his bags? Granted, Gloxinia was kinda bad at noticing the surroundings.


    She quickly packed her bags to go home. She speedwalked out of the class and the school, but Vincent was already nowhere to be found.


    That kind of disappointed Gloxinia. She wanted to ask him to be her friend today, if possible.


    Gloxinia sighed and decided to just go home.


    Her place was within walking distance from the school. She walked past the bustling neighborhood stores and reached the house just on the edge of the town, right before the forest.


    The house was small. The design looked old, as if it were built so many years ago. Even though the design was outdated, the house was still standing strong without any sign of breaking down.


    Gloxinia unlocked the gate and entered her house''s premise. There was a garden, but it was very small.


    She inserted her key into the door lock and got into her house. After making sure she locked it again, she walked into the living room.


    She stopped by a cupboard in the living room, where a number of framed photos were set up.


    She smiled at one of the photos, a photo of an elderly woman smiling straight at the camera.


    "Today was a mess too, Lilly," Gloxinia muttered to the photo. She gave the frame a gentle touch before walking towards her bedroom.


    This was a story about the Spirit of the Lake who wanted to make some human friends in high school, and the Angel of Death who had to serve his punishment in the same school.

 Chapter 2

    He watched as the girl walked into the school grounds with her bag slung over her shoulder. She looked just like any other student, but even just looking at her back anyone could tell that she was beautiful.


    Even though she was not that tall, her figure looked proportionate with her proper posture. Her black hair was tied in a braid and her walk was swift and graceful.


    After a few days of being in school, Vincent could tell that the girl didn''t realize her own popularity. Every time it was recess, she would look around the class only to look dejected afterwards because no one approached her. She thought no one wanted to be her friend.


    Being the one sitting behind her in class, Vincent could see everything. Her fidgety gestures in contrast to her cold expression, her look of longing when she glanced at a group of girls. Honestly, to him, she looked silly.


    In the first few days, a bunch of classmates surrounded him every single day. They were quite a bunch. Even when Vincent only replied with short answers, they still gathered around him. But the number continued to decrease with time as they realized they should give Vincent some space. Or maybe because they thought he was unapproachable.


    In one of those days, some of them talked about Gloxinia without him asking.


    "I wish I sit behind Gloxinia too," one girl fawned.


    The others around him, whether it was a boy or a girl, nodded in agreement. Vincent could guess that they somehow idolized Gloxinia. He knew she was beautiful, but he didn''t think it would make other people like her this much.


    Perhaps it was because of her charisma as a Spirit of the Lake, or perhaps it was plainly because their classmates adored beautiful people.


    Vincent couldn''t understand Gloxinia''s actions. For him, being at this school was the only way for him to serve his punishment.


    "And while you''re at it, keep an eye on something for me," he remembered his superior say.


    Vincent knew this punishment wouldn''t be as simple as just going to school, but to think that he was appointed to watch over a person fated to become an angel of death in the future--


    "If you do it well, you might even get your sentence reduced."


    Vincent couldn''t refuse. He didn''t want to be here for long - being among the living just didn''t suit him. He was Death, and he preferred to be among the dead.


    This morning, he entered the class right after Gloxinia. There was still no one there because they were the earliest to come, so they just sat down on their respective desks without saying anything to each other. Somehow, that had become their code: to not bother with each other.


    After a few minutes passed without any other students coming in, Gloxinia seemed to be growing bored. She suddenly stood up and went over to the window facing the front of the school.


    Vincent glanced at her. He watched as she stopped right before the window and looked at the students coming in through the school gates. The sun shined on her, making it look as if she was in the spotlight. She wasn''t even smiling, but the sight of her was enough to take anyone''s breath away.


    Vincent heard voices from outside the class and the door being opened. He looked at the door when it opened, revealing a few classmates who were talking to each other just now. They immediately went silent at the sight of Gloxinia by the window.


    Vincent thought their faces looked quite amusing.


    After that, their classmates started coming one by one and the class was filled with people. That was the usual morning in this school.


    By the time recess came, Vincent would disappear to God knows where. No one knew where he was, but he was actually on the rooftop, watching the entire school.


    Being Death himself, he didn''t fear death. He stood on the edge of the roof without a care.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    He didn''t eat lunch in the rooftop--he actually never does--but he was looking out for something. The other purpose he was sent to this school, aside from his punishment.


    From where he was standing, he looked at a boy sitting on a bench next to a tree. The boy had unkempt long hair and had his back hunched. His uniform looked so worn out that the white cloth started to turn yellow.


    For the entire recess, Vincent just stood there watching the boy, and the boy just sat there doing nothing.


    When the bell rang, the boy stood up from his position and went back into the school. Vincent took that as a cue for him to go back to class as well.


    The next class was, once again, the Biology class. This time they were going to have an experiment, so they headed to the laboratory.


    "Afternoon, Class!" the teacher chimed. "Today we''ll experiment on frogs to look at their internal organs."


    The class knew about it already but everyone still groaned nevertheless.


    "The groupings will be... Let''s see, how about we just the groupings from last week''s quiz?" the teacher said.


    That would mean Vincent would pair with Gloxinia again.


    They didn''t talk to each other after last week, so this would be their first time talking to each other again.


    "Are we cutting him up?" Gloxinia asked while pointing at the frog. Vincent nodded as he put on the lab coat. Gloxinia watched him, then followed after him to put on her lab coat. This was her first class experiment ever, so she just copied whatever Vincent did.


    "Won''t he get hurt?" Gloxinia asked again.


    Vincent''s hands stopped. He was about to cut the frog open according to the procedures.


    He felt like he was getting questioned by a child who hadn''t discovered the darkness of the world, so he fell silent for a while to think of what to answer her.


    "Yes, but don''t worry about him. He and all the frogs here are doing their best for the sake of everyone," Vincent said. He probably said some nonsense there, but he couldn''t bother saying more.


    He continued cutting open the frog and when he succeeded, he motioned Gloxinia to come closer to draw the internal organs.


    "Hey," Gloxinia called out while drawing. "Aren''t these frogs going to die? Shouldn''t you bring them to the afterlife?"


    "... That doesn''t fall under my jurisdiction," Vincent answered.


    There was a separate team of Angels of Death for animals because the way to handle human souls and animal souls is a bit different. The Angels looked somewhat different as well. Actually, one of them was already in the room right now, ready to pick up the frogs that were going to die. Vincent was sure Gloxinia asked that because she saw that angel.


    "I see," Gloxinia said while finishing her drawing. Vincent then started preparing to suture the frog. He moved forward to do it as soon as Gloxinia finished the drawing.


    Both of them finished earlier than the other groups, so they went forward to submit their worksheet to the teacher.


    "Good job! I''ll give you two an extra five points," the teacher said while scribbling on the sheet. "You two can go back to the class and have an early break, if you want to."


    Vincent could feel Gloxinia''s stare piercing him. He didn''t dare to look at her. He muttered a thank you to the teacher and made his way back to the class.


    When he glanced back, Gloxinia was one step behind him.


    He decided to pay her no mind and just walked ahead.


    Suddenly, someone bumped into Vincent.


    "I''m sorry," the guy who bumped said. He had quite a plain face one would see anywhere, but the most memorable part of him was that he looked like he was being chased by a ghost. He looked so nervous.


    Vincent noticed him taking a glance at Gloxinia before scurrying away. He squinted his eyes and frowned as he watched the guy ran away.


    He gave him bad feelings.


    Vincent still felt cautious, but he resumed his walk to the classroom with Gloxinia still tagging behind.


    Vincent opened the door of the class and placed his stuff on the desk all tidied up. He was about to go out of the classroom again to have his break when...


    "Oh," Gloxinia muttered. Vincent looked at her and she was rummaging through her pencil case.


    Vincent could just ignore her, but that would feel wrong. She looked very troubled and he was the only one around.


    "What''s wrong?" he finally asked.


    Gloxinia looked up at him and showed him her pencil case.


    "My pencil is gone," she said.


    Vincent stared at the pencil case. That''s it? he thought. Now he felt like a fool for even worrying. He forgot that this girl had the mentality of a child because she grew up knowing nothing of the human life.


    "I see," Vincent said, turning his gaze away.


    "I lost my eraser and ruler too in the past week," Gloxinia muttered and tilted her head. "Did I leave them somewhere..."


    It was either Gloxinia was very clumsy and kept on misplacing her stuff, or there was something going on.


    But Vincent decided it was none of his business so he turned towards the door, about to head to his usual spot, the rooftop.


    "Dea- I mean, Vincent," Gloxinia called out before he could go out of the class. He stopped walking and looked back at her.


    "Thank you," she said. Her face was void of any expression in contrast to her sincere voice. If she said it to someone who was not Vincent, they probably would''ve thought she just said it for the sake of it.


    But being an Angel of Death for years, Vincent could tell when someone was being sincere with what they were saying.


    Thank you, the voice of an old lady echoed in his mind.


    This was only the second time someone thanked him so sincerely ever since he became Death. Not knowing what to say, Vincent turned his back on her.


    "... It''s fine," Vincent said before leaving the class.


    They say the same things, Vincent thought as he walked towards wherever his feet were bringing him.


    No wonder they were friends.

 Chapter 3

    Solitary.


    That was the word that best described the spirit of the lake''s life.


    She was born and grew up alone. By the time she gained consciousness, years had passed since she was born. It was like she was awoken after years of sleeping.


    The first thing she did when she gained her sense of self was to look at her face reflected on the lake. What she saw was a girl with long black hair, deep purple eyes, small nose, and thin lips. She didn''t understand beauty or aesthetics, but she found her look pleasing.


    Day by day, night by night, she sat by the lake where she was born without having anything in particular to do. She was aware, but she felt absolutely nothing.


    That was until one night, as she stared into the clear sky and the bright moon reflected on the lake, she heard rustling in the bushes behind her.


    "Oh."


    She heard a voice. When she turned around, she found a creature, looking much like herself, standing in front of the bushes.


    Unlike herself, though, the creature had a shorter hair. It also had smaller but rounder watery eyes, full lips, and a pair of rosy cheeks. There was water flowing down her cheeks.


    The spirit tilted her head in curiosity. What kind of creature was this? She wondered. She had seen smaller yet more ferocious creatures around, standing on four feet, but she had never seen this kind of creature before.


    The creature in question seemed to be frozen in its tracks. Its eyes were opened wide while its mouth was gaping. After a few moments, the creature finally let a sound out of its mouth, but the spirit couldn''t understand anything it said. She arched an eyebrow and jumped off the big rock she was sitting on.


    She approached the creature, which seemed startled by her sudden movement, and reached out to the creature''s cheek.


    The spirit placed her hand on the creature''s cheek. A moment later, the spirit''s body glowed for a second before the light disappeared.


    The creature looked even more confused about what just happened, its cheeks grew redder and its eyes kept on blinking. The spirit let go of the creature''s cheek.


    "You can talk to me now," the spirit said, in a voice she didn''t even know she had.


    The reason she touched the creature just now was to absorb her language. She didn''t know how she knew how to do that, but it just came up in her mind. Apparently, she just needed a little touch to absorb minds.


    She also found out that this creature was called a human and this one in particular was referred to as a girl.


    "Huh?" the girl responded. She then wiped the water from her cheeks and bowed. "H-hello, I''m sorry for bothering you!"


    The girl peeked at the spirit with a careful glance.


    "A-are you a goddess?" she asked.


    ''Goddess''?


