CHAPTER 351: 351-SEEMS LIKE A LONG DISTANCE RELATIONSHIP

Clementine:

Then I met up with everyone else.

"What does all that mean?" Mira asked. "Does that mean the headmaster’s son has told him everything we have been talking about? Does that mean we should have taken the second chance?" she continued.

It felt as if, in a matter of minutes, their trust in Ian had completely shaken.

Every choice he had made so far was suddenly under scrutiny, even though not using the second chance had actually worked in our favor.

"I need to speak with you." Ian arrived from behind me, not caring that I was still in the middle of a conversation.

"Back off, Ian!" Yorick yelled.

And I already knew things were going to change now.

"You should not intervene in our matters," Ian warned Yorick.

I noticed the eyes on Ian, filled with questions and anger.

"If you are the headmaster’s son, does that mean you get to decide which monster we want to slay? Is that how you knew about all the monsters?" Haiden questioned.

He did not sound rude or aggressive, but I could tell everyone was curious now.

"What makes you think I will answer any of your questions? I will only speak to Clementine." Instead of looking guilty, Ian acted as if he were throwing a tantrum.

"Well, you are not speaking with her." Troy walked forward, blocking him from reaching me. Haiden joined him.

"To think she trusted you so much, to think we trusted you so much, and you turned out to be such a snake," Haiden commented.

"Clementine, are we talking or not?" Ian ignored the three and addressed me from the other side.

The three stood in front of me like a solid wall.

"I told you I will speak with you later," I replied harshly.

"No, it will be now," Ian demanded.

It felt as though he cared more about them stopping him than about how I felt.

I would have appreciated it if he had shown any guilt or respected that I needed a moment to breathe.

"Fine, I will not come to you to speak now. You will have to come to me." And just like always, once Ian grew angry, he seemed ready to burn the world.

His words hurt me more than he realized.

I turned my head to the side. Even though the three were still in front of me, I could see Ian walk away.

Then the three faced me again.

"Seriously? Him?" Troy pointed toward where Ian had gone, almost calling me out for choosing him over them.

"So all our secrets are with the headmaster now. And you all thought you were shits that knew everything," Joshua commented, chuckling.

All the eyes shifted to him.

"You should be the last one to speak. You are the reason we are still stuck here," I hissed at Joshua.

"Oh, come on. Do you really think they would have let us go even if we had voted for it?" Joshua questioned, and I continued glaring at him.

"Okay, Crusaders, listen to us." Mr. Rick’s voice cut in, making us stand in a line again.

Every time they appeared now, I worried they had some new plan or ulterior motive.

"Since things are pretty rough, I have decided something," he continued. "Previously, we were going to send you to the shadow earth eater mission soon, but with everything going on, and the way your mental health is unstable, we have decided to give you a few days off, at least until Clementine’s transition."

As soon as he mentioned my wolf again, my body stiffened.

"Until then, there will be two squad teams. I want you all to adjust before going back out there, and I want you to put aside your differences. With that being said, Joshua, being the only one not intermingling with the red squad, will now stay in the red squad’s bedroom. Meanwhile, the black squad having their own issues will be spending time together as a black squad," Mr. Rick stated, and I noticed a smirk on his lips.

It was as if he was genuinely enjoying himself.

"And with that being said, you are all dismissed." He no longer seemed interested in hiding how cruel he was.

But as if it were not enough, Ms. Lenora walked out.

"Oh, and by the way, for the next three days, you will all be in separate rooms, with the red squad staying together in one room and the black squad in another. The passages will be right across from each other so you do not meet. Any communication between the red squad and the black squad is forbidden for the next three days, until you are all sent back to the other dorm rooms. This arrangement is important to give you some space to communicate within your own groups," Ms. Lenora announced.

Honestly, it seemed like they were grasping at straws, trying to find ways to create trouble.

I began to wonder if this was where they planned to end it all.

Defeated, we were sent back to our red room, and I found myself worrying about the black squad.

As soon as we entered the dorm room, I sat on my bed and pressed my face into my hands.

"You should have spoken to Ian when you had the time. Now it will be three days," Mira said as she sat on the bed with me.

"How can I, Mira? I gave him my heart, and this is how he played me," I said tiredly.

"I understand but–" she replied, trying to pat my back, but I cut her off.

"But what, Mira? Do you not think he was demanding my time instead of requesting it? After what he did, the least he could do was be kind and considerate." I sighed and lowered my face again.

"I am not sure if this is his personality, but it seems to be his defense mechanism. And sometimes, when you spend too much time apart, more misunderstandings appear," she mumbled, making me turn toward her.