Closed I'll Be Your Detonator

There was something freeing about being a failure. Sure, Cornelius' father hadn't talked to him for over a year now, but... who cared, really? Who cared about anything? A life spent taking every rule as an immutable law of reality erased in one stupid act, and now... who cared? Cornelius couldn't sleep, and the stuffy air in the dungeons wasn't helping. He slipped away from the tomb he had been crammed into with his awful new roommates and snuck through the halls, weaving around paintings he knew were likely to tattle until he made it to the courtyard. This was better. A warm near-summer night, the stars clear and bright above. He sat down by a statue, one that would hopefully make a decent hiding place if someone came along, and just took a slow, deep inhale of night air. Of freedom. Of nothing mattering.

Vanity had a love-hate relationship with her prefect's badge. She loved the power it gave her and the envious looks she sometimes got over it. She loved it even more when the looks weren't just envious but also baffled and confused, wondering why she of all people had gotten one. She knew she didn't deserve it, which made it all the more fun that she had gotten it. But what she didn't like was the actual responsibility, the extra crap she had to do. Like... patrols. Pairing up with Veronica Walden-Cade hadn't been as bad as June had probably hoped for, but it still wasn't fun to patrol empty corridors at night. After their shift ended, Vanity started heading back to the dormitory. She had decided to cross through the courtyard, as it seemed quicker to her. She walked quickly, so she almost didn't notice the person sitting down nearby. When she realized what she was seeing, she jumped instinctively. "Holy crap! What the f*ck!" She hissed, realizing she knew the person. "Cornelius?!"

Cornelius knew the courtyard had to be on the night patrol route but he hadn't expected anyone so soon. He began trying to slip into the shadows but stopped when he saw who it was. Oh. Well, that was alright then. He stayed right where he was, watching quietly as she approached. They hadn't really spoken since the holidays, and he still didn't know how he felt about their conversation. It just... it seemed pointless, trying to hope for things again. What was he even supposed to hope for? He watched Vanity silently, until the moment she jumped. He jumped too, barely biting back a yelp. Had she really not seen him at all. "What?!" He hissed back, shaking his head quickly. "I'm just getting some fresh air."

Vanity put her hand to her heart and shook her head, staring at Cornelius in the dark. "At midnight?!" She whisper-yelled. "You scared the crap out of me, what are you even doing?" She asked him, stepping closer so she could talk quietly. "Do you want to get in trouble?" She asked in a low voice. She was fully aware she should be the one getting him into trouble, but she didn't feel like doing that. Not right away, at least.

Cornelius knew he should probably get up to talk to Vanity properly, but watching her freak out over him was.... pretty funny. He shrugged in response to her question, looking up at the sky again. "Kind of don't care." He mumbled, resting his head against the cool stone of the statue behind him. "I just needed to get out of the dungeons for a while. Feels like trying to sleep in a mummy's basement."