    That was a foreign word to the spirit. But somehow, she felt like that term didn''t quite suit her.


    The spirit shook her head in response. For a moment, she saw how the corner of the girl''s lips seemed to curve down, but they quickly perked up again.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    "Maybe you''re a fairy instead!" the girl beamed.


    Once again, the spirit didn''t know what a ''fairy'' meant so she could only shrug.


    The girl wiped her face with both of her hands then wiped her hands on her skirt. Even though her eyes were puffy, she tried her best to put on a clumsy smile.


    The girl extended her hand towards the spirit.


    "My name is Lillian, but you can call me Lilly!"


    Gloxinia opened her eyes. Lately she had been reminiscing about Lilly more, especially when she thought about their promise. She couldn''t put her feelings into one word, but she wished Lilly were here right now, in the class with her.


    Gloxinia heard a rattle from behind her, followed by Vincent walking past her. She watched his back as he walked out of the class and remembered the events yesterday.


    Before he transferred in, there were one or two occasions when the class had to do a task in a group. But whenever they did, Gloxinia''s group mates wouldn''t communicate well with her and they would always avoid her gaze. There was no one who could truly be her conversation partner.


    Vincent was the first and only one who would hold a conversation with her.


    Gloxinia stood up from her seat and went out of the class herself. She wanted to follow after Vincent, but he was already nowhere to be found.


    Weird, she thought. She only took a moment from the time he left the class to follow him, and the corridor was long. He was supposed to still be visible if he wasn''t running.


    Gloxinia looked left and right, but she couldn''t see him. She then placed her hand on the wall and...


    Started sensing the whole school.


    She started looking from the corridors of the same floor, but he wasn''t anywhere. She then expanded her search to cover the whole school, and she finally sensed him.


    He was on the roof.


    Today too, Vincent stayed on the roof on breaks to observe something and to avoid other people. When he left the class earlier, he could feel a certain someone''s gaze being locked on him, and so he just hurried to the rooftop because he felt like it would be a hassle to get involved with her.


    Gloxinia wouldn''t be able to find him here. The rooftop was forbidden to enter without permission, so there was no way she could find him.


    Suddenly Vincent heard the door to the rooftop creaked open and he quickly turned around in alarm.


    The opened door revealed Gloxinia, who immediately locked her gaze with Vincent''s. When he saw her, many questions popped up in his mind.


    "What..." he muttered. Gloxinia closed the door and made her way to Vincent. He stepped down from the edge and faced her.


    The winds were blowing hard up on the rooftop. Gloxinia, who had never been up this high before, had a hard time keeping her bangs in place because of the wind. She couldn''t even see the front clearly.


    "How did you...?" Vincent asked.


    "Uhm... I scanned the entire school to find you," Gloxinia said, tucking her hair behind her ear.


    Along with her power to absorb people''s minds, Gloxinia could also scan things. She didn''t know why she even had that ability to begin with, but they helped her adjust to human life quite easily.


    Though, using it in a big scale would make her dizzy for some time.


    "I wanted to talk to you, but you disappeared," Gloxinia said after she got a bit closer to Vincent.


    "I..." Gloxinia started saying, but she trailed off as she saw the view of the ground from the rooftop. The ground was far, and it felt like it got even farther the more Gloxinia looked at it.


    What happens if I fall?


    As such thought crossed her mind, Gloxinia felt a sudden chill across her body. Her hands trembled and she felt unstable. She felt like if she moved even an inch, it would make her take the wrong step and throw her off the roof.


    She was terrified of how high up she was, but she couldn''t stop herself from looking down. She was petrified.


    Suddenly, Vincent covered her eyes with his palm and took her hand to pull her far away from the edge of the roof.


    When he lowered his hand, Gloxinia''s eyes met his. The same indifferent eyes, but now with a small frown above them. Focusing on his eyes helped Gloxinia calm herself down. It felt like she was back at the lake, doing nothing but staring at the moon.


    "Why did you come to the roof when you''re afraid of heights?" Vincent asked. He was staring straight at Gloxinia, as if he was studying an unusual creature.


    "... I am?" Gloxinia questioned. She wasn''t questioning him, but more herself. She didn''t even know she would be afraid of heights because all her life she was always on the ground or below ground level.


    That was being afraid of heights? she thought. It didn''t feel nice. She didn''t like the way she felt like she was not connected to the ground. What she disliked even more was feeling as if her feet were going to make her jump down any moment because of that.


    She made notes to herself to not get up this high anymore.


    "So what did you want to talk to me about?" Vincent said, snapping Gloxinia back to her senses.


    She grabbed onto the sides of Vincent''s shirt, preventing him from scooting away.


    "Will you be my friend?"

 Chapter 4

    Vincent couldn''t believe what he heard that he stayed speechless for some time. Gloxinia tilted her head when he wouldn''t say anything.


    "Come again?" Vincent finally blurted out.


    "Be my friend?" Gloxinia said again.


    Vincent studied her expression. She was looking straight at his eyes with stable and clear pupils indicating that she wasn''t lying or forcing herself. She sincerely just wanted to be friends.


    "Why?" Vincent asked. He glanced at her hand which was grabbing onto his shirt. He wanted to push her hand away, but he thought it would be rude. It wasn''t as if she were a germ.


    Gloxinia blinked as her mind started to think of a reason.


    Why?


    "Because you''re the only one who would talk to me?" Gloxinia said, strangely with a little questioning tone at the end.


    "¡­"


    "..."


    Both of them fell silent. Vincent was being confused at Gloxinia and Gloxinia was being confused at herself.


    "I don''t really need friends." Vincent was the one who broke the silence first.


    Gloxinia frowned at his words.


    "But friends are important for a school life," Gloxinia said, looking up at him straight into his eyes as if she was challenging him. She couldn''t fathom why Vincent wouldn''t want friends in school.


    "Who even told you that?" Vincent said with a frown. Gloxinia noticed a change in his expression for the first time - an expression that she didn''t know the meaning. One thing for sure was that it was not a happy expression.


    For Vincent, what she said made even less sense.  Vincent didn''t need such a vain thing called friends. Not after what he''d been through.


    He stepped backwards in a sudden to yank off Gloxinia''s hand without touching her before he walked back into the building.


    "If you really want friends," Vincent said as he passed by Gloxinia. "Just look around."


    Gloxinia watched as he went inside the school building. She wondered what he meant by ''look around''. Were there other people that could be her friend?


    Gloxinia followed Vincent back into the school building, but once again she already lost sight of him even though he was just gone a moment ago. She decided to just shrug it off and make her way to the classroom.


    She was about to walk down when she noticed someone passing by carrying a bunch of things in his arms.


    Somehow, those things looked like her missing things.


    "Oh!" Gloxinia exclaimed. Her loud voice startled the guy and he stopped moving.


    Gloxinia hurried down the stairs and approached the guy with her eyes stuck on the stuff he was carrying.


    "Are those mine? Are you the one who found them?" Gloxinia asked with sparkling eyes. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    "N-no, I mean, yes¡­" the guy stuttered.


    Gloxinia looked up to look at the guy''s face and raised an eyebrow. She felt like she''d seen the guy before. His face didn''t have any feature that stood out--black hair, two round eyes, average nose length, lips¡­ But the way he averted his eyes from Gloxinia seemed familiar.


    "Ah," Gloxinia said. "Didn''t we meet yesterday?"


    She was talking about the one she and Vincent met when they were going back to class.


    "H-huh? D-did we?" the guy''s eyes shook as he said that.


    "I think so! Did you want to return them to me yesterday?" Gloxinia asked.


    The guy gaped and it reminded Gloxinia of the fish back in her lake.


    "S-something like that, yes¡­" the guy muttered.


    "Thank you," Gloxinia said while opening up her palms, ready to receive her stuff back. The guy glanced at her open hands and at her face back and forth. She tilted her head, wondering why he wasn''t giving them back yet.


    The guy reluctantly placed the stuff he was carrying on Gloxinia''s palm. They were all small stuff--her ruler, handkerchief, pencil¡­


    But her eraser and student card weren''t there.


    No matter how much she looked for it, it wasn''t anywhere.


    "I¡­" the guy said while Gloxinia was busy glaring at the stuff, thinking her eyes missed something. She looked up. "I know¡­ where your other stuff are."


    "Really?" Gloxinia said, her eyes sparkling. She didn''t notice it, but being stared at like that by her made the guy blush.


    "Y-yes," the guy said with a slight smirk, but Gloxinia couldn''t see that since he was hanging his head down. "If you go home with me after school, I''ll give them to you."


    Going home together after school! Gloxinia widened her eyes. According to Lilly, that was one of the things that friends do with each other.


    "Okay," Gloxinia said while nodding.


    "See you later then," the guy said while scampering away.


    Gloxinia made her way back to her classroom. She felt ecstatic about getting one step closer to her goal that she didn''t realize she was skipping along the way.


    She entered the class right as the bell rang, indicating the class was starting again. She made her way back to her seat and noticed that Vincent was already sitting on his.


    Vincent watched her coming in, carrying a lot of stuff in her thin hands. He squinted at them, but they were just a bunch of trifle items like a ruler, pencil, handkerchief, a charm, and some others he couldn''t see.


    Gloxinia sat down in her seat in front of him. He wondered what all those items were but he wasn''t curious enough to ask her, so he just let her be.


    "Guess what," Gloxinia suddenly turned around and said. It startled Vincent a bit but he quickly regained his composure.


    Honestly, he thought she wouldn''t talk to him anymore after what he said in the rooftop earlier.


    "I got a friend!" Gloxinia said.


    Vincent was a bit taken aback at how enthusiastic she seemed. Her eyes were visibly sparkling and her tone of speaking was a bit chirpier.


    "You were right, I could get a friend if I looked around, after all!" Gloxinia beamed. She was already treating that guy earlier as a friend.


    "..."


    "..."


    Both Gloxinia and Vincent just stared at each other without a word. She was waiting for his response, but he just didn''t know how to respond to her report that came out of nowhere.


    "Good for you?" Vincent said, after deciding that that was probably what she wanted to hear.


    Gloxinia nodded fervently.


    "Yeah! Look, he helped me find my missing stuff," she said while showing the items she was holding.


    "Congrats," Vincent said, sighing. Part of him was glad Gloxinia didn''t hold it against him, but another part of him wished she would just leave him alone.


    "You know him too, we met him when we were on the way back from the laboratory yesterday," Gloxinia said.


    Vincent''s brows twitched.


    He remembered that guy, of course. He was too suspicious to be forgotten. The guy was not in their class, so Vincent thought it was weird that they met him at the hallway when it was still class time. The restroom was nowhere near their classroom either.


    Vincent opened his mouth, about to voice out his suspicion, but closed it again.


    Who am I to judge? She at least doesn''t seem to deem him suspicious, Vincent thought.


    "We made a promise to go home together after school," Gloxinia continued. Her eyes turned soft as she cast her gaze downwards, making a somber look that just enhanced her beauty. "Isn''t that very friend-like?"


    Just what did that friend of hers teach her all this time? Vincent wondered.


    Fortunately for Vincent, the teacher of the next class came in and started the lesson, forcing Gloxinia to face front again to pay attention to the class.


    Gloxinia was reluctant, but she still had to pay attention in class. It was one of the things that Lilly wanted her to do: study.


    ¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö¡ö


    After what seemed like the longest class in Gloxinia''s life, the last school bell finally rang. She tidied up her stuff and carried her bag.


