Just another day

[Liam Nightray]

Liam hated waiting.

He had never been the patient kind. He always knew what he wanted and he always get it. Granted, he knew that sometimes, it wasn't always possible but he'd resort to deceitful and harmful acts if needed be. If he wasn't able to get what he wanted himself, he wouldn't simply sit around and wait for something to happen.

He hated waiting.

Waiting wasn't really something new to him; he had done plenty of it and hated every single moment of it. But today, he hated it more than he ever had. Wait, wait, wait. That was all that he had done all day. If he had a choice, he wouldn't have done it, yet he had to, and that was why he hated it even more.

Wait.

For hours, that's exactly what he had been doing. For two lousy hours, he had been sitting in an uncomfortable chair waiting to find out whether Ai would arrive or not. Not that they were friends or anything, for Merlin's sake he was far from being friendly. He needs them not. It's just it was always good to vent his anger on someone. Besides, the hufflepuff was useful. At least, she was supposed to be useful. Yet, it seemed that her stupidity just got worse. The girl had no sense of time. What did he expect? She had always been like that. She never did learn. Pathetic.

Liam stood up and tapped an impatient foot incessantly on the floor. She wasn't stuck in tar, was she? She was supposed to arrive hours ago. He had made sure that he had written the time big enough for her small eyes to see, yet, all for nothing. It wasn't like he wanted to see her. In fact, if he didn't need her he wouldn't have called for her. Yes, Liam Nightray needed the help of Ai Edogawa. Not that he would ever admit that to anyone. But yes, he needed her help.

He had been barely passing his subjects and the young girl seemed to be doing well in it. Not that he cared about his classes, but he didn't really want to hear his relatives talk about how stupid he was. He's not stupid. He just didn't care enough. And now, here he was, having to enlist the help of his toy for him to pass. He had no one else to ask, he had no choice. Besides, the girl wouldn't tell anyone about it. She wouldn't dare to. Or else, she'd pay for it.

Finally, he decided that he had had enough. He wasn't going to wait for that stupid girl to arrive. If she wouldn't show up, fine. At least, he didn't have to forget about his pride and tell her to teach him. Not that he already have an idea of what to say, how could he, the mighty Liam, ask for a lowly hufflepuff's help? This, however, didn't mean that he would let her misbehavior pass. She'd have to explain, and she'd have to do it well. Perhaps a tear or two would help? And some kneeling and begging would be great too.

The young Slytherin grabbed his bag and exited the room. He was met by the loud chatter of the students hanging around the halls. Did they have nothing else to do but to huddle and gossip about other students? He threw a glare at an unsuspecting group of hufflepuff and started to walk away.

He was starting to hate that house.​

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[Ai Nightray]

Ai had been extremely busy the past few days, and that included this very day. She had been up early in the morning and had already begun running errands of different kinds. It was not very far from the start of the semester, yet, the young Puff had been bombarded with activities to be prepared and errands to accomplish. At first, she thought that being a fifth year was hard, but it seemed that not only was it hard, but it was extremely difficult as well. Aside from needing to keep up with all of her classes, she still had to watch over the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team. Added to that were her duties at the Heta Omega and her patrols as a prefect. It seemed that everyday would suck the every ounce of energy that she has every single day.

The young Puff steadily wiped the sheet of sweat on her forehead as she climbed up the stairs leading to the fourth floor. She didn't expect the amount of work that had to be done today alone. She didn't mind the load of work, in fact, there were times that she was actually glad about the mountains and piles of things needed to be done since it kept her mind off of things that she really didn't want to think about. It took quite a few minutes of climbing the stairs to reach the fourth floor corridors and Ai went directly to the direction of the common room. She murmured the password and entered, heading directly to her room to get what she thought to be a well-deserved rest.

