○ six points of view. ◝◜◝◜◝◜◝◜◝◜◝◜◝◜◝◜◝◜◝◜◝◜◝◜ / february 14, part i - bradley robinson / "Happy Valentine's day, James," he whispered. "I brought you coffee," Being a Junior Counselor in Training at Xiphoid Camp had its benefits, such as unlimited access to the coffee machine in the staffroom. "You're the best," James whispered back, taking the steaming mug from Bradley with a small smile. How in the world had he gotten so lucky? James was so beautiful and perfect. Even the scar across his face was lovely. They were running quite a bit of a risk, behaving in such a romantic way in the non-privacy of Tertius. Todd and Nicolas already knew, thankfully, but it was the younger two that Bradley was concerned about finding out. What would they say? Who would they tell? Children were unpredictable, that was what Bradley loved about them. It was charming, to meet someone so fully immersed in the whimsy of life as those two were. He only hoped they didn't find out about the Demons and Magic too soon. It would destroy them. "Ground control to major Brad?" James whispered, bringing Bradley back to the cabin in the present. "Penny for your thoughts?" "How about something better than a penny?" Bradley laughed softly and pulled James close. Everything was perfect. ⋘◦⋙ / february 14, part ii - Todd Boyce / Valentine's day was officially the worst, Todd decided when he woke up that morning completely and depressingly alone. He hadn't been single on Valentine's day for a while, and he had forgotten how utterly lonely it felt, especially with Brad and Jim giving each other those lovey-dovey looks every other second. Brad had sworn him to secrecy about him and Jim, saying that they were trying to keep people from finding out, but in all seriousness, there was nothing subtle about the way those two were behaving. They had slipped out of the cabin some time early in the morning, probably to go on some grand romantic escapade somewhere, and now Todd was alone. A soft knock sounded on the door, and something was slipped underneath it. Finally, a bit of luck. Perhaps it was from Brooke Harwood in Secundo, or Alexia Aspinoza in Quartus, or even— Todd picked up the pink paper heart with a white lace trim. 'Avior' was written on the front in a swirly script. Todd threw his head back and sighed loudly. Even a literal twelve-year-old had more luck with girls than he did. That was just cruel. A real kick in the— Hold on. This could be funny. Avior was extremely vocal about his great disdain for Valentine's day. This would drive him nuts. Todd all but pranced gleefully over to Avior's bed and shook him gently. "Vivi, wake up," he said. "I have something for you," Avior cracked an eye open. "What is it?" he asked. "A valentine!" Todd crowed. Avior groaned loudly and rolled onto his back, pressing the heels on his hands into his eyes and slowly dragging them down his face. "What's it say?" he asked after a long silence. "Read it yourself," Todd said. "Don't want to. Just woke up and my eyes are tired," "Well, fine, then," Todd unfolded the heart. "Oh, come on!" he cried as a pile of golden glitter spilled out onto the floor. "Ha," Avior said. "You have glitter on your pants now," "Shut up, you little brat. Okay, here's what it says..." 'Dear Avior, I wish you talked to me more. I had fun in that detention we had together, and you always make me laugh. I think you're kind of cute, too. Love, Destiny," he read aloud. Avior sat up at once and snatched the pink heart from Todd's hands. "Give me that," he hissed, cheeks aflame. He tore the valentine in half, and then tore the halves in half, and continued in that way until a small pile of scraps of pink construction paper bedazzled with golden ink and bits of lace sat on his bed. Todd could hardly breathe from laughing. "Wha's goin' on?" Marcus asked, leaning over the edge of his bed. He had clearly just woken up. Excellent. More people to share this incredible moment with. "Don't tell him!" Avior snapped. "Well, Marcus," Todd said, grinning widely, "Avior's just received a love letter," "Shut. Up." Avior growled. His face grew even redder. Todd almost felt bad for him. But not enough to stop enjoying himself. Marcus's mouth fell open in a comically perfect O. "From who?" he asked. "A girl named Destiny," Todd said. Marcus blinked. "Wow," he said. "Wow indeed," Todd echoed. "NOT wow!" Avior protested. He scooped up the shredded valentine and leapt to his feet, glaring daggers at Marcus and Todd. "I'm going to go set myself on fire now," He threw a piece of lace at Todd. "Using THIS as kindling!" "D'you think he's gonna talk to her about it?" Todd asked once Avior was out of earshot. "Probably," Marcus said. And that was that. Todd checked his watch. It was hardly seven thirty. If he got to class early enough, maybe he could convince Andy to swap seats with him so he could sit next to Lani Vaughan. It was Valentine's day, after all.
