Carnivals: Claimed By The Deranged Alpha Prince [BL]-Chapter 225: Applied Pressure

Jules’ pov

"It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of Edward Mann, the dearest principal of our beloved school, who was barely in office for a month." A man clad in black colored suit announced, his eyes scanning over the crowd as he spoke.

He was standing behind a podium positioned on a platform, while the rest of the students were seated here in the large hall where we were all summoned before classes could fully start.

I was seated beside Elio, in the middle of the crowd. With every student in the school gathered together in the hall right now, I realized that our population was quite plentier than I expected.

Blaze was nowhere to be found, after we got summoned, he told me he had to go take care of something. The principal whom I saw in his office yesterday when I practically got forced into, whereby I met Abdeian in there– was dead today, which meant he was probably killed overnight.

I wasn’t sure if Blaze was the one behind it, or Andrian. Andrian had told the principal he’d protect him when he had been panicked concerning Blaze, so I wasn’t sure of a conclusion to come to. I’d just have to ask Blaze when I see him.

The man behind the podium continued to speak, loud voice ringing out and echoing through the crowd.

"Don’t you think it’s weird? The old principal, Eugene, literally died a few weeks ago. Why are they all suddenly dying?" Someone whispered behind me and I few snickers followed.

"It’s weird alright, but what isn’t weird about this school?" Another person responded through a crackle.

Elio nudged my side and I glanced at him. "You alright?" He asked softly and I nodded, flashing him a small smile. He reached for my hand and gave it a little squeeze.

"You seem tense. Don’t think about what’s going on too much, I’m certain it has nothing to do with any of us." He whispered in an assuring tone and I flashed him another smile while my insides twisted with a stab of guilt because I was certain he had no idea that this mess most definitely concerned the both of us.

The man still speaking in the mic urged everyone to stay in line and to keep calm because this school offers more than adequate protection. That made me snort and roll my eyes, and after about ten more minutes, we were all dismissed.

I waited for most of the students to leave first, not interested in being pushed up against a bunch of students, and Elio was still kind enough to wait behind me.

"Where do you stay outside of school?" Elio asked beside me and I stiffened, heart starting to pound against my ribs. I swallowed emptily and tried to calm my nerves.

"I- uh..." I stuttered, eyes darting around helplessly.

"Or do you come in from a different state? It would be cool if we can hangout outside of school, y’know... since we’d be going on holiday soon." He continued and I realized that he didn’t ask that because he had suspicions or something, it was because he wanted to hangout with me some more.

"Oh." I whispered, feeling a little dumb.

"Yup. I stay a few hours away from school." He explained as we began to make our way out of the almost deserted hall.

"I stay in this state too, we can definitely hang out outside of school." I informed him and he flashed me a pleased grin.

"Cool." He muttered. "Do you have siblings?"

A low pang swelled in my chest as I exhaled and shook my head.

"I’m an only child." I revealed, the lie flowing smoothly off my tongue and he beamed again, eyes crinkling.

"Me too." He admitted and I pushed my hair out of my face as we walked past the large doors of the hall.

"When is our school going on holiday?" I asked after a moment because I realized that I didn’t know when.

He shrugged a little, waving at two betas who waved at him.

"In a couple of months." He responded as we took a turn, heading for the elevator which would take us to the second floor where we’re supposed to have our first class.

However, my eyes caught the eyes of someone leaning against the side of the entrance of the elevator. It was Kai and his eyes bored into mine.

I hastened my footsteps, not interested in having a conversation with him. As I pushed the button of the elevator, his hand shot out to grab my wrist but I moved it away from his reach and hurriedly stepped into the opened elevator.

"Can we talk?" He asked from the other side of the elevator, a foot in between the doors.

I shook my head vehemently, shooting him a venomous glare. "Leave me alone, please."

His eyes darted between me and Elio for a moment, gaze lazy and searching.

"This is your little friend? The one you abandoned Taylor for?" He drawled and I blanched, feeling shocked to the core because that was the last thing I expected him to say.

"Go to hell, Kai." I hurled at him in annoyance but he only rolled his eyes with a wry chuckle.

"I’m just curious, that’s all. Does this new friend of yours know about your little secret?" He continued, head tilted sideways and my heartbeat accelerated, fear flooding through my veins.

I glanced at a clueless looking Elio before glancing back at Kai.

I didn’t understand why I once thought he was a kind person, he was clearly a psycho.

"Leave me alone please." I finally responded and he chuckled before stepping into the elevator, the doors sliding close after him. I stiffened at once, feeling extremely uneasy with him here with us.

"What’s your deal? You’re making him uncomfortable." Elio muttered, eying Kai skeptically.

Kai only rolled his eyes. "You really wanna know what the deal is between the two of us?" Kai drawled, eyes darting between us once again and I exhaled reluctantly before clearing my throat.

"Stop, Kai." I breathed out, voice strained and Kai threw his head back and crackled, long neck exposed.

After that, he remained silent, but I couldn’t relax, not with his presence here. As soon as the elevator arrived at our destination, Elio and I exited the elevator and I heaved out a relieved sigh.

"You alright?" Elio asked, regarding me worriedly and I nodded, even though I didn’t feel okay in any way.

"Yeah."

"What was he talking about back there? Is he threatening you with something?" He asked and I shook my head hastily.

"No, no. He... he was just messing around." I assured him, forcing a smile on because I wanted him to forget that entire exchange as fast as possible.

When we finally got to class, Blaze was nowhere to be found and so I decided to sit with Elio instead.

The first class passed by in a blur, and before the second teacher arrived, Elio asked me if I still needed help with the subject. I told him Blaze was already giving me lessons he cooed about how cute that was, a statement which made me giggle a little.

A shadow suddenly fell over me and I slowly glanced up, my eyes locking with Josh’s in the next moment.

I instantly tensed up, eyeing him wearily and wondering why he was currently here.

He motioned for us to go speak somewhere private and even though I wanted to refuse, he has never wronged me before, and so I gave in and we stepped out of the class.

"You’re now mated to Blaze, that’s cool, congratulations." He mumbled quietly and I reached for my neck as I chuckled awkwardly.

"Yeah, thanks." I offered, watching as he pushed his hands into his pockets.

"How have you been? We’ve not spoken since we returned back to school." He stated and I shrugged, unsure of what to say to the second part of his sentence.

"I don’t want to intrude on your friendship with Taylor." I admitted and he huffed quietly with a small shake of his head.

"You won’t be intruding, I promise you." He assured me and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

Josh was a great guy, but I didn’t like him like I once used to, because we both know he was smart. Taylor was clearly at fault at our first fallout, and he knew, but he still stuck beside him. I wasn’t mad about that, he and Taylor had been friends way before I showed up. But, I didn’t like how he sometimes acted like he couldn’t see that Taylor was a problem.

"Josh... look, you’re a really amazing friend, but it’s sometimes hard to see you as one when you turn a blind eye to what Taylor does, choosing to sometimes speak to me like I’m the one in the wrong in this whole situation for choosing to stay away."