Ai entered her room and changed into more casual and comfortable clothes. She was just about to lay down on her bed and rest until she saw a familiar owl on her window. And she was not very pleased with the familiarity for she knew whom owned the said animal. She sighed as she walked over to her window and let the owl enter her room before taking the note that it brought. The girl was already preparing herself for anything that the letter might contain, and alas! She opened it and read its contents. And by the time she had finished reading the letter, her eyes had already begun searching for a clock that might inform her of the time. I cannot be late, she thought as she hurriedly got out of her room into the common room where she had apparently found out the time. She was already two hours freaking late! As soon as she had realized that, Ai was already zooming her way out of the common room and through the corridors. Liam would kill me! she thought as she ran as fast as she could to the spot where she and Liam were to meet. Unfortunately though, through all the running she had been doing, she didn't manage to evade one student that was walking down the middle of the corridor and ultimately bumped into the said student. "Sorry! I'm in a-," she was saying in quite a fast pace, until she realized whom she had bumped into was. "L-Liam," she said her face in utter shock. At that moment, Ai knew that she was dead meat.

 

[Liam Nightray]

Noise. Talking. Students. Professors. Mudbloods. Muggles. Half bloods. People. Ai.

Liam had a long list of the things that he hated. Hate is a really strong word, but there's no other word to describe how he despised those things. There was really no proper order, but currently, Ai was beginning to climb to the top of his list. And Hufflepuff too. He used to not mind the house that much, but their color reminded him too much of the stupid girl. He didn't like how bright their color was as well. And Gryffindor too. And no, it wasn't because of the stereotypical reason that some slytherins use to justify their hate for the house. It wasn't that. He hated it because of a certain lion with a hero complex who thought that his presence was a gift to humanity. He would never forget him. Not after what he had done.

Liam never forgets.

He would get his revenge one way or another. It might take a long time, a day, a week, a month, or even a year. But Liam Nightray would never forget.

He threw another disgusted look at the bunch of students populating the already crowded hall. Too noisy. Why do these students love to talk so much? On top of that, why do they love to waste their time going around in groups and laughing about useless things?

Talking. Crowding. Laughing.

For the life of him, he couldn't figure our why and how anybody could enjoy them. It irritated him so much. He didn't really know why, though honestly, it wasn't like he needed a reason to hate it. Perhaps it was just an impulse, or the plain fact that they were just so irritating.

The young Slytherin never dropped the scowl on his face. Seriously, if Ai had shown up on time, he wouldn't have to deal with this mess. He never did like to walk around the castle. Walking around would mean having to meet random people. And meeting random people would mean having to go out of his way to talk and wasting his precious time and energy for what he deemed to be useless and pathetic excuses for living things. Walking around the castle was a suicide move. He preferred to keep himself shut up in a place where nobody could nag at him. Yet he did it. He went out of their common room, climbed up the stairs, waited for two lousy hours, sat of an uncomfortable chair, only to discover that the person who he was meeting would not show up anyway.

The nerve of that girl. Just because she was given authority didn't mean that she could do anything that she wanted to do. It was a wonder why those stupid professors had granted her that title. She was irresponsible. She couldn't even keep her promises. She couldn't even show up on time. How could she perform her duties then?

"I'll kill her." He muttered under his breath. How many times had she made him wait? Two? Three? He lost count already. That, however, didn't mean that he would just let them pass. No. She had to pay.

The boy started to think of ways to punish the stupid puff. He was too deep in thought that he began to take no notice of his surroundings anymore. And that was when it happened.

Seriously, were these people pulling his leg or was this for real? The hall was wide enough yet someone had to be so reckless and stupid to bump into him. What irritated him even more was the position that he found himself in. He wasn't that athletic so it was to be expected that he wouldn't have enough strength to balance himself when someone came running towards him. However, that didn't mean that he was fine with it, for heaven forbid, he would slaughter and rip this person to shreds.

"Were you not looking at where you're going?" He said menacingly as he rubbed his temples. He then lifted himself off the floor and tried to stand straight. His legs were wobbly and he instantly regretted standing. However, the sound of the other person's voice only fueled his anger. He would know the owner of that voice anywhere. He'd really kill her. Then, he would revive her then kill her again. He would do it repeatedly until she learn not to mess with him again.