    "Hey," Vincent called out before she could start walking. Gloxinia turned to face him, but he didn''t say anything and just stared at her.


    "Nevermind," Vincent said.


    Gloxinia tilted her head, wondering what he wanted to say. But she thought it was probably not important after all since he didn''t say it.


    "See you tomorrow," Gloxinia said. She went out of the class, but then she remembered she didn''t ask the guy which class he was in.


    Just as she was puzzled on which way to go, left or right, she saw her new friend coming over from afar.


    "Hi, did you wait?" the guy said with a big grin on his face. He seemed like he rushed to get there.


    "No, I just got out," Gloxinia said.


    "Let''s go. My house is within walking distance too. I''ll take you home," the guy said.


    Both of them started heading out of the school building together.


    It was Gloxinia''s first friend-like activity, and she couldn''t be more excited.

 Chapter 5

    When Vincent watched Gloxinia walk out of the class, there was this nagging feeling inside of him. It was telling him that he should follow her, just in case something would happen.


    But no, Vincent thought in his head. He closed his eyes and sighed. It''s not like she''s a baby or anything.


    ¡­


    She is a baby!


    Vincent grabbed his bag and rushed out of the class. He immediately spotted Gloxinia with the previous guy walking towards the direction of the main entrance.


    Vincent took a deep breath and started walking slowly, following them. He was about ten steps behind them, and he had no intention to come any closer as long as nothing happened.


    This is definitely not stalking, Vincent thought to convince himself.


    He observed them from behind as they walked. The guy seemed to be talking about something very passionately while Gloxinia was listening to him. So far, there was nothing out of place except for the fact that it seemed like the guy was talking one-sidedly.


    On the other hand, Gloxinia was actually sincerely listening to the guy''s talks.


    "My mom was so annoying this morning. She kept on yelling at me to get up even though I was already awake! You know?" he rambled without sparing a glance at Gloxinia.


    Gloxinia stared at him talking. Even though she tried to listen to him, she couldn''t comprehend or relate to anything he was saying.


    She never had parents, so she didn''t know how to respond to his complaints about his mother. But he looked so fired up about it that she just didn''t say anything to him. She didn''t have much chance to respond, after all.


    "And don''t get me started on my little brother, he''s just so cheeky. My parents always blame me even when it''s his fault," he said with a heavy sigh and shook his head.


    He seemed to notice something before turning his attention to Gloxinia.


    "Let''s sit down there for a while!" the guy said while pointing at a bench inside a quiet park. His face looked excited for some reason.


    Thinking that this is a part of being friends and going home together, Gloxinia nodded and followed him.


    The guy grabbed her hand and pulled her forward. His gaze was focused up front and he didn''t take a look at Gloxinia even once.


    Gloxinia raised her eyebrow at this. The guy was a bit too forceful.


    And if a guy forces you to do something even though you''ve already refused, he''s most likely a bad guy!


    She remembered what Lilly said once. She said that among all the naggings she did when Gloxinia almost followed a stranger who was being kind to her.


    Gloxinia stared at the back of the guy''s head. She didn''t know him well yet, but so far he hadn''t forced her to do anything she didn''t want. She decided that it would be too early to decide that he was bad.


    Both of them reached the bench and the guy let Gloxinia take a seat first before taking a seat himself. He smiled, looking like he just achieved something great.


    "What do you usually do, Gloxinia?" the guy asked.


    "Usually¡­ I just go home," Gloxinia said as she pursed her lips.


    "R-really?"


    Gloxinia observed the guy''s expression. He looked bashful. Why? Because of what she said?


    She couldn''t tell what emotions he was feeling. She was itching to touch his face so she could understand, but Lilly once forbade her to touch other people carelessly.


    The guy cleared his throat.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    "I feel like I''ve never seen you with anyone else. Why is that?" he asked again.


    Gloxinia would like to know why too. She blinked as she couldn''t answer that.


    "Ah, I get it," the guy said and nodded, even though Gloxinia hadn''t said a thing yet. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow.


    What did he get?


    He fiddled with his fingers and fidgeted every so often. He seemed nervous and whenever he was about to open his mouth to say something, he quickly closed it right after.


    Truthfully, Gloxinia started to grow impatient. She noticed him trying to talk but since he wouldn''t no matter how long she waited, it just made her curious.


    She furrowed her eyebrows. She didn''t like this feeling of being made to wait pointlessly.


    Gloxinia glanced at the sky. The sun was setting and it was obviously getting late. She never went home this late before.


    "I need to go home soon," Gloxinia said.


    The guy''s face fell. He wanted to spend more time with Gloxinia, but she wanted to go home already.


    "Oh right, what''s your na-"


    "Gloxinia!" the guy grabbed Gloxinia by her shoulders and made her face him, cutting off whatever she was going to say.


    Gloxinia was confused. His grip on her was pretty strong. His breathing became ragged and his eyes were locked on Gloxinia. He bit his lower lip in nervousness.


    She couldn''t understand what he was trying to do. And frankly, his grip was kinda hurting her.


    Then he closed his eyes and puckered his lips, drawing his face closer to Gloxinia''s. He was getting too close for her comfort.


    In that moment, she understood.


    That this was the force Lilly was referring to.


    GRAB.


    Gloxinia stopped the guy''s advance as she grabbed his face with her hand.


    The guy widened his eyes in shock. He was trying to say something, but it was muffled because of Gloxinia''s hand. He tried to push forward, but her hand wouldn''t budge. He tried to pull himself away, but she was practically clawing on him.


    "So you''re not a good guy," Gloxinia muttered while looking down. The guy was starting to run out of breath. His hands were trying to get himself out of her hold.


    "Too bad," Gloxinia said, her eyes glowed when she looked up at him.


    The guy turned pale and started to hit Gloxinia''s hand in panic so she would let him go. Noticing that the blood was draining out of his face, Gloxinia let him go.


    The guy scattered and ran away right after. Gloxinia watched as he stumbled over nothing in his escape, looked back for a second, then ran with all his might again.


    After his figure got farther away and she couldn''t see him anymore, Gloxinia sighed. When she touched his head earlier, she probed into his mind. The content was¡­


    Gloxinia turned her head and froze when she saw a familiar figure.


    It was Vincent, standing a distance away with a dumbfounded expression on his face. Before he could react, Gloxinia walked over to him with quick steps.


    "Why are you here?" Gloxinia asked as she stopped right in front of Vincent. He was taken aback at how she was staring straight into his eyes, as if she was observing his every movement.


    "Just passing by," Vincent said, staring back straight into her eyes, as if he didn''t want to lose.


    "I see," Gloxinia said while nodding.


    After following them earlier, Vincent actually thought he was being pretty creepy and decided to go home. But he was stopped in his tracks when he saw what the guy was doing.


    "Yes," Vincent said firmly.


    He would never tell her the truth.


    ¡°Hmm. Alright.¡± Gloxinia nodded. She waved goodbye to him and turned around before going in the direction of her home.


    Vincent raised an eyebrow. He was glad Gloxinia didn¡¯t ask further, but at the same time, he wished she did. He sighed and walked after her.


    "You should''ve been more doubtful," Vincent said when he reached Gloxinia''s side. He didn''t look at her direction, but he knew she lifted her head to look at him.


    "What happened just then?" Vincent asked as they walked.


    When Gloxinia didn''t answer, he took a glance at her. She was staring up front, seeming like she was deep in thoughts. From this angle, her long eyelashes really looked like they were covering up her eyes.


    "He was invading my personal space," Gloxinia answered, surprising Vincent with the sudden noise. And her words.


    "You know about personal space?"


    "What do you think I am?" she scowled.


    A baby, Vincent thought. Though he would never say it out loud.


    "It was the first thing Lilly taught me about," Gloxinia said and nodded to herself.


    Lilly was a very touchy-feely person. She would always link her arms with Gloxinia''s or rest her head on her shoulder. When Gloxinia expressed her dislike of that, Lilly understood and explained the concept of personal space then.


    It was a fond memory, though Gloxinia always felt bad that Lilly was always holding herself back after that.


    "Did you probe into his mind?" Vincent asked.


    Gloxinia stayed silent. She did by accident probe into the guy''s mind when she was stopping him from advancing earlier. She couldn''t understand most of the things he was thinking about, but one thing for sure, she felt his fear for her.


    "It''s fine, you didn''t do anything wrong."


    Hearing Vincent say that, Gloxinia looked up at him.


    "He was the one who did bad. You were just protecting yourself," Vincent said without looking at her.


    Gloxinia stared at his face for a moment before looking forward again.


    "But he was scared of me," Gloxinia said, the sides of her lips visibly arched downwards.


    "Maybe I can''t get a friend because I''m scary," she continued.


    Vincent glanced at her hanging her head down, then he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He would probably regret this, but¡­


    "I''m not scared of you," he said.


    Gloxinia lifted her head once again to look at him. His eyes were looking up front, as if he didn''t say anything just now. But Gloxinia was sure he did say that.


    "Does that mean you''ll be my friend after all?" Gloxinia asked as her eyes started to twinkle. She wanted to be absolutely sure.


    Vincent felt her stares stinging the side of his face, and without saying anything, he nodded. Seeing him nod, Gloxinia beamed.


    "My first--! No, second?" Gloxinia questioned and tilted her head in confusion. She wasn''t sure whether to count that guy earlier as a friend or not.


    "Heh," Vincent snorted, but his face was already back to normal by the time Gloxinia turned to his direction.


    "Can you laugh again?" Gloxinia asked. She remembered that seeing Lilly laugh always made her feel strangely happy. Maybe it would happen again with Vincent this time. She stared at Vincent with a pair of hopeful eyes.


    "I didn''t laugh, so, no," Vincent said without batting an eye.


    Gloxinia squinted her eyes at him. She was pretty sure he did, but he didn''t seem like he would ever admit it. She scoffed and faced front again, giving up on any desire to press him further.


    However, Gloxinia decided then. She should look into laughing and smiling more. Maybe with that she could make Vincent truly laugh.

 Chapter 6

    The next day, first thing in the morning, Gloxinia found all her missing stuff back on her desk. No message was attached to it, but she guessed the unnamed guy was generous enough to give them back to her even though she scared him yesterday.


    The second period of the day was a self-study session, as the teacher couldn''t be there for the day. Despite it being called self-study, no one actually studied and everyone just talked to each other like it was a break time.


    "Can you stop staring at me?" Vincent said while propping up his head with his arm.


    Gloxinia, the one he was talking to, just kept looking at him without heeding his words.


    "And why are you turning your chair to face this way? Face forward," Vincent said again.


    Gloxinia shifted her chair so she could fully face Vincent''s direction. There was no reason, just that everyone else did too and it was much easier to talk to him this way.


    "Do you know," Gloxinia finally voiced out. "What a smile is?"


    Vincent wondered if she was joking, but judging by her face she was clearly dead serious about her question.


    "Are you being sarcastic?" Vincent asked. That was the only reason he could think of as to why she would even ask that question to him. He was aware he never smiled much. Actually, he hadn''t been smiling for a few centuries now.


    "Did it sound like I was?" Gloxinia blinked in genuine surprise. She shook her head quickly.


    "No, but sorry if you got offended."


    Vincent squinted his eyes at her to study her expression, but it was no use. He knew she was being honest. Vincent leaned back on his chair and contemplated on how to answer Gloxinia''s question.


