The Vampire's Bride

It was as if time had slowed down and the whole class just stared at Mallory who was falling.

Mallory closed her eyes as she anticipated two things: first, the hot chocolate; second, the cold, hard floor with a bonus of her b.u.t.t getting squashed.

When she heard a 'thud', she felt something was wrong.

"Geez, watch where you're going!"

Mallory opened her eyes and saw a shadow looming over her.

It seems that Leo had caught her. "You alright?"

"A-Ah, yes! T-thank you."

Mallory quickly got out of her trance and stood up. The moment she started walking, Leo grabbed her by the arm.

"— — Idiot! I told you to watch where you're going!"

"E-Eh?" Mallory looked at where Leo was pointing. That's when she realized that her melted chocolate was all over the floor.

Leo, not only became a cushion for her fall, but also pushed the bowl so that the chocolate would not fall on her.

"I-I'm sorry!" Mallory's apology turned out to be a whisper. She frantically picked up the bowl when she heard Miss Lim speak, "Okay, class, get back to work. Mallory, you okay?"

Mallory: "Yes, Miss."

Miss Lim: "That's good. Go and get a mop. After that, I'll give you a new pack of chocolate bar."

Leo: "I could g—"

Mallory: "Y-Yes, Miss!"

Leo: "..."

In a flash, Mallory was out of the room and left poor Leo who had his mouth slightly opened as he was in the middle of his sentence.

Miss Lim, who saw the confused and dumbfounded Leo freezing, could not help but laugh.

'Ay... it's good to be young...'

Miss Lim tried to help Leo and offered, "Azazel, do you want to help Mallory? She's probably embarrassed and maybe she could use a bit of a comfort?"

However, Leo's reply was the opposite of what she thought!

"No need, Miss. She'll be back soon."

Miss Lim: "..." It looks like this young man is planning something... he'd better not bully that sweet, little, child!

...

"Go back to your place, Mallory. Time is running." Miss Lim gave Mallory a new pack of chocolate as she jokingly pushed her on her shoulder.

Mallory smiled and returned to her place.

She passed by a certain group where one of the members was not even helping the group... just watched Mallory passing by and heaved a sigh when Mallory's group mates did not move an inch.

Mallory placed the chocolate on the table, put on her apron and took a deep breath. She needed to calm herself. It's a good thing that her classmates don't really mind her that much. Even if she was to fall in a hole, they'll look at her for a while then leave. After all, they considered it normal if such things were to happen to her...

Mallory shook her head and innerly scolded herself, 'Not now, Mallory! You need to finish this!'

She started heating the container and places the chocolate after breaking it into pieces.

"Ah, I need a stirrer," Mallory mumbled to herself.

"Here."

Grabbing the silicon spatula, Mallory mumbled a small 'thanks.'

The oblivious woman who was stirring the chocolate: "... ?!"

Mallory looked behind and saw a pair of serious eyes that scared her. "I-I-I-Is there something you need?"

Leo was quiet and it was hard to determine what he was thinking. "Nothing much. Need anything else?"

Mallory: "N-no. Thank you for the spatula."

Leo: "Don't mind."

Mallory who felt pressured by Leo's presence: "..."

Leo who was watching Mallory: "..."

Mallory's group mates: "..."

Leo's group mates: "..."

Almost everyone in the room: "..." Why is Azazel with the freak?!

"U-um... Azazel?" A group mate of Azazel went to them and tried to get Leo back to their group, "Can you help us?"

Leo, on the other hand, had no intentions of doing so. He looked at her for a second, "Is there something wrong?"

The girl obviously did not expect such a question and replied honestly, "N-No. Everything's going good, I guess."

Hearing her answer, Leo had a satisfied look on his face.

"Then you guys continue. I'll go there if something drastic happened," Leo said, purposely emphasizing the word 'drastic'.

Mallory, who was quietly praying for Leo to go back to his group, was sent into a coughing fit. Leo quickly got a glass of water and offered it to her, "You okay? Drink some water."

However, this only worsened Mallory's situation. 'Master Orpheus, can you please let me be? You're really attracting the attention of everyone... I can't afford to anger my family... please spare this lowly servant of others!'