He didn't say anything anymore, but his eyes showed no mercy as he glared at the girl. "Follow me." He turned around and walked without looking at her. He need not look to see whether she did as she was told or not. After all, obeyed him or not, she still had to pay.​

 

[Ai Nightray]

Ai pretty much already knew what to expect. Whilst she was on the run towards the meeting place she had already pictured quite a number of scenarios. First, Liam might not be at the meeting place anymore since it was two hours already since the meeting time that he apparently sent and not told her in advance. Second, he'd be giving off a murderous aura at her. Third, he'd punish her for not learning to be punctual. If only the Slytherin's owl had arrived the previous night or days before, she would not be in trouble right now. But no, the note had to be sent some time in the morning till early afternoon while she was out running errands. She wasn't really angry or frustrated about it, instead she was only troubled for it was not the first nor the second time she was late. The Hufflepuff already knew that she'd be facing yet another wrath of Slytherin, Liam Nightray.

Ai was completely in surprise as Liam was untangling himself and getting on his feet from the sudden fall. Of course they both became imbalanced but the Hufflepuff had regained it before she could actually land on her butt yet it seemed that the Slytherin was unable to, thus his current situation. She knew that she was in for it now, and frankly she thought that her fear of Liam was already fading until she heard his menacing tone. "I.. I'm sorry," she said as he stood and watch him glare at her with such dangerous intensity. She bit her lip as she did as she was told for he still held dominance and superiority over her. Fear was creeping into her as she continued to walk, following the Slytherin as he walked.

 

[Liam Nightray]

Liam continued walking without giving any acknowledgement to the hufflepuff. He was boiling with anger which wasn't really a new thing. However, that did not mean that it is not bad, for nothing good would come out when Liam Nightray was angry. Not just annoyed or irritated but angry. He had been irritated at a lot of people before. He had wished a lot of people to die, he had wished a lot of people to just disappear from the face of the earth, however, his hatred for this young puff was different. It was a different level of hate, something which even he himself cannot explain.

"I'll really kill her." He muttered yet again. His face was blank but his eyes showed nothing but hatred. He had heard her apologized, but she had done lots of it before for it to have any value. How many times had she apologized to him already? She kept on saying sorry yet she kept on repeating the same mistake. What's the use of her apology then?

The fifth year slytherin just walked, gracefully evading the students walking towards his direction. He had never been a slacker. He had been raised in a strict environment and he prided himself to be someone who knew how to walk and act properly. He wasn't like some stupid hufflepuff who could bump into someone even if the way was large enough to accommodate a lot of students. And besides, he needed no further embarrassment. He had already embarrassed himself by falling on his behind when said hufflepuff bumped into him. He won't to let that happen again.

"State your reasons." He said flatly without turning back nor slowing down his pace. It didn't take a genius to know the puff would follow. He hated it but this had been their routine. She would be late, he would wait, she would be giving her pathetic excuses and by some stroke of luck, someone would interfere and act as a hero to save the damsel in distress. Seriously, should that happen again, he would not hesitate to throw a spell or two to that person. Why was it that there's a lot of nosy people in the castle? Can they not poke their noses on other people's business? ​

 

[Ai Nightray]

Ai was scared. Sure, it had already been more than a year since she had been deemed as Liam's puppet, but he didn't really owl her or summon her so frequently. She would see him in classes occasionally and that was it. Aside from that, there were barely any meetings between the two of them. But, in those meetings she could see the superiority that he had implemented since day (or night) one. She could very well see that he was willing to undergo methods if it meant getting what he wanted. He was willing to tell the professors quite a number of stuff that he knew about her if it meant getting her to do his bidding. He was ruthless when it came to her that he was even willing to hurt her physically so that he could get what he wanted and that was the reason she had decided that she wouldn't make him angry as best she can.

Although, it seemed that her best wasn't good enough at all since right now, not only was he giving off a menacing aura. Rather, it was a murderous aura! She would no longer wonder if she was going to be killed today. Ai sighed audibly as she continued walking silently, her head kept down and her hands at her front, fiddling with the piece of paper with Liam's instructions. She was surprised though when he spoke to command her. "I just got your note. Like five minutes ago," she answered keeping her tone as politely as she possibly could whilst they walk. She was quite sure that no one would come save her from Liam's wrath now, and honestly she was a bit glad, since she didn't want to drag anyone else to her problem. "I had no idea you'd be owling me and your owl wasn't in my room yet when I left," she followed her previous answer. It was certainly the truth since she never knew when Liam would be sending an owl and giving her instructions, he was probably one of the most unpredictable persons she knew.