    "It''s a¡­n expression," Vincent began with a careful tone. He felt like he would turn philosophical with this topic, but he would like to keep it logical for Gloxinia so she could understand it first.


    He took a glance at her but she didn''t give out any particular reaction, like she already knew that before.


    Of course she does. Vincent thought.


    "It''s the expression you make when you''re happy," he continued. He glanced at Gloxinia again and this time she looked like she was deep in thought.


    "But I once saw Lilly smiling even though she wasn''t happy," Gloxinia voiced out the question that had been nagging in her mind. She had always associated smiling with good feelings, but just that once, smiling looked sad to her and she didn''t know why.


    "Well, yeah," Vincent said and crossed his arms as he tried to think about how to explain it nicely.


    "... Sometimes smiling can also be a means to hide one''s true feelings," he decided to say.


    Gloxinia tilted her head and raised an eyebrow. She got the gist but she wondered why they had to make it so complicated. Humans truly were such complicated creatures. They could do one thing and mean another thing entirely.


    Gloxinia studied Vincent''s face.


    "Can you smile?" Gloxinia asked with a serious expression. She didn''t mean much, she just wanted to see how Vincent would look like smiling genuinely.


    "I don''t have any reason to," Vincent answered, his gaze locked on his desk. Even in front of his superiors and seniors, he never smiled even though it could''ve gotten him their favors. But it was fine since most of the other angels of death weren''t keen on smiling either.


    Gloxinia huffed and crossed her arms as well. She was out of ideas on how to make Vincent smile. She leaned back on her chair to relax, and that was when she noticed some stares.


    She turned to the side and her eyes met with a few girls who quickly avoided her gaze and went on with their business. When she looked around, the others also seemed to avoid looking at her direction for some reason.


    Gloxinia was puzzled as to why they would stare at her and then avoid her gaze. Was there something on her? Did she do something wrong?


    Were they scared of her?


    The corners of Gloxinia''s lips arched down and her gaze casted downwards. She didn''t want to make any more people afraid of her.


    Vincent, on the other hand, knew exactly what was happening. While the both of them were talking to each other, he heard their classmates whispering about them.


    Fangirling, to be exact.


    "Oh my god, they look so good together."


    "I know. I''m so glad our class has the cool beauties."


    "They''re a sight for the sore eyes."


    And things like that. They were not badmouthing them, and they were definitely not scared of Gloxinia. They were just admiring the two mysterious cool beauties.


    Vincent let it be because they weren''t saying anything negative, but at the time he didn''t know Gloxinia felt down precisely because she thought they were. He thought it was only natural to be able to hear their whisperings, so he had no idea why Gloxinia would look so dejected.


    The bell rang, indicating that it was finally time for recess. Nobody in class really batted an eye except for those who were going out of the class.


    Vincent stood up from his seat without a word, about to go to the rooftop again to do his daily observation, but Gloxinia stood up as well.


    He stared at her for a moment before deciding through experience that it would probably be useless to talk her out of it. He walked to the direction of the stairs, with Gloxinia tailing behind.


    "Why do you always go to the rooftop when it''s break time?" Gloxinia questioned as they went up the stairs to the rooftop. Without sparing a glance at Gloxinia, Vincent opened the door to the rooftop and the gust of wind brushed past them.


    "I have a job," he said as he went out and held the door open until Gloxinia stepped out too.


    "Why are you following me?" Vincent said again. He let the door close on its own before walking ahead to his usual spot, the edge of the roof.


    He took a seat on the edge, his eyes focused on the usual boy sitting on the bench all by himself. Then, Gloxinia grabbed Vincent''s shoulder all of a sudden, which startled him. He looked up at her.


    Gloxinia was right next to him, standing still with her eyes fixed on the view below. Vincent could feel that her hand resting on his shoulder was trembling slightly.


    Vincent sighed.


    I knew it.


    He tapped on her hand gently to get her attention. When she shifted her gaze to him, he pointed behind him.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Sit down facing that way," Vincent said, referring to the direction of the door they just stepped out from. By facing that direction, Gloxinia wouldn''t be able to notice the heights since she wouldn''t be looking at the land below.


    Gloxinia tilted her head, wondering why he told her to do that, but she complied anyway. She took a step back and crouched on the ground, then she pressed her back on Vincent''s.


    ????


    So many questions popped up inside Vincent''s mind. Like what made her think he was telling her to lean on his back, or what made her think he was telling her to lean on his back.


    "Oh, this does feel better," Gloxinia said as she hugged her knees. The wind was starting to make her feel cold, so she had to do it to feel warmer.


    For a moment, no one spoke up. Gloxinia listened to the sound of the wind as she closed her eyes to feel the wind against her skin. When she opened her eyes, she looked at the clear blue sky.


    "Hey," Gloxinia said, breaking the silence between them. Her voice was in a normal volume, but since it was windy on the rooftop, people normally wouldn''t be able to hear her. Only Vincent could because he had a sharp hearing.


    "What," Vincent answered with a sharp tone and high volume so she could hear him. On his hand was a small note that he was writing on.


    "Am I scary?" Gloxinia asked. She was thinking about what happened in the class before. No matter what, she couldn''t help but feel that there was no other reason they would avoid her gaze. Maybe the guy yesterday told everyone else about her.


    "That again?" Vincent said. He sounded indifferent as he was still writing something on his note. Once he was done writing, he shoved the note back onto his pocket.


    "Didn''t you see the others'' reaction back in the class? They were avoiding me," Gloxinia said, hugging on her knees tighter. Saying it out loud actually made her feel worse about it.


    "Huh?" Vincent said. He paused briefly to process what he heard, then it dawned on him what she meant.


    "Aah. They weren''t scared of you," Vincent said nonchalantly. He didn''t expect she would be concerned about that, but he got where she was coming from. She couldn''t hear them talking, after all.


    "How do you know that?"


    This time, it was Gloxinia''s turn to retort with a sharp tone. She was feeling a bit peevish because of her negative thinking. She pursed her lips unknowingly.


    "I heard them talking. They didn''t say anything about being scared of you," Vincent said. His eyes were fixed on the boy he was watching. That boy was still sitting on the bench lifelessly as usual.


    "Really?" Gloxinia muttered. She couldn''t believe it right away but seeing how Vincent had always been truthful with her all this time, she also saw no reason for him to lie. "What were they talking about then?"


    "I¡­" Vincent halted. In his absentmindedness, he was about to say it was about how we look good together, but he realized how weird that would sound coming from him.


    "They were talking about how they want to talk to you but don''t know how to," Vincent said. Technically, he wasn''t lying. They did want to get close to her. He just omitted some other details, like how he was actually involved.


    Gloxinia knitted her eyebrows. She wasn''t a hundred percent convinced, but she gave him the benefit of the doubt.


    "... Are you sure?" Gloxinia asked with a careful tone.


    "Yeah."


    "Then should I try to strike a conversation with them?" Gloxinia asked again, this time her voice started to get chirpier.


    Vincent rolled his eyes.


    "That''s what you should''ve done from the start."


    Hearing that, Gloxinia nodded firmly to herself and clenched her fist. Vincent was right, if no one would approach her then she should''ve just approached them first. She started to think up so many scenarios on how she would approach them.


    There was a brief silence between them as Gloxinia was immersed in her thoughts and Vincent was just¡­ quiet.


    In his mind, he was questioning about the reason why Gloxinia would think other people found her scary. It was probably because of her powers. He knew that she could probe into minds and scan things, but what other things could she do? She was the first spirit he had ever met, so he didn''t know if she was normal or not.


    "What power do you have as the spirit of the lake?" Vincent asked with a loud voice. It brought Gloxinia back to reality.


    "Uhm¡­ I guess strength and absorbing information from my hand," Gloxinia said as she raised her hand and stared at the back of her hand.


    Vincent raised an eyebrow.


    "And that helps a spirit how?" he said in disbelief. He knew about the strength she had since he saw it firsthand, but he honestly thought she would also have power over water since she was a spirit of the lake.


    Then he remembered about how she said she scanned the entire school to find him before.


    "I don''t know, I''ve had this power since forever," Gloxinia said as she tapped the floor with her fingers.


    "Nothing water-related?" Vincent asked again. He was really interested in that the most. He crossed his leg as he watched the boy on the bench standing up for a moment before sitting back down.


    He was getting bored with just watching the boy.


    "Mhm. I''m not the protector of the lake or anything like that, so I don''t have power over it. I''m just an embodiment of the lake," Gloxinia said, raising her head and unconsciously leaning it against Vincent''s back. It startled him a bit.


    "Come to think of it, how did I come to be¡­" Gloxinia mumbled to herself in a small voice. That just hit her mind as she was answering Vincent''s question. Vincent heard her mumble and decided that he shouldn''t press it further.


    It seemed like she had her shares of trouble too.


    The first school bell rang then, indicating that class was restarting for them.


    "Get up. I can''t move with you leaning on my back," Vincent said. The boy he was watching had also walked back into the building.


    Gloxinia stood up from her position and gave Vincent some space so he could get up from his seat. She was about to turn around to face him but he held her by her shoulders, stopping her from doing so.


    "Don''t turn around. Just walk ahead," Vincent said before he let go of her shoulders and walked ahead of her into the building.


    Gloxinia blinked in confusion before she shrugged and followed Vincent inside.


    Both of them arrived in class just in time before the second bell would ring. As they entered the class, Gloxinia could feel the stares aimed at her again.


    Is he sure that they aren''t scared of me? Gloxinia thought to herself as she made her way to her desk. When she arrived at her desk and took a seat, two girls suddenly approached her.


    Startled with the sudden approach, Gloxinia straightened her back as she looked at the two girls. Her eyes were widened with surprise.


    "Uhm, Gloxinia," one of the girls spoke up. She fidgeted every so often while the girl beside her had her face flushed red.


    After being told by Vincent that they weren''t scared of her, Gloxinia could see a situation like this from another angle. They were¡­ nervous? Antsy?


    But why?


    "Would you, uhm¡­ Would you like to eat lunch together with us later today?" the girl said.


    "Oh? Of course!" Gloxinia replied. Her mind was a mess. It was as if someone set a firework inside her head, and she just couldn''t think of how to react. She was determined to talk to them first before, but being talked to for real actually puzzled her. In her panic, she peeked at Vincent, who was already sitting behind her, through the corners of her eyes.


    What else?


    It was as if she was saying that to him with her eyes.


    Vincent could see how elated she was. Her cheeks were starting to turn red and her pupils got bigger. Seeing her awkward gesture, Vincent decided he should help her.


    Smile, he mouthed.


    Gloxinia saw that and she smiled, as if the weight on her back was lifted.


    Her smile reached her eyes. She looked soft and delicate, unlike the cold beauty she usually looked like. It was just as if a flower was blooming.


    Everyone in the class who saw that either gasped or held their breath. Even the people outside who were passing by the class stopped in their tracks because they were mesmerized. It was the first time they had ever seen Gloxinia smiling, and it was magical.


    "Thank you," Gloxinia said to the two girls, a giddy feeling in her heart. Vincent wasn''t lying to her. She could feel it now that her classmates weren''t scared of her. And he was also right about smiling. The smile did come naturally for her when she felt happy.


    Seeing her, Vincent sighed and looked outside the window. Hidden from anyone else''s sight, the corners of his lips slightly perked up.


    ---


    The second bell rang. In another class, some students entered the classroom while excitedly talking about what happened just now.


    "Did you see that?" a girl said.


    "Yeah! She looks even more beautiful, smiling like that!" another girl gushed.