Class went on. Each group had reached the middle of the activity including one pai — er... group, that had a tiny accident.

Throughout the cooking time, everyone was shuffling. Going to the table, then the oven, then back to the table. They'll call each other and ask for help.

However, they kept their voices lowered as they were afraid to disturb the... unbelievable scene in front of them.

"Here's the pan."

"Here's a tissue."

"Ah! Don't! I'll get it. You're too short for it."

Leo laughed as he tiptoed and got a small container, "This one, right?"

Mallory did not know whether to cry or to get angry. 'Master Orpheus!'

Mallory mumbled a small thanks before pouring the chocolate into the pan. She tapped it a little before carrying it towards the oven.

Unknown to her, Leo was following closely behind, making sure no one would bump her. He glared at everyone who made the slightest movement, afraid that they would hurt Mallory and what they were making.

As they walked, another person called Leo, "— — Azazel, can you carry this to the oven since you're going there too?"

Leo did not even bother to turn his head as he replied in a cold voice, "You do it yourself."

After he spoke, his ears perked as he heard Mallory mumbling a few words, "I'm thirsty... I'd better drink something after this."

He turned around, went back to Mallory's table, grabbed a cup, poured cold water and then went back to Mallory who had just finished setting the oven.

When Mallory turned around, she felt the cold sensation on her cheek as a cool voice was heard, "Drink something before you continue."

Mallory: "T-Thank you..." ... I thought he didn't want to move?

Leo: "No problem."

Others: "..." This is clearly B-I-A-S!!!

Leo not only got a glass of water, he was personally delivering it to her!

A complete 180 degrees turn from the cold personality he had with his group mates!

"I'd better fix my area as I wait..." Mallory did not wait for Leo to answer or to acknowledge her as she practically ran towards her table.

"I'll help you."

Leo did not go to the table. Instead he walked towards the sink, grabbed and wet two rags, then went to Mallory.

Mallory on the other hand started fixing everything she used. She glanced at the side and saw her group mates chatting.

'These guys... they're really not going to help me...'

Mallory heaved a sigh as she carried the used dishes. Then she felt the rag on her arms that had replaced the heavy load she was carrying.

"I'll put it in the sink, you start wiping already," Leo would not take a 'no' as an answer and left Mallory with the rags.

Mallory sighed, she had no choice but to follow. It might have been due to trauma but she was truly scared of him... even if he had done nothing but be kind and helpful to her.

'The fear... it still hunts me down. Not to mention, I still have to deal with the punishment once I got home...'

...

Time passed and Mallory had just finished cutting her brownies.

She had a faint smile on her face as she whispered in a voice that only she could hear, "I'm finally done."

Leo stood besides her and was unusually quiet. Thanks to his heightened skills, he was able to pick those little mumblings of Mallory. He chuckled as he realized that she loved cooking.

As he continued to stare at her, he fought hard against his d.e.s.i.r.e to ruffle her hair.

'If I touch her too much, she'll run away again... I can't really take things too fast... No. I could only take things slowly. As usual is not even an option or everything will be back to zero.'

Leo suddenly remembered what happened yesterday. He let go of himself and was wild, not even giving Mallory the space she needed. He shook his head as he blamed himself.

Actually, he really shouldn't blame himself. Fate shared a portion of it as well. If Mallory's blood wasn't as sweet as it was, he wouldn't have lost his control. One of the reason why he chose to stick by her side today was because she might faint due to the amount of blood he drank from her.

Surprisingly, Leo felt like her energy was higher than yesterday!

This proved that Mallory... was not a simple lady after all...

Leo's trail of thoughts was disturbed by Miss Lim.

"Alright, class... I've checked everyone's work and good job making those brownies. Before I let you go, I'd like to call on those who had major deductions for this activity."

Miss Lim took a deep breath and spoke in a rapid manner without pausing, "Group 4, everyone except Mallory, zero points! Azazel, minus five points! Mallory, minus three points!"

The room was filled with protests as soon as Miss Lim finished talking.

"Eh? Why?! I mean it's understandable for Mallory to get deductions but the others?"

"Why did Azazel get some as well? He did nothing but help Mallory who was not in his group!"