 

[Liam Nightray]

Liam stopped by the end of the hallway where there were barely any students hanging out. He really can't stand being around too much people. They were irritating, especially these ones who were too loud for his liking. He really couldn't understand the idea of making friends. It was a waste of time. Let years pass and that friend would turn into an enemy. These people could not understand that, sharing their most intimate secrets with their friends only to learn later that these same friends would betray them. He would rather not risk it. He was fine by himself, only interacting with those whom he assumed he needed. This hufflepuff in particular, belonged to that group. When he first met her, by accident of course, he had thought that she'd be useful. She looked intelligent enough and he was quite confident with his control over her. He knew that it is only through being feared that people would obey orders. He knew she was scared of her, scared for breaking rules too, and that was shy he had blackmailed her to do his bidding. He though he'd be useful, yet as time passes by, he was beginning to realize that she was far from being useful. In fact, she had done nothing but anger him. However, because of his own pride, he couldn't just let go of this puppet no matter how worthless it was already. Liam, after all, had never been the type to let go of his possessions.

The young Slytherin tapped his foot incessantly as he waited for the girl's explanation. Again, he was waiting, and it irritated him even more. Why did he even let himself wait for this lowly Hufflepuff? Waiting was something that he hated. Why don't this stupid people realize that waiting was one of the things that can drive one crazy? Although once he thought about it, people had always waited for the entirety of their lives. They waited to live. They waited to die. People always wait, however, despite knowing this; Liam despised it with every fiber of his being. He didn't want to wait.

"And so it was my fault?" He said irritation evident in his usually flat tone. "Are you blaming me for your stupidity then?" He added, as if daring the girl to talk back. He was now facing her fully, his arms crossed in front of his chest as he glared at her. He just glared, unblinking, as if he could kill her in just a few seconds. Which he could, really, if only he was allowed to. Liam's not one to follow the rules, however, the idea of being expelled wasn't really attractive. He didn't care about other people's opinion, however, he didn't want to be looked down just because he killed one stupid girl. Despite that, he knew that this girl would believe that he would not hesitate to harm her. After all, he had always shown his power over her each time that they would meet. Besides, it's not like it wasn't going to happen. He was not one to forget. He would make her pay one day, and that payment was something that he's sure she wouldn't be able to afford. ​

 

[Ai Nightray]

Ai stopped just as Liam had by the end of the hallway. There were barely any students at that part of the corridor and she was most grateful for that. She was as sure as hell that what was going to transpire right now was going to be unpleasant and she most certainly did not want that many witnesses of what was to happen. Liam was mad, she was being an idiot, there was complete silence between the two of them. Definitely a hideous mixture that would result to something bad. She hoped that it wouldn't be that worst of a situation to catch a professor's attention for should it happen, Ai was in trouble. She was a prefect and she had to be a role model, not someone who's in trouble herself. She sighed, this was going to be a long day.

Ai watched as the Slytherin was beginning to get impatient with her. Of course he was impatient! It was what the boy lacked! Patience! Freaking, stinking patience! The Hufflepuff sighed inaudibly as he tried to avert her gaze from Liam's murderous glare. If only stares and glares could kill, she was sure that she had already been sent to the land of the dead and was only sent back to earth to give the Slytherin another chance to kill her again. "Yes," Ai replied at the boy's rhetorical question, not fully realizing what she had just said. But as soon as she did, she nearly yelled, "No!" Ai knew that she was in it now. She was really going to get killed if she doesn't stop being idiotic and stupid. "I mean of course... not," she said a bit too softly. Stop being an idiot Ai! she screamed in her head and finally decided on a final answer. "No, of course not!" she said finally. Of course she was not blaming Liam. Well, completely at least. She just hoped that she wouldn't be into too much trouble now.