    A group of girls that were forming a circle in the corner of the class turned their heads to them in curiosity.


    "What is it? What is it?" one of the girls in the group asked.


    "Oh, you know the famous Ice Princess in Class A? She smiled just now!" the first girl said with such excitement.


    "Oh, I know. What was her name again¡­ Gloxinia! Wasn''t it?"


    The girls who just arrived in class nodded repeatedly.


    Everyone in the group didn''t really show much of a reaction, except for one. The girl with thick-rimmed glasses and a long dark hair tied up in a ponytail looked up.


    "... Gloxinia?"

 Chapter 6.5 - Side Story 1

    The spirit stared at Lilly''s extending hand, not sure of what to do about it. She let Lilly''s hand hover in the air without doing anything about it.


    Lilly lowered her hand slowly as she looked at the spirit with a cautious glance. Perhaps the spirit didn''t want to touch her.


    "Sorry, that must''ve been too presumptuous of me--" Lilly said, retracting her hand back fully.


    The spirit tilted her head and raised an eyebrow.


    "What were you doing?" she asked.


    What was I doing? Lilly also questioned that in her mind, but then she noticed that the spirit''s eyes were locked on her hand that she held out before.


    "Ah, I meant to ask you for a handshake!" Lilly beamed. The spirit didn''t know what a handshake was. Somehow, knowing that made Lilly feel relieved. It wasn''t because she hated it, after all.


    The spirit tilted her head. Since it seemed like she didn''t get it, Lilly muttered an excuse me and grabbed the spirit''s hand gently. She then squeezed on her hand and shook it.


    "It''s like this!" Lilly said.


    The spirit kept staring at their hands as Lilly kept shaking them in glee.


    "I see," the spirit said as she nodded. She understood what a handshake was now. She took a note of it so she wouldn''t make the same mistake.


    "May I know what your name is?" Lilly asked with a grin on her face. She was feeling excited. Such a beautiful girl was in front of her and she actually managed to get this close.


    But once again, the spirit just stayed silent. It took a few moments for her to open her mouth.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    "Don''t have one," she said without much care. "Is it really necessary?"


    Lilly gasped.


    "Of course! That way, I''ll know what to call you," Lilly said, furrowing her eyebrows. She was surprised to know the being in front of her didn''t have a name. She asked for her name because she wanted to connect with her properly.


    "Then just call me whatever," the spirit said.


    Lilly blinked in confusion before pursing her lips.


    "Does that mean I can give you a name?" she asked, glancing at the spirit carefully. The spirit shrugged.


    Lilly crossed her arms and frowned as she thought hard about what name she could give the spirit. For some reason, she felt like she needed to choose a good one.


    She observed the spirit''s looks. Dark long hair that went down to her waist, small face and tall nose that reminded her of the western dolls the other kids had been carrying, and skin as fair as a pearl.


    The spirit''s purple eyes were definitely her most defining feature. Lilly had never seen such a color on other people''s eyes before, but she thought it looked beautiful, like a flower was blooming inside the spirit''s eyes.


    Flower.


    "Ah!" Lilly exclaimed while clapping her hand. She grinned at the spirit, who just inclined her head showing that she didn''t understand what Lilly was doing.


    "I have a good name for you," Lilly said as she grabbed the spirit''s hand and held it tightly.


    The spirit didn''t even have the time to be puzzled when Lilly continued,


    "Your name will be Gloxinia!"


    Lilly exclaimed it with such vigor that the spirit wasn''t even sure how to react. Was that a good name? A bad one? She couldn''t tell.


    "It''s the name of a flower. A very beautiful one! It''s purple, just like your eyes and--" Lilly rambled on and on. The spirit noticed how her eyes sparkled and her cheeks shone red.


    As if realizing she was having a one-sided ramble, Lilly coughed awkwardly.


    "Anyway, it''s a pretty name. Do you like it?" Lilly asked with a big smile on her face.


    The spirit nodded. Anything worked for her, so she didn''t care.


    Lilly beamed at the spirit''s positive response.


    "Now we match! My name is from a flower too," Lilly said. She was obviously excited and she tightened her hold on the spirit''s hand.


    "Nice to meet you, Gloxinia!" Lilly said.


    Gloxinia.


    It still felt unfamiliar to her, but it was apparently her name now. Gloxinia.


    Gloxinia stared at her and Lilly''s hands. Without a word, she nodded.


    I''m Gloxinia.

 Chapter 7

    "High school?"


    Lilly nodded at Gloxinia''s questioning tone. She had a big smile on her face while Gloxinia looked like she didn''t even understand what that word meant.


    "Once I go to high school, I can learn a lot more things. I can hang out with friends, and maybe I can get involved in some romance!" Lilly gushed. She clasped her hands while looking upward dreamily.


    Gloxinia tilted her head.


    "I see," Gloxinia said.


    Lilly squinted her eyes as she stared at her friend.


    "Your reaction is so lukewarm. Be more curious! Ask about what I''m going to do and stuff," Lilly demanded while crossing her arms.


    Seeing that, Gloxinia tried to rack her brains trying to come up with a question that would soothe Lilly''s ''anger''. She didn''t want to see her frown.


    "Okay¡­ What is ''school''?" Gloxinia finally asked.


    Lilly blinked a few times before she burst into laughter, which took Gloxinia aback.


    "I forgot we have to start from that. Okay! So a school is¡­"


    As Gloxinia listened to Lilly ramble on and on about school while looking like she had the most fun all her life, she felt peace.


    ---


    Gloxinia sat down on the sofa in her house with a big smile on her face. After smiling just once, she somehow couldn''t help but to smile every time she thought back on it. It was as if a dam inside her was broken down and now she was flooded with the urge to smile.


    She glanced at the photo of the elderly Lilly she kept in the living room.


    "I had a great day," Gloxinia said, as if she was reporting to her. The framed photo, of course, was silent. Gloxinia kept staring at the photo and getting lost in her thoughts.


    Lilly was smiling in it, the same bright smile that she showed Gloxinia the first time they met. But Gloxinia also knew that by the time Lilly took this photo, she was in pain.


    Gloxinia felt a twinge on her chest. She placed her palm on her chest as she blinked in confusion.


    What was that? Gloxinia wondered.


    The pain only lasted less than a second. It just felt like being pricked by the thorns of a rose.


    She would know. She got herself pricked once when she tried to pluck one.


    Gloxinia decided to brush it off. It was just something that passed by, that was all. She stood up from her sofa and went to her bedroom, ready to rest for the night.


    ---


    Being at school felt more fun to Gloxinia than ever before. When she met her classmates'' eyes, she no longer felt like they were scorning her. She still had some ways to go until she befriends them, but she didn''t mind. It was a good step forward.


    It was recess time, but Gloxinia felt like she no longer needed to tag along with Vincent to the rooftop. She felt more comfortable in the class now.


    She could just imagine herself being friends with everyone within a few days. She glanced at her face in the mirror of the school¡¯s bathroom and grinned. She went to the bathroom earlier when the bell indicating recess rang.


    Gloxinia exited the bathroom with light steps. She made her way back to the classroom, passing through several classes and rooms, including the teacher¡¯s lounge.


    "Excuse me, are you Gloxinia?" a voice surprised Gloxinia. She turned around to find the source and saw a girl standing in front of the teacher¡¯s lounge.


    Her breath almost stopped when she saw the girl¡¯s face.


    The girl had her dark brown hair up in a ponytail, with a few strands loose on the sides of her face. A pair of glasses sat on top of her nose, giving her a diligent and studious look.


    She smiled at Gloxinia, but the latter just froze on her place.


    It was because aside from her glasses and hairstyle, the girl was a spitting image of Lilly.


    The girl blinked and tilted her head, wondering why Gloxinia wasn''t responding to her.


    "Lilly¡­" Gloxinia muttered as her gaze locked onto the girl.


    "Huh?" the girl blinked in confusion. But a moment later, she made a face as if she realized something. "Ah, Great Aunt Lilly!"Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    The girl offered her hand to Gloxinia before she could process what the girl just said.


    "I''m Roselyn, Lillian''s great niece," the girl said while smiling.


    Gloxinia spaced out as she looked at Roselyn. Great niece? She didn''t remember Lilly mentioning anything about that back then. Most of all, Gloxinia was dumbfounded at how much Roselyn looked like Lilly in her younger days.


    It felt like she was meeting her again back in the lake.


    "Uh¡­" Roselyn lowered her hand awkwardly since Gloxinia wouldn''t take her hand, but Gloxinia noticed that and quickly grabbed her hand before she could retract it fully.


    "Hello, I''m Gloxinia," she said, her eyes still fixed on Roselyn''s face while shaking her hand.


    Roselyn really did look like Lilly, especially the shape of her eyes. The corners of their eyes look sharp, making them look like a small fox. If Lilly looked like a baby fox with her kind and soft gaze, then Roselyn looked confident and more like a vixen than her great aunt ever was.


    "Gloxinia?" Roselyn called out. Gloxinia blinked and focused her gaze back at her. Their hands were already separated from each other without her realizing.


    "I''m sorry, you look really like Lilly," Gloxinia said as she lightly slapped her own cheek to get a grip.


    "Oh? Did Great Aunt show you a photo of her younger self? Everyone did say I look like her in her youth," Roselyn chuckled.


    To be more precise, Gloxinia saw Lilly during her youth herself. But she wouldn''t tell her that since Lilly told her to never flaunt her immortality to others. She just nodded to agree.


    "I was just here to hand over something to the teacher, but it''s such a good coincidence that we met. I''ve been wanting to introduce myself to you for a while now," Roselyn said with a grin.


    "My family talks a lot about you," Roselyn continued, locking her eyes with Gloxinia.


    Gloxinia was taken aback at how forward Roselyn was with her. Even though she already knew that her classmates weren''t afraid of her at all, they still hadn''t tried to get closer to her. It was like most of them were satisfied just by seeing her from afar.


    And most of all, she felt kind of happy because it was like Lilly came back to life.


    Gloxinia couldn''t help but grin thinking that way. She just felt the urge to hug Roselyn somehow, but she held it in because she knew she wasn''t Lilly.


    Roselyn blinked in confusion seeing Gloxinia''s expression. Was she that happy to know that her family talked about her a lot? But that would just be weird.


    Or maybe Gloxinia was weird, after all.


    ---


    Standing on the edge of the roof as he always did, Vincent watched the boy on the bench with a bored look. Every day, it was just the same routine. Classes, observation, classes, going home. Maybe a sprinkle of Gloxinia here and there.


    As if sensing that he was internally complaining, Vincent''s phone rang. He took out his phone from his pocket and frowned when he saw the name plastered on the screen.


    Dead Daddy.


    He picked up the call and placed the phone on his ear.


    [ HIIIIIIIIII, ] a cheerful voice of a man echoed from the other side of the call. It was so loud that Vincent had to pull the phone away from his ear.


    "Good day, Sir," Vincent said as he pressed the phone onto his ear again.


    [ Yes, good day, son. How are you doing? Everything''s good? ] the man asked. His voice still sounded as chirpy, but at least he wasn''t screaming anymore.


    "Yes, everything is going well. You don''t need to worry," Vincent answered.


    [ Great! Keep up the good work, then, ] the man said.


    "Oh, Sir."


    [ Yeah? ]


    "Can you please let me change your name in my contacts?" Vincent said in an indifferent tone, even though he was actually desperate inside.