"It's just as the rumors stated! Being with the freak will only bring bad luck or misfortune!"

"— Quiet!" Hearing the comments around, Miss Lim became furious.

It was one thing to openly bully someone and another to be oblivious of the fact why!

The class immediately followed. They all knew that even though Miss Lim was a jolly person, you should never make her angry or you'd get a ticket to Hell!

"Seeing that you guys don't understand why, let me break it down for you. Firstly, Group 4... You guys have been standing the whole period just chatting your lives away. Not once did you guys help Mallory in this activity. Tell me, what will I grade if there's nothing that was done?"

Miss Lim paused for a moment before continuing in a much gentler tone, "The same concept goes to Azazel. Azazel, you're group is Group 2 but you're helping another group without helping your group — is that the right thing to do? It is fine to help other but you better help your group first. That's why I took five points from you."

Miss Lim looked at Mallory with a stern face, "And you, Mallory, why did you not ask for help with your group?"

"Today, I asked you guys to work as a group. Never forget that you must be united when working as a group. Communication is important and DO NOT betray your group. Understand?"

A chorus of 'yes' was heard and Miss Lim dismissed the class.

However, just as Mallory and the others were about to leave, Miss Lim called Mallory's group mates and Leo, "Lance, John, Gabe and Azazel, stay for a moment. I'd like to have a word with you guys."

Mallory knew she should leave and quickly followed her other classmates behind.

The rest of the class heard Leo and the others being called out. They decided to brush it off since they were, probably, about to be lectured off by Miss Lim.

Well, at least almost everyone brushed it off.

One person saw it as an opportunity.

The moment Mallory sat on her seat, someone slammed their hands on her table. "Hey, you— —!"

Mallory instantly looked up and saw Kyla and her two sidekicks.

"Stand up and follow. NOW."

Mallory immediately followed Kyla out of the room. Who knows where they were heading? One thing was for sure. She was not supposed to stand, she was supposed to fight back, but Kyla unexpectedly mouthed something...

'If you don't want us to tell Thana, you'd better follow us, freak.'

Again... her family was their threat. Well it was no surprise. Thana had befriended Kyla. Thana wanted to keep Mallory under her control even in her school. After all, Mallory's family loved to see her suffer.

...

Meanwhile...

Miss Lim finally finished scolding the boys. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. You guys may go now."

Just as Leo was about to walk out of the door, he was stopped by Miss Lim. "Azazel... May I talk to you for a moment?"

Leo turned around and paused for a moment, not replying at all.

Miss Lim: "It's about Mallory."

Leo: "Yes. What about her?"

Miss Lim: "..." So it's only about the topics that interest him will you get his attention?

Their talk took another ten minutes. Miss Lim had a smile on her face as if she got what she wanted. As if Leo reacted the way she wanted him to.

By the end of it, Leo was slightly irritated. He stood up without a warning and headed towards the door.

Miss Lim's eyes followed as he walked, "Let me give you a piece of advice."

Leo hesitated but did not stop walking.

Miss Lim's tone became serious, "Do not mess with her. She's not what you think she is, Azazel. I'm a witness of it."

Leo turned around with a puzzled look. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the bell. In the next second, Miss Lim's serious aura was replaced by her usual joyful one. "Okay, Azazel, time to go to your next class. Just tell them I talked with you. Now go."

Leo was pushed outside of the room and the door was slammed on his face. He could only sigh and walked back to his classroom.

And as he walked, he kept thinking of the last advice that he received.

'Just what are you hiding, Mallory?'

He soon reached his classroom and quickly looked around.

Nope...

No sign of her.

He asked, in a loud clear voice, "Where is she?"

No one answered... they had their heads down avoiding Leo's eyes.

They knew they couldn't anger Leo but they also knew they couldn't anger Kyla who came from a powerful family. If they still wanted to live under a roof, then they'd better be quiet and follow Kyla.

However, they did not know that if they still wanted their lives, they should have sided with Leo!

Seeing that no one answered, Leo, once again, scanned the room. Then he found his suspects. Seeing that there were three seats, besides Mallory's seat and his, that was empty, he immediately knew what happened when he was not around for a couple of minutes.

"Sh*t!" Leo cursed and ran out of the room.