 

[Liam Nightray]

The girl's answer made Liam's ears ring. He was angry, no, it was more than that. How dare she talk like that? He was boiling in rage, and he knew, he knew that should he be holding his wand at that very moment, he would have cursed the girl. He clenched his fist and bit his lower lip, trying to restrain himself from touching her. However, to no avail, as the girl's stupidity was even greater than what he had imagined. She knew not to shut her mouth. To make things worse, she had to lie to him. It would have been better if she just shut her mouth, or if not, just stand by what she had claimed previously instead of her taking it back and lying straight into his face. On top of waiting, he hated being lied to the most. Seriously, this girl was the personification of everything that he hated.

Unconsciously he reached for her collar and pulled her close. He wasn't really the type to enjoy being in close proximity with anyone, he didn't even like being touch, believing that only special people can touch other special people like him. He didn't like it, yet, because of his anger, all of those were forgotten. His face was only inches away from her, yet he didn't mind, all he could think about was how angry he was at her and how much he hated every fiber of her being. "Care to repeat what you said?," he said lowly. His voice was dangerously alluring yet it was full of venom. "I'll kill you, I really will." He threatened, tightening his hold on her collar, he was taller than her, which made it easier for him. "Mark this day Edogawa, because I'll never forget. I'll make you pay," he whispered closely to her ears before he pushed her away, glaring still. No matter what, he vowed to do everything in his power to teach this girl a lesson. She would never escape, if he must he would hunt her down, maybe not now, but he will. He would someday. ​

 

[Ai Nightray]

Baka, baka, baka!!!! Ai scolded herself mentally. Why was she being such a big idiot at a time like this?! It would have been better if she'd have acted this much of an idiot in Defense Against the Dark Arts class. At least at that time, it would be easily forgotten and would just be embarrassed that she'd be told that she would have to study her lessons more next time. But nooooo. She just had to be idiotic and stupid in front of Liam Nightray. And now, she was as sure as hell that it won't be long before she would pay the price and she was very, very, very certain that the price was not so low nor was it going to be average either. It was going to be high. High as in very hard for someone like a meekly Ai Edogawa can pay. The young girl's eyes watched the shifting emotions occurring within the Slytherin and she knew that she wasn't going to appreciate the next turn of events.

Ai yelped as Liam suddenly pulled her by the collar and close to him. Very, very close. Too close for comfort. If the Hufflepuff wasn't so scared of what might happen, she would have already slapped Liam and the slap was surely going to hurt. But instead she didn't. With his face inches only from hers she began to blush. It might not have been the best time to have such a reaction but then again, Liam was still a boy! And they were having almost little to no distance between their faces! If someone would be careless enough to bump into either of them, their faces or lips could meet! Of course she'd feel embarrassed at some point, but then again, she was not even close to noticing the redness that had gone to her face as she was more focused on the words being uttered by the Slytherin. She remained silent though, her eyes not showing the fear that she was hiding inside, and her face only showing the redness that had grown from the sudden close proximity. She was glad though when he pushed her away. Although, she almost did lose her balance, but she had managed to regain it gracefully before landing on her butt. She tried to look at the Slytherin, but found herself quite unable to. Cut it out! she scolded herself mentally as she forced her gaze on Liam.


Translation: Idiot, idiot, idiot!!!!

 

[Liam Nightray]

The redness of the girl's face didn't go unnoticed to the young slytherin. Was she mad? would she dare attack her for once? Would she talk back again? People's faces turn red when they're mad, are they not? This realization made him irritated further. How dare she get anger when in fact, everything was her fault. Liam never did start anything. every time he called for her, it was just to instruct her to do something for him. Granted that he was forcing her to do something out of her will, but he never did anything more than that. It was all her fault. If she hadn't been that stupid, it wouldn't have come to this. If she knew how to arrive on time and do as she was told, he wouldn't have to waste his time trying to embed into that thick skull of hers how much he waited waiting. Merlin! If there was the boy who lived, he was the boy who waited, a title that he surely didn't appreciate. He waits for no one, yet since this girl arrived, he had done nothing but wait.