    [ Hmm. No, ] the man said, followed by a cackle.


    Vincent sighed. He had tried to change the name so many times before, but it would always revert back to Dead Daddy. His superior seemed to really like messing with his phone.


    [ But I''ll consider it if you call me Father, ] the man continued.


    "..."


    Vincent stayed silent.


    Right then, the school bell rang.


    "Excuse me, I need to go," Vincent said.


    [ Oh, come on! It''s so simple to just-- ] CLICK. Vincent hung up before his superior could finish talking. He shoved his phone into his pocket as he turned around and headed back inside the school.


    It was good to know that his superior was still the same as ever. Even though Vincent wouldn''t give him any reaction no matter how much he teased him, for some reason, he still liked to do it. His superior was one of a kind, but Vincent was already used to it.


    Thinking back, it was probably rude for a subordinate to do that to his superior, but both of them had already established that there was no need for such formality. In fact, his superior always pestered him to treat him like he would a father.


    Vincent walked through the hallways to head to the classroom while being deep in thought. Although his superior could technically be considered his "father", Vincent never felt right calling him so.


    When he entered the class, he spotted Gloxinia on her seat. She didn''t notice him coming in as she was looking outside the window.


    Vincent passed by her and took a seat on his chair. He took a glance outside, trying to see what she was looking at so intently. No matter how hard he looked, he couldn''t find anything noteworthy. What could she possibly be looking at?


    When Vincent turned his gaze back to his front, he jumped on his seat when he found a pair of purple eyes staring at him.


    "What?" Vincent asked as he placed a hand on his chest to calm down out of habit, even though he had no beating heart.


    Gloxinia grinned, her eyes obviously twinkling.


    "What do you do on a school day off?" she asked.


    "...Nothing?" Vincent answered.


    He couldn''t very well say that he would usually walk around the vicinity of the house of the male student he was watching over.


    "Will you go out with me?" Gloxinia asked.


    Vincent froze in his place, as did the rest of the class.

 Chapter 8

    Vincent could feel the entire class''s eyes focused on them. He was sure they were really anticipating what his reply would be. But judging from her personality, Vincent knew Gloxinia didn''t mean anything by that. He cleared his throat.


    "You mean go with you somewhere?" Vincent asked carefully. Gloxinia nodded.


    "A new friend from another class told me of a good place to eat sweets. I want to try them this weekend," she beamed while explaining.


    Vincent could hear the other classmates sighing in disappointment as they went on with their businesses.


    These people, really¡­


    Vincent stared at Gloxinia. He didn''t really want to join her, but he couldn''t find any excuse to reject her invitation, as he wasn''t really fond of lying.


    After all, he actually had nothing to do on a day off. He wasn''t required to continue his observation on such days.


    "You know, it turns out Lilly has a great niece in this school. Her name is Roselyn, from class G. She''s the one who told me of the place," Gloxinia rambled on. She talked about how similar Roselyn looked to Lilly and how nostalgic it felt talking to Roselyn.


    That was news to Vincent too. He couldn''t really bother remembering the students'' faces, especially the ones who weren''t in the same class as him, so he never noticed her either.


    Moreover, their classes were too far apart. Gloxinia and Vincent were in class A, while Roselyn was in class G. He almost never saw students from class E, let alone class G.


    Then Vincent heard whispers.


    "Roselyn? Hey, isn''t she¡­"


    ¡°No way, it can¡¯t be.¡±


    Vincent glanced at the source of the whispers. It was a group of girls who usually gathered by themselves near them. They were also the ones who spazzed over both of them the most. Vincent observed their gestures, but it didn¡¯t seem like they were going to continue talking about it.


    ¡°So, can you?¡± Gloxinia asked again while tapping on his arm, gaining his attention back.


    "Why don''t you just invite the girls of this class? You''ll get closer to them that way," Vincent said while tilting his head to the side.


    "Huh? But I want to go there with you first. You''re my first friend," Gloxinia said as she looked down and pouted.


    Seeing her like that made Vincent feel like he was scolding her or something. At this moment, he really regretted accepting being her first friend back then.


    "...If it''s only for three hours, sure," Vincent said, pulling his arm away from her reach.


    He ended up giving in because he had no reason to refuse. It wasn''t as if he hated sweets either.


    "Okay!" Gloxinia nodded fervently. She then took out a scrap of paper from her pocket and a small cellphone from her bag.


    It was an old model with a thick phone body and ABC keys. He could hear how tough the keys were whenever she clicked on them.


    "Why aren''t you using a newer model?" Vincent asked. Gloxinia lifted her head and raised an eyebrow, not understanding what he was talking about. He then pointed at her phone.


    "There''s a newer model?" Gloxinia asked as she stared at her phone.


    "Of course. That model is around twenty years old already," Vincent answered.


    "I see. I just used whatever Lilly left behind," Gloxinia muttered. Vincent nodded at her words. If that phone were originally Lilly''s, then it made sense that it would be old.


    "She showed me how to message and call, so I know what to do," Gloxinia said proudly as she typed on the relic.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    Vincent watched as she typed her message carefully. One moment she smiled, another moment she frowned--especially when the old keys were hard to press on.


    She changes expressions so well now, Vincent thought. Seeing her like this, no one would expect that she used to have no expression at all.


    "Sent," Gloxinia said as she put her phone down with the most satisfied expression on her face.


    "Good for you," Vincent said nonchalantly. He started to take out the books needed for the next lesson and placed them on the desk.


    Gloxinia''s phone vibrated almost immediately after she put it into her pocket. She took it out again and checked it.


    It was a swift reply from Roselyn.


    "I got the place, " Gloxinia beamed. She showed the phone to Vincent. On the screen were some pixelated texts.


    Restless Cafe. Clockwork Tower 4th Floor.


    "This is that building over there, right?" Gloxinia said as she retracted her phone. She turned her head to look outside the window. The building was visible at a distance from their class window.


    Although it was called a tower, it was actually just a slightly taller-than-average mall building. A lot of students from Gloxinia''s school would go there after school or during the days off to hang out.


    Vincent nodded at her question. He never went there either, but he knew of the landmarks within this vicinity.


    Meanwhile, Gloxinia was staring at the faraway building in silence. The biggest building she had ever gone to was the school, so she was curious about what that building held. Would it have more rooms than the school did? Was it the same as the towers in Lilly''s stories? What''s a clockwork? What''s a cafe? She wondered all those things in her head.


    There were so many mysteries that Gloxinia had yet to unfold.


    When the bell indicating the class''s start rang, everyone outside rushed in and took a seat. Gloxinia also turned around and faced forward, but her mind quickly wandered off again thinking of the tower.


    Their Physics teacher walked in in quick steps.


    "I''ll have you pay attention today, Class! The material today will be used for the finals and--"


    I wish the weekend would come faster, Gloxinia thought.


    ---


    In a blink of an eye, the weekend came just as Gloxinia wished it would.


    They were planning to meet up right at the Clockwork Tower itself, but Vincent couldn''t help but worry.


    "Will you really be able to get there by yourself?" Vincent asked on Friday, the day before they would go to Clockwork Tower. The school was over for the day and Gloxinia approached him to discuss their plans tomorrow.


    Vincent looked visibly concerned when Gloxinia said they should meet up at the destination. Despite his minimum expression, she could see how his eyebrow twitched when he heard her talk.


    "Yes. I can ride a taxi," Gloxinia said while nodding. She had always wanted to ride one.


    "..." Vincent raised an eyebrow and stared at her with a look of distrust. It was as if he didn''t think she would even get there before the day ends. Gloxinia could tell because Lilly once gave her the same look when she told her she wouldn''t act recklessly among the humans.


    In the end, Vincent yielded and agreed on meeting at the destination. His house was close by, so he arrived way earlier than the promised time and had been waiting at the front entrance.


    Vincent was crossing his arms and leaning against a pillar as he waited. He was wearing a black shirt with the first few buttons at the top undone, and a pair of dark blue pants. His light brown hair was left unstyled, but it still looked neat. As usual, his perfect proportions and cold expression caught the attention of everyone nearby.


    Right then, an orange taxi pulled over right in front of the entrance. After a short moment, the door opened and a girl got out of the car. It was Gloxinia.


    Vincent widened his eyes at her. She was a surprising sight to behold.


    Gloxinia was donning her usual hairstyle and wearing a white t-shirt tucked inside a skirt. It would''ve looked pretty stylish if only Vincent didn''t notice that the skirt was her school uniform skirt.


    Gloxinia found Vincent as soon as she got off the taxi. After thanking the driver and closing the door, she marched her way to Vincent.


    "Taxis are amazing," Gloxinia said as soon as she got to him. Her eyes were sparkling with excitement from her first experience riding a taxi--no, a car.


    "...Is that so?" Vincent asked.


    "Yeah! The driver automatically knows how to go anywhere, and he did it so fast, too!" Gloxinia said while pumping up her fists.


    "I see. Speaking of which, is that your school uniform skirt?" Vincent asked while pointing at her skirt. Gloxinia looked down at where he was pointing at before raising her head and nodding.


    "Lilly''s clothes don''t fit me, so this is the only thing I can wear to go outside," Gloxinia said while looking straight at Vincent. Her eyes showed that she had 0 idea of what could be the problem.


    "That is concerning," Vincent said. Before Gloxinia could ask what was wrong, he turned around and headed inside the building. He waved his hand slightly.


    "Follow me," he said.


    Although he said to follow him, he had bigger steps than Gloxinia due to his longer legs. She had to walk twice the speed just to keep up with him.


    When they entered the building, Vincent glanced behind him before slowing down his steps until she finally caught up.


    "Walk slower-- Wow," Gloxinia was going to complain to Vincent when she reached him, but she got struck by amazement before she could.


    The inside of Clockwork Tower was dazzling. It was Gloxinia''s first time seeing that many lights in one place. From where she was standing, she could see so many ''rooms'' with open doors, each of them displaying different items.


    The atmosphere inside was so different from how it was outside. It was like she stepped into a different world.


    It also felt pretty breezy on her skin compared to outside, but being a spirit of the lake, she could handle this much coldness.


    While Gloxinia was looking around in awe, she realized something. She turned to Vincent.


    "Is this a department store?" Gloxinia asked. She remembered Lilly mentioning it before. She told her that department stores had a bunch of ''rooms'' inside a building, and each of those ''rooms'' were selling something. Much like this one.


    "How many years ago was that? This is a mall," Vincent said before he started walking again without giving her a glance.


    Gloxinia thought she would have to hurry over to him again, but she caught up to him sooner than she expected. She glanced up at Vincent--it seemed like he lowered his pace for her.


    As they walked, Gloxinia noticed that the items displayed in front of the ''rooms'' gradually changed from small items to full-blown clothes worn by mannequins. She was amazed at how much of a variety there was--female clothes, male clothes, smaller humans'' clothes¡­ There were so many styles she had never seen Lilly wear before.


    "Did anything catch your eye?" Vincent said. Without her noticing, they already stopped walking and Vincent was facing her.


    Gloxinia nodded repeatedly before she looked around and pointed at one ''room'' with such an excited look.


    It was a gothic lolita store.


    "..."


    "..."

 Chapter 9

    Gloxinia''s eyes were sparkling so much while looking up at Vincent that he felt like he was being pricked by her gaze. Being stared at so innocently like that, there was no way Vincent could bring her down.


    "...Why?" he asked.


    "It looks pretty. It''s like what princesses in the picture books wear," Gloxinia said.


