Lea nodded at Katherine. 'Yes, I can. You don't need to worry, Cat.' She held her shoulders. 'If I face any problems, I will be with Mark.' She pulled her around and when Cherry was close enough, she was met with Katherine's confused frown.

'What are you doing here?' Cherry asked Katherine.

'You know, Cherry,' said Lea behind Katherine. 'I'd love to spend time with you, but it pains me to see you and Cat fight since she's my friend too.'

Cherry frowned. 'You're my besty best friend!' she protested.

'I would love it if you and Cat became friends too, though.'

Katherine furrowed her brows.

Cherry widened her eyes in horror.

Lea let go of Katherine. She nodded at Mark and they kept running in the direction they were initially running to.

'I have no interest in you,' said Cherry.

She was going to take a step away when Katherine replied. 'Me too, mould...'

Cherry gasped. 'What did you call me? You just called me mould?'

'Yes, I just did, mould.'

Cherry gave out another shocked gasp when Katherine looked over her shoulder at Mark and Lea running away.

She didn't want to do what she did next, but she felt obliged to help them.

'Yes, I just called you mould,' she said and looked back at Cherry, 'and now that I think about it, I think I committed a very terrible act. Lea is a good friend of mine, and I can see how attached you are to her.' It took Katherine all the energy she had to say those few words. She summoned as much as possible from her tummy and brain and probably squeezed some from her kidney. 'Being mean to you and calling you mould would hurt both you and Lea, and because of that, I greatly regret what I just said. I'm... thorry.'

Cherry raised a brow. 'Thorry...?'

'Sorry...' Come on, pancreas, just a little more. She breathed in slowly and probably never tried to work so hard in anything before in her life, not even the carnival project. She extended her hand towards Cherry. 'I would do this for Lea, so, would... would you... would you like to be my... friend?'

That was called self-sacrifice.

Cherry shot her hand a dirty and disgusted look.

'No,' she said flatly.

It wasn't worth it.

Cherry wore a flat face and assumed a pompous posture. 'You think I'd befriend you, Armin? You think I don't know the type of freaks you hang out with? I honestly don't know how you spend time with that nerd. She needs to kick it up a notch if you ask me about it.'

She hit a spot within Katherine.

'Then there's that annoying child. I thought he was an underclassman at first.'

Katherine scolded Dennis a lot because of his density, but she was still enraged when Cherry said it.

Cherry's look and personality turned a large angle. 'Honestly, Cat, and here I thought you changed a little, but you still seem to attract the weird ones among us. They happen to flock around you.'

'Shut it,' She said in a soft voice, trying her best to contain her nerves.

Cherry looked like she remembered something. 'Yes, what was his name again? That sleepy head who's never awake in class?' She made a humming sound while stomping her feet on the ground. 'Oh, I forgot it, but you can't blame me. He barely speaks to anyone. He can't be human, though,' she continued. 'How can such a boring thing be human?'

'I'm telling you to shut up,' said Katherine. Her clenched fist was evidence she started to lose it.

'I just cannot believe Lea ended up being that close to you. She's too good for that.' After shooting Katherine the most derogatory look she ever saw in a human, she turned a shoulder at her. 'Better tear her away slowly until she realises she's too good for you guys before she rots and becomes like those reeking milk rags you call fr-'

There was the sound of a fist pounding and Cherry was thrown on the ground with a swollen cheek and a torn school shirt.

The sounds attracted attention and other students who happened to be in the corridor at the time stopped to take a look.

Katherine stood right in front where she fell looking down at Cherry, who didn't appear like she would stand up anytime soon, with the torn part of her collar clenched tightly in her fist.

'Say whatever you like about me, but if you dare trash talk them again, I'll have to show you my sadistic side.'