"So you're mad?," he asked, taunting her as he stepped closer again, all thoughts of hatred for any unnecessary physical contact forgotten. But then again, this wasn't unnecessary, was it? He had seen a lot of people fight before. Breaking and invading other people's personal space seemed to be an effective way to intimidate them. "What? Are you going to kill me too?" He continued, he was too close, if it was any other time, he would have stopped already, but he was definitely annoyed and he didn't care about anything anymore. He had to make her see that she should stop messing around with him. he had enough of her stupidity. "If that's what you're planning, then you should do it faster, if not, I'll beat you into it. Because unlike you, I can actually do it." He then forced her to look at him, she had been averting her gaze for quite some time, he need not hear any more lies, besides, people say that one can tell if one's lying through their eyes, right? "Will you ever learn?" His voice was low but the irritation was there. By then, he was quite sure that he wouldn't be capable of feeling anything but irritation and hatred for this girl.​

 

[Ai Nightray]

To say that Ai was surprised was an understatement, in fact she was really shocked at the sudden question of the boy. If she were mad, it would have certainly shown first thing she got to the boy. But she wasn't! It was pretty obvious she was not. All that could have been seen on her face was exhaustion, fear, shock and confusion and a tinge of embarrassment but there was no sign of anger. And yet, here was the boy, accusing her of wanting to kill. If somebody wanted to kill anybody right now, it would probably be the Slytherin boy and not the Hufflepuff. She had never gotten mad at Liam, but perhaps there was a first time for everything. She didn't want to be mad, but er emotions were disappointing her as the boy continued on with his words.

As Liam walked, closing the distance between them, she kept her stand. She was comparatively smaller than he was, but she did not back down. She was not mad two minutes ago, but change was constant. That was why two minutes later, she was angry. As the Slytherin tried to intimidate her, Ai stood her ground, but then again her words would remind him of Conan's words. As the Slytherin forced her to look into his eyes, she did. Her eyes showing a tinge of defiance for his words, yet tears were threatening to spill from her eyes. And after his last words, she could not stop herself any longer as her hand made contact with flesh. "You're all the same," the Hufflepuff muttered bitterly stull looking at the boy furiously. Liam and Conan were the same. Always accusing her, always thinking of her as nothing more than an animal. She hated it and it pained her too much. She didn't care anymore if Liam were to get awfully mad at her for this, for she too was mad and it was rare for her to be when it comes to said Slytherin.

 

[Liam Nightray]

To say that Liam Nightray was surprised by what the hufflepuff did was an understatement. No, it was more than that. Everything had happened so fast, and there he was, holding the part where he hand had made contact with his face. It was supposed to hurt, that much he knew, yet, he felt nothing. He stood frozen on his spot, unfocused, this was a first. Never did he met someone who had dared to raise his hand on him. No. As far as he could remember, it was always him who won, not counting the one with that stupid gryffindor of course. He rubbed his cheeks, he need not look at a mirror to know that it was turning red. It will leave a mark, he knew. He looked at the girl, she was furious. He was supposed to be furious too. He was. Yet, he was still too surprised to even process and feel anything.

His vision was failing him, and his head was starting to ache again.Little by little, everything became clear and the event played on his mind again; him being slapped by these mere hufflepuff. A lowly and stupid hufflepuff for that matter! His cheek was beginning to sting and soon enough, all the confusion and surprise from earlier was replaced by rage. He grabbed her by the hand, the same one that she used against him. His cheek was turning a little red, and it was painful. It was terribly painful. But the young slytherin didn't care, he was fuming in anger. He tightened his grip on her hand and raised his fist. He was shaking in anger, his knuckles turning white. He was ready to deliver a punch and make her feel that pain that he was feeling a thousand fold. But just as his fist was to make contact with her face, he stopped. His fist was only a few inches away from her fair face, and he stopped. He couldn't understand it himself, couldn't fathom why he did what he did. He released her then. He was still shaking, biting his lower lip to stop himself from shouting. He was already causing too much commotion that it was a surprise that no one had come to interfere yet. He turned his back on her, a stupid move he knew, but he couldn't bear to face her. Frustrated and angry, he instead had punched the wall near him, once, twice, until he had enough. He would regret it later. He clenched his fist and gave the girl a sharp and disgusted look. "Don't you ever show your face to me again. Get lost," he told her sharply, starting to walk away. He hates her too much, despised her with all the fiber in his being. He knew that saying this would mean that he was letting go, one thing that he never did before, but slowly, associating with her was causing him too much headache. It was probably better not to see her again.​

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