    Vincent glanced at the dresses. They were certainly very pretty, but they were also very showy. He knew he asked what she liked, but he was thinking more of casual clothes¡­


    "Any other?" Vincent asked again.


    Gloxinia looked around before frowning. Everything else looked about the same to her. They all looked good but there wasn''t anything else she was particularly attracted to.


    Gloxinia shook her head.


    "Is it weird for me to wear that?" Gloxinia muttered while glancing at the gothic lolita clothing store.


    "No, no. It''s not weird," Vincent said in a panicked tone. "We can check them out later if you want, but for now you should get some clothes you can wear on a daily basis."


    "I can''t wear that on a daily basis?" Gloxinia asked.


    Vincent hesitated for a bit before shaking his head.


    "It''s complicated to maintain and wear," he decided to say. He knew some people actually wear gothic lolita on a daily basis--and he wouldn''t judge that--but it would be hard for Gloxinia who didn''t have any other casual clothes to begin with.


    "I see," Gloxinia nodded in understanding. She then pointed at the store next to it, a casual outfit store for girls. "That?"


    Vincent nodded, "Something like that."


    Vincent walked towards that store with Gloxinia following closely behind. The store wasn''t too big, but there was quite a variety of clothes ranging from tops and bottoms to dresses.


    "Pick one that you can change into," Vincent said. He turned to the store clerk who was already by their side without Gloxinia noticing. "Please help her."


    The clerk smiled and nodded as she led Gloxinia away. Gloxinia blinked in confusion and glanced at Vincent and the clerk back and forth, but she didn''t resist.


    Vincent then took a seat on the shop''s sofa to wait. He watched as the clerk grabbed a few clothes and led the flustered Gloxinia into a fitting room.


    Vincent stared at the door of the fitting room when it closed.


    How did I end up here? he thought to himself.


    Vincent was originally one of the best Angels of Death around. He would get any job done flawlessly ever since he first started being an Angel of Death. He was a prodigy, so to say.


    He never spoke too many words. He would pick up a soul and deliver it to his superior according to the protocols. No wasted movement, not a single wasted moment.


    But now, a female spirit was leading him around by the nose.


    Vincent preferred to be alone, but he actually agreed to be her friend and eat sweets with her on a day off.


    She threw him off. Ever since the moment they met for the first time.


    A long dark hair enveloping a small face. Lush eyelashes and round eyes that reminded him of a purple sapphire. Smooth, pale cheeks with a tinge of pink. Naturally rosy lips. The moment he laid eyes on her, he could tell that she wasn''t human.


    Admittedly, Vincent was stunned when he first met Gloxinia in her white off-shoulder dress.


    Vincent inwardly groaned as he changed his sitting position and rested his head on his hand.


    Inside the fitting room, Gloxinia stared at the pile of clothes in front of her. The clerk was beyond enthusiastic to gather them when she told her that she didn''t know what style she preferred.


    She decided to start with the one lying on the very top: a mint-colored blouse.


    As soon as she tried them on, someone knocked on the door of her fitting room. Gloxinia instinctively unlocked the door and peeked outside through a small gap.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    "How is it, Miss? Do you need any help?"


    It was the clerk who was guiding her earlier. Gloxinia looked down at the blouse that she managed to put on. She had it all buttoned up to the top, which meant she was all good to go.


    "No, I''m fine," Gloxinia replied, opening the door wider for the clerk to see.


    The clerk stared at Gloxinia without a word.


    "Pardon me, Miss, but¡­" she reached out to Gloxinia, which made the latter flinch. The clerk smiled to reassure her, before proceeding to unbutton the top two buttons on the blouse and style the collar.


    "For this blouse, buttoning it up completely like that will give you a stiff impression. It should look and feel better like this," the clerk said as she gestured for Gloxinia to check herself in the mirror.


    Gloxinia looked at the mirror with her mouth slightly open. Just by unbuttoning the two buttons at the top and fixing the collar, the blouse gave off a different impression. She certainly didn''t think buttoning up all the way was wrong before, but somehow it looked more natural this way.


    These clothes were really interesting.


    Gloxinia unknowingly smiled while looking at the clothes in the mirror. She then turned her head to the pile of clothes.


    "Can I try the rest of them and ask for your opinion?" Gloxinia asked the clerk. The clerk''s face lit up and she nodded in vigor.


    It felt like ages for Vincent as he waited for Gloxinia to be done trying them all. From a distance, he could see her opening the door to the fitting room and talking to the clerk a few times.


    He also saw her in those clothes she was trying, but he had nothing to say about them. She looked great in anything, after all.


    After what seemed like forever, Gloxinia finally exited the fitting room with a black top and a pair of jeans. The long, tight trousers made her legs look tall and slender.


    Definitely a thousand times better than her uniform skirt earlier.


    She carried a bunch of clothes out in her embrace and the clerk offered to help carry a few since they were threatening to fall. Both of them were heading to the cashier.


    Vincent sighed in relief seeing that Gloxinia was nearly done. His phone then suddenly vibrated, indicating that a message came.


    [Dead Daddy: On a date, aren''t you?]


    It was his superior, obviously ready to tease him in full force.


    Vincent locked his phone without replying and put it inside his pocket. When a shadow loomed over him, he looked up. Gloxinia was standing before him in her new clothes. She wasn''t carrying anything except for the small bag she had been carrying since the start.


    "Where did you put your previous clothes?" Vincent asked, checking around her.


    "I asked the clerk if they could hold them for me here while we go to the cafe," Gloxinia said.


    Vincent nodded. That was quite smart of her, he should say. He then stood up from his seat and bowed a little towards the clerks at the cashier to show his gratitude.


    "After you," Vincent said.


    Gloxinia beamed and walked ahead in her brand new clothes. This was her first time wearing trousers, and it turned out to be very comfortable for her. She felt like it suited her a lot compared to skirts.


    Lilly''s wardrobe mostly consisted of dresses and skirts, so Gloxinia naturally thought that it was just a given for her to wear skirts. She never thought that there was another option.


    Gloxinia took her phone out to check the direction Roselyn gave her through a message. Then she glanced up at Vincent. Come to think of it, he was holding something unfamiliar to her back when they were at the store.


    "Was what you were holding earlier the new model of phones you talked about before?" Gloxinia asked, unable to suppress her curiosity.


    Vincent nodded.


    "Yeah. Why?" he asked. His eyes were glued on her, as if studying her reaction.


    "Nothing."


    Gloxinia shook her head and returned her attention to her ancient phone. She wanted to touch his phone, but it would probably be rude of her to ask that. After all, it was his personal possession. Even she would get territorial if someone else carelessly touched what was hers.


    As if noticing what she was thinking about, Vincent took out his phone.


    "Do you want to see?" he asked while offering his phone to her.


    Gloxinia''s eyes twinkled when she saw it. It looked nothing like Lilly''s phone. It was rectangular, wide, yet thin. The most jarring difference was how it had no buttons. In her curiosity, Gloxinia scooted closer to Vincent.


    "Is this all screen?" she asked while touching on the surface of Vincent''s phone.


    "Yeah. Most phones have a touchscreen now," Vincent said while turning on the screen, which earned a gasp of awe from Gloxinia.


    She touched on the lockscreen, but it only made ripple effects on the screen. She touched it again multiple times and it still did the same.


    From above her head, she heard a chuckle.


    "Here," Vincent said as he gently held Gloxinia''s index finger and guided it to slide across the screen, unlocking his phone.


    Gloxinia gaped in admiration. She''d never seen anything like that before.


    However, there was practically nothing on Vincent''s phone aside from the basic apps. Not even a single game.


    "You don''t have Snakes here?" Gloxinia asked while swiping the screen to look around his phone. Snakes was her favorite pastime. It was the only game she had in her ancient phone¡ªand basically the only mobile game she knew. It had always been there, so she was under the impression that all phones would''ve had it.


    "No," Vincent said. He seemed to know what she was talking about. He then pointed at an icon. "But you can install a bunch of games there."


    Gloxinia clicked on it immediately. She quickly became so immersed in browsing through the app store that she didn''t even realize that Vincent handed over his phone to her completely and took her phone.


    "Oh, I found it," Vincent muttered.


    "Huh?" Gloxinia finally looked up from Vincent''s phone and her gaze fell straight onto her phone in his hand. He nodded at the direction of the upper floors, where the cafe was at.


    Gloxinia couldn''t tell where it was though.

 Chapter 10

    "Haa¡­"


    A sigh escaped from the waitress''s lips as she took a break from cleaning up a table.


    The cafe she was working at, Restless Cafe, was never short on customers. Even if it was one of the slowest times currently, she was still occupied with things to do.


    "Man, if only there''s some eye candy around¡­" she muttered to herself before continuing cleaning.


    After wiping the table clean, she took all of the cleaning tools with her and headed to the storage room.


    It was then that she heard the rattle of the door, indicating a customer''s arrival.


    "Welcome!" the waitress said while turning her head towards the door.


    What she saw standing in front of the door made her hold her breath.


    A tall man with light brown hair and a small face. His black shirt accentuated his broad shoulders. His face gave off a cold impression, but it also looked youthful. His grey eyes somehow sparkled that it reminded her of the moon. She couldn''t tell how old he was by his looks alone; he seemed young at first glance but he had the calmness of an adult.


    While the waitress was infatuated by Vincent, a figure popped out from behind him. She couldn''t notice it earlier, but someone was behind him. As the waitress shifted her gaze to the person behind the guy, she gasped again.


    The person behind him was a very gorgeous girl. Her long dark hair was braided on the side. Her eyes were round and her lips were pink and adorable. Every time she blinked, her long eyelashes fluttered along. She had such a perfect figure that the waitress wouldn''t even doubt it if someone said she was sculpted by the gods.


    The girl''s clear purple eyes looked around the cafe as if studying it before looking up at the guy and saying something to him.


    The girl looked small next to the guy, but she was still a head taller than the waitress.


    What is this¡­? Are they foreign models¡­? the waitress wondered. Both of them were wearing black, so she assumed they were a couple with matching outfits.


    She was so stunned that she forgot to put back the cleaning tools. She quickly came to her senses when the couple headed straight to a table next to the windows. Not wanting her coworkers to take this chance, she walked in a fast pace to reach the counter, place down the cleaning tools, and grab two menu books before her coworkers could notice the godly customers.


    She approached the couple with her best business smile. By the time she got to them, Gloxinia''s eyes were glued to the phone on her hand. Vincent was the only one who raised his head to look at the waitress.


    "Welcome to Restless Cafe," she said while handing them the menu books. "Would you like to order immediately or would you like to browse the menu first?"


    "We''d like to browse the menu first, please. Thank you," Vincent said as he took away the phone from Gloxinia''s hand.


    "Ah¡­" Gloxinia muttered with a disappointed look as she watched the phone get taken away from her.


    "Will do. You may call me whenever you''re ready to order," the waitress said with a polite smile.


    When she walked away, Vincent placed his phone down on the table with Gloxinia''s eyes still fixated on it.


    "Pick something from the menu first, then I''ll give it back to you," Vincent said.


    "Menu? Oh, this?" Gloxinia''s gaze finally shifted to the menu. She grabbed the menu book and opened it with such vigor that it caused a wind current to hit her face and mess up her hair. She looked like she just had something explode on her face.


    Seeing that, Vincent held himself back from laughing. Gloxinia was too busy browsing through the menu to notice that.