⋘◦⋙ / february 14, part iii - nicolas flynn / Nicolas was running late. Again. He really needed to set an alarm at some point. It was impossible to carry on this way. Or so Rosemarie Buckley thought. He had been operating with zero alarms set all his life and he had yet to come across any sort of great calamities because of it. He was undefeatable. A champion. A king. Nobody could stop him. He hummed cheerily as he combed his blonde hair (which looked absolutely splendid, thank you for asking), winked at his reflection as he brushed his teeth, and stopped on his way to class to admire the way the sun reflected off the brilliantly white snow. Today, he was in an exceptionally good mood. Everything was working beautifully for him. Avior and Marcus were both unusually quiet and subdued, Bradley and James hadn't been seen all morning, and Todd was polite but distant. Everyone was leaving Nicolas alone, and he'd be damned if he wasn't pleased about it. Sure, it was technically a holiday, but the best part about Valentine's day was that it was *optional*. And if anything was optional, you could bet your mother's wedding ring that Nicolas Flynn would opt out of it. "Good morning, Miss Buckley!" he said as he strolled into the classroom. "Good morning, Nicolas," she replied. "You are half an hour late. Take your seat and let's have a discussion later today," Maybe it wasn't the perfect day to be Nicolas Flynn, after all. ⋘◦⋙ / february 14, part iv - marcus gill / Marcus was having a terrible day, and he wasn't exactly sure why. It was difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of a bad mood when Avior was around. He sucked the joy out of everything. Yeah, it probably had something to do with Avior. For instance, it had been nothing but irritating to see him grab Destiny by the wrist and lead her away, most likely to discuss the stupid little pink paper heart that meant NOTHING. It was even more annoying when they both returned pink-cheeked and smiling. The last straw was when Destiny started passing Avior notes during class. There was just something about those two acting all flirty with each other that wasn't right at all. Marcus wasn't sure what it was. Maybe he was jealous of them. Except he wasn't. That was a stupid thought. Yeah, Destiny was pretty, but she was also really annoying. He didn't like her all that much. Avior could have her if he wanted her. They were made for each other. Okay. So he definitely wasn't jealous of anyone. Then why did he feel so inexplicably angry whenever he thought about Avior and Destiny as a couple? ⋘◦⋙ / february 14, part v - avior viator / avior was having a terrific day. he was positively enamored with destiny. valentine's day was a magnificent holiday. or so he lied through his teeth as destiny clasped his hands and asked if he had received the valentine she sent, and if he felt the same way she did. what was wrong with him? he was decidedly not the sort of person to tell white lies to protect others' feelings. he was the sort of person who told *regular* lies. but seeing destiny's wide hazel eyes, and her delighted smile as the tower of half-truths and white lies grew precariously ever higher— he could not bring himself to tell her how she had embarrassed him that morning, how he felt nothing but platonic feelings for her, how he greatly loathed valentine's day in all its commercialized glory. oh, well. at least destiny's affection seemed to bother marcus perhaps even more so than it bothered avior. he didn't mind all the attention she was giving him. in fact, he enjoyed it. he loved being the center of attention. but marcus always got this peculiar expression on his face, like he had just accidentally swallowed a centipede, whenever destiny appeared. avior suspected that perhaps marcus liked destiny and wanted her all to himself. well, unfortunately for marcus gill, avior was a violently spiteful person, and if him and destiny being a couple would anger marcus in any way, shape, or form, then there was simply no other option than to rub it in his face whenever the opportunity arose. ⋘◦⋙ / february 14, part vi - james nairn / This was right. It felt right to be here again, at Xiphoid, with everyone he had come to love and trust. He had missed this so badly when he was away. The comradery, the companionship, the comfort of being among friends was a stark difference from the uncertainty, the unending tension of being among Demons. It was the Demons who had stolen this from him, and stolen a whole year of his time at Xiphoid, and stolen the blissful ignorance of before, and carved the scar across his face, and broken everything till there was no feasible way to repair what once had been. And he would do whatever it took to restore what once was, to bring about the end of this Demonic reign, even if it meant destroying himself in the process.