    After flipping through the pages back and forth, she finally stopped at one page and stared hard at it. Meanwhile, Vincent stretched his arm to reach Gloxinia''s head and fix her messy hair. The girl just gave his hand a glance before turning her attention back on the menu.


    "I want this," Gloxinia finally spoke up, placing down the menu on the table and pointing at one menu. Vincent retracted his hand and leaned forward to see what she was pointing at.


    The menu Gloxinia wanted was called The Princess Set¡ªa popular assorted menu consisting of a katsu sandwich with fries, a strawberry milkshake, and a tiramisu.


    Vincent nodded and raised his hand to call for the waitress earlier. Once the waitress arrived, he swiftly mentioned their orders.


    "One Princess Set and one hot coffee," Vincent said. The waitress repeated their order before retreating back to the counter to relay their orders. Even from the distance, Vincent could hear the waiters and waitresses whispering about him and Gloxinia.


    It wasn''t anything new.


    When Vincent turned to look at Gloxinia again, she had her palms open, waiting for him to give her something.


    "Oh," Vincent said, finally remembering his promise. He gave his phone back to Gloxinia and she beamed as she received it.


    Vincent leaned back as he watched Gloxinia having fun with his phone by herself.


    "What''s so fun in it?" Vincent asked.


    "I don''t know. But there are so many things I''ve never seen," Gloxinia answered without even raising her head.


    Her fingers were moving without rest even though she was just browsing through the app store, being amazed at the potential such a little thing could hold.


    "Maybe I should get one for myself," Gloxinia muttered. She then raised her head and looked straight at Vincent. "Where can I get one?"


    "Beats me," Vincent shrugged. His phone was given to him for his job, after all. "It''s probably sold here in this mall somewhere."


    Gloxinia firmly nodded with a determined expression on her face.


    As she leaned back because she was starting to slouch, Vincent''s gaze landed on her newly-bought clothes.


    "I thought you would pick clothes with brighter colors," Vincent said.


    "Mmm¡­" Gloxinia mumbled, obviously distracted at Vincent''s question. "I like all colors, but this one is my favorite¡­"A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    She thought back to the past, when she hadn''t materialized yet and was just a consciousness of the lake. Someone in an entirely black outfit was standing next to her lake and it left such a deep impression on her that she started to like the color black.


    Though she couldn''t remember the details much since her memory as a mere consciousness turned hazy as soon as she got a human body.


    Vincent didn''t expect that. With her personality, he was sure she would have bright colors as her favorite. Moreover¡­


    "You picked a bright-colored outfit first before, so I assumed you liked bright colors better," Vincent said. He was referring to the gothic lolita dresses that Gloxinia first laid her eyes on.


    "Just because I have a favorite, doesn''t mean that everything else isn''t good," Gloxinia said in response. She said it so nonchalantly that Vincent could only blink.


    He then burst into a chuckle.


    "Right. That was a stupid assumption," he said.


    Just in time, the waitress returned with their orders in hand. The waitress lifted the strawberry milkshake off the tray and placed it by Gloxinia''s side when she saw Vincent giving her a sign to place it there.


    Gloxinia''s eyes twinkled as she watched the strawberry milkshake descend in front of her. The pink-colored drink was served in a tall glass with whipped cream on top. Above the whipped cream, there was a golden crown adorning it. It truly suited being a part of the Princess Set.


    The waitress then placed down a cup of coffee on Vincent''s side. Even though Gloxinia was preoccupied with her own drink, she got jolted by the strong aroma that suddenly attacked her sense of smell.


    She looked up and stared at the cup of coffee with a frown, but she didn''t say anything.


    The waitress left soon after telling them that the rest of their orders would be coming out shortly, and only then did Gloxinia speak up.


    "What''s that?" Gloxinia asked, almost demanding an answer. She tightened her grip on her glass of strawberry milkshake.


    She had never seen anything like it. The water looked so dark and foreign to her, like it was contaminated by something. The only thing familiar was that aroma¡ªa scent so strong it jolted her awake.


    "Why does it smell like death?" Gloxinia continued with her nose scrunched up and her eyes squinted.


    Vincent blinked as he tried to process what she was saying. He glanced at the cup of coffee.


    "This? This smells like death?" Vincent asked. He didn''t even know deaths had a scent.


    Gloxinia nodded.


    "It''s the scent I always smelled whenever I encounter death," she said. She wasn''t particularly fond of the strong scent, but she was so curious about this mysterious water that she leaned forward to sniff some more.


    "I had no idea¡­" Vincent trailed off as he stared at his cup of coffee.


    So that was how Gloxinia recognized him as an angel of death as soon as they met for the first time.


    The waitress came back with Gloxinia''s food in tow. While she was placing down the dish, Vincent stood up.


    "I''m going to the washroom for a bit. Go ahead and eat," Vincent said. Gloxinia nodded before returning her attention to the food in front of her.


    She never tasted a katsu sandwich before, but its photo was so appealing that she decided to choose it. She was not disappointed. The real thing looked as tasty as it looked on the menu.


    A lean cut of meat coated with crispy breadcrumbs fried until it turned perfectly golden brown, sandwiched in between two loaves of bread and cut into two pieces. On its side was a mountain of golden fries and a variety of sauces to dip the sandwich and fries into.


    At least that was how the waitress explained it to her.


    The waitress then left again while saying that she would bring over the dessert once Gloxinia was finished with her meal. When Gloxinia placed Vincent''s phone down to start eating, it rang.


    It was an incoming call from Dead Daddy.


    Feeling like she shouldn''t pick it up carelessly, Gloxinia just watched it ring for a few seconds before the rings stopped. She was going to turn her attention back to her food, but it rang again.


    Maybe it''s important, Gloxinia thought.


    She grabbed the phone and picked up the call, then pressed the phone against her ear.


    "Hello? Vincent is away at the moment," Gloxinia said.


    [ Ah, ] a voice of a young man said from the other side of the call. The man let out a small chuckle.


    [ Hello, child, ] he said again in a gentle tone, as if he was coaxing a child.


    Before Gloxinia could respond, the phone was suddenly snatched away from her.


    She looked up and there was Vincent, standing by her side, with an annoyed expression.


    "Hello, I''m here," Vincent said into the phone with his eyebrows knitted. He was avoiding Gloxinia''s gaze.


    Gloxinia then hung her head down and just stared at her food. Was it her fault he was annoyed? Should she not have done that?


    She could hear the unknown man''s voice through the phone at times, but she couldn''t discern what he was talking about. Vincent wasn''t reacting to whatever he said, that much she knew.


    "...Understood," Vincent said before he hung up.


    He took a seat while leaving his phone on the table. He then noticed that Gloxinia was looking glum as she held the fork and knife in her hands, leaving her food untouched.


    "What''s wrong?" Vincent asked.


    Gloxinia glanced up at his face after hearing his voice. He didn''t look angry, but he didn''t look like he was particularly pleased either.


    "Sorry for picking it up without your permission," Gloxinia said.


    Apologizing was one of the things Lilly would always emphasize on. Because Gloxinia knew that it wasn''t right to pick up a call not intended for her, she didn''t hesitate for a second to apologize.


    Seeing her apologize to him so directly with her eyes looking straight at his, Vincent was a bit taken aback. After more than a hundred years of existing, Vincent was used to seeing people hesitate to apologize because they didn''t want to admit what they did wrong. Humans were unchanging in that aspect.


    Gloxinia, on the other hand, directly admitted her wrongdoings and apologized before he could even bring it up.


    Seeing that somehow brought a little smile to his face.


    "It''s fine¡­" Vincent paused for a second, then continued. "Just be careful to not do it again."


    Gloxinia nodded firmly. She would definitely keep it in mind. She would never want to offend Vincent.


    Feeling a lot better after apologizing, Gloxinia then started to chomp down on her katsu sandwich. Thankfully, it hadn''t cooled down much yet.


    ---


    Shopping bags hanging on both arms.


    She was carrying so many, just like what one would see in comics or movies. One would think she raided an entire store if they saw her.


    "..."


    Vincent was rendered speechless. He glanced at her expression¡ªshe had a look of satisfaction on her face, as if she just won a battle.


    "They all looked good," Gloxinia said before Vincent could even say a word.


    After leaving the cafe, they went back to the clothes store they went to earlier to pick up the stuff Gloxinia asked them to keep. It turned out to be a surprise for Vincent.


    He thought she would only buy one set she could wear immediately. He would never have thought she would actually buy a bunch.


    Vincent observed her. She didn''t look like she was struggling with carrying them, but she did look uncomfortable with the amount of bags.


    They were now at the front door, waiting for Gloxinia''s taxi to arrive to get her home. She was only standing, but she felt her excitement popping off the charts.


    Gloxinia turned to look up at Vincent.


    "Thank you for accompanying me," she said while grinning.


    Vincent stared at her for a while. Since he wasn''t saying anything, she tilted her head in confusion. The little gesture seemed to jolt Vincent into reality.


    "You''re welcome," he replied.


    Just then, the taxi came and Gloxinia boarded on it with Vincent helping her with the shopping bags. He closed the door for her and she waved at him inside the car.


    He couldn''t hear them inside the car, but the driver looked like he said something to Gloxinia since she turned her head to him with a confused look. The window in front of her then rolled down and Gloxinia gasped in surprise.


    Her eyes twinkled, like a kid discovering something amazing. She looked up at Vincent while pointing at the window repeatedly.


    "Did you see that?" she asked.


    Seeing her, Vincent chuckled with his hand covering his mouth.


    "Get home safely," he then said.


    "Mhm! See you at school!" Gloxinia said. The taxi then started moving, but she was still waving at him. Vincent could faintly hear the driver scolding her to not stick her body out of a moving car as they drove away.


    When the car was out of his sight, Vincent turned around and headed towards the side of the mall where not many people were around. As he walked, his shirt gradually changed into a black blazer with a black trench coat draped over his shoulder. His hair was slicked up, revealing his forehead, and black gloves were covering both of his hands.


    He took out his phone and dialed a number.


    It rang for a second before the other side picked up.


    "The details please, Sir," he said into the phone.


    [ Done with your date already? ] Vincent''s superior, the self-proclaimed Dead Daddy, said in a teasing tone.


    "..." Vincent stayed silent.


    [ Okay, okay. Geez. I''m sending them to you as we speak, ] the superior said after feeling Vincent''s silent fury even from a distance.


    [ Aaand, done. ]


    Just as the superior said that, a glass sphere in the size of a palm appeared in front of Vincent. He reached out to the sphere before it landed on his hand that was not holding the phone.


    "Thank you," Vincent said as he stared at the sphere.


    [ Okay, go on. Death does not wait for anyone! ] the superior said cheerfully, as if he was just cheering for Vincent in a sports competition.


    "...If possible, can you please assign someone else starting from next week? I have finals in two weeks," Vincent said.


    He was well aware of how ridiculous he just sounded. Even his superior went silent at that.


    [ Pfft. Yeah. Okay. Sure. Study hard, son, ] the superior said. He tried to sound like a cool adult advising his child, but Vincent could hear very clearly that he was holding back his laughter.


    This is punishment in the first place, Vincent repeated in his mind. This is punishment.


    He hung up before he had to listen to any more of his superior''s ramblings, then turned his attention back to the sphere.


    The sphere reflected a young boy on a hospital bed, looking like he was very much in pain.


    Vincent closed his eyes.


    "...I wonder if I''ll smell like coffee again," he muttered before walking off.