Eve jerks in his sleep, eyelashes fluttering, he fights back the sleep and the strong headache. He blinked the sleep away, and saw a familiar ceiling upon opening his eyes. As he sat up, his eyes darted across the empty room. He made a motion and a pain drilled through his entire body as he tried to move to leave his bed.

He winced in pain as he suddenly remembered the agonising disaster he went through last night. He instinctively reached for his neck to caress the bruises on it.

Nervousness washed over him as he recalled how he nearly lost his life at the hands of the devil who choked him. But who was he and what he wanted from Eve? He didn't know the answer and the question itself left a very bitter taste in his mouth.

Eve flinched as he heard a knock on the doors and he felt a shiver run down his spine. His body and mind reacted on their own and he clutched the blanket to his chest as if his instincts were telling him that soon a nightmare was going to come true or maybe already had.

"Eve?"

Eve sighed out the breath he was holding, at the sound of the familiar voice and he felt at ease. Shoving the blankets away he excitedly left the bed to meet the playful person that promised to take care of him. However, he halted in his tracks as he looked down at his clothes and frowned.

Wait when did I change the clothes? He asked himself.

He pondered about the last night, and he was sure he didn't get the time to change, and straight passed out after the devil left the room before choking him to death. Maybe he had woken up in the middle of the night and forgot about it because he was quite exhausted, he assumed.

"Eve, are you not up yet?"

Eve looked up at the door and snapped back to reality. He didn't pay any thought and ran towards the door. Upon opening the door, he came face to face with a fresh smiling face.

And a scowling face behind him.

"Good morning, Luna," River smiled widely and Eve smiled back as he felt relieved that it was just River.

However, as much as he felt at ease, his heart was the exact opposite. He didn't know why his heart suddenly started to beat fast or why he wanted to

cry out loud as soon as he saw River.

Probably because he felt gratitude towards him that River is the only one who helped him in this hellish school, he thought.

"What are these marks on your neck?" River let out in confusion but then he smiled. "So, the Alpha already marked his territory."

Eve frowned in disarray as he reached out for his neck, remembering how a stranger attacked him out of nowhere

last night.

He couldn't understand how to tell that to River or Sage.

Sage, who was poking holes in River's face but when his eyes met with Eve's confused ones they softened, though Sage immediately looked away.

"W-What?" Eve innocently asked.

"Nothing, just go get ready. After breakfast, I'll take you to get your batch." River said and took a step forward, causing Eve to unknowingly take a step backward. Eve's eyes widened and he looked up bashfully at River, who looked at him awkwardly. Eve cursed himself for making things awkward unintentionally. He nodded and entered the room to get ready.

River sighed as he wiped away his smile, while Sage glared at him in disgust.

"So, that drug really works. I need to let Alpha know."

River whistled like a carefree delinquent. He was leaned against the wall, arms folded on his chest, shirt unbuttoned showing half of his upper chest, looking like a hot thug.

Anyone could find him irresistible but knowing his true colours Sage could only glare at him.

He groaned, finding the whistling noise irritable, his blue fierce eyes pierced holes at River's head. River stopped whistling and raised his brow when his eyes met Sage's burning eyes and flaring nostrils.

“What?” he asked boredly.

“This is not right?” Standing in front of Eve's dorm, waiting while he gets dressed, Sage growls.

“Not right what?” River scoffed in annoyance. He continued when Sage didn't speak and kept staring at him. “Oh, I have to guess it myself?” He let out in sarcasm.

Sage grimaced at his mocking tone and tried to suppress his building rage. He hates when River acts like this. Full on asshole mode, not caring about others feelings.

"Why are you acting like a scheming bitch again?" Sage asked confidently.

And if someone else was standing in place of Sage, the person would have already been placed in a position where they could never speak again.

But since it was Sage, River only finds his anger amusing.

"Who did I scam, darling? You need to be more specific than that?" He smirked, pretending as if he didn't know what Sage was talking about.

Sage also hates it when River plays the ignorant card. All in all, he doesn't know why he even likes River when he's nothing but an annoying bastard.

Maybe love indeed made you blind. Because now too Sage couldn't help but get affected by that tempting smile.

"How could you break the trust he puts in you?" Sage huffs, desperate for River to understand what he's saying. "Have you ever noticed how this kid looks at you, how his brow relaxes on its own as soon as he gets close to you, believing that you'll protect him from everything, completely unaware of your true face? And you gladly threw him at Alpha's feet for your

selfishness."

River rolled his eyes and stuck his middle finger in his ear, indicating to Sage that his voice was bothering him.

"You know, you're getting so annoying now. Why do you always have to get involved in my business?" River glared at him down, dead serious, which made Sage flinch and he felt a pain in his chest.

Sage knew that River didn't feel the same way he did, but more saddening was that River never even considered how his words were like a sharp stab to Sage's heart.

Sage stiffened with a hurtful expression, he didn't mind getting beaten by anyone but it pained him whenever River used the nasty words.

He sometimes feels jealous of Eve, because, even though he didn't know River's intentions, he gets to feel River's so-called fake smiles that feel so sincere, his protectiveness that feels so safe, and his sweet words with hidden meanings that Eve doesn't need to know yet.

"Stop interfering in my affairs just because I told you everything last night

because I consider you as my friend. And don't you dare to make up anything funny and try to give Eve any hints?" River spits angrily as he approaches

Sage, towering over him. "And don't make Alpha the bad guy, because he hasn't done anything yet."

"Why, afraid that Eve will figure out what you're up to?" Sage returned the angry look and didn't let his stand quiver, despite being scared of his enormous complex.

"You're not getting it, are you?" River chuckled dryly. But then his expression changed and he clenched his teeth. "Firstly, I'm not obligated to give you any justifications in any case. And secondly, I'm not afraid that he'll realise I'm

barely trying to help him because I don't care whether he hates me or not. But if Alpha even gets a whiff that you're messing with his prey, he'll have your head, and even I can't save you at that time."

"And because of whom he became the prey in the first place?” Sage scowled.

"Because of you," River stated directly without missing a beat leaving Sage puzzled. "If your stupid ass hadn't taken him into that building and left him there alone, nothing like this would have happened, and he wouldn't have lost his memories."

Sage froze, his eyes widened in cleverly created realization and his stomach churned as a wave of guilt washed over him. He began contemplating River's words. River narrowed his eyes and mentally cheered as he observed Sage's distressed expression. He made sure to make Sage more guilty so that Sage could stop pestering him.

"How is this my fault?" Sage blinked hazily, lost in his guilty thoughts, feeling weak and beginning to regret his actions of how he shouldn't have left Eve. He thought maybe he knew that it was all his fault from the start, and that's why he was accusing River to get rid of that deep guilt. "But...but even if I hadn't abandoned Eve, Alpha would have gotten his hands on him

because they're roommates, right?"

“Bingo!” River yelled in victory. His eyes which were filled with wickedness looked deep into Sage's eyes. "The same goes for me, so stop blaming me," He gently stroked Sage's cheek which made Sage slightly

comforted. River cheered mentally, he's aware of his charm and manipulative skills. "It's no one's fault; the kid was simply unlucky, Ziggy."

Although Sage understands that it was his fault, he still wanted to blame someone else for his own wrongdoings because the pressure of the heavy resentment and self-loathing was so overwhelming that he felt a panic attack coming on.

He felt disgusted with himself. How could he blame River when the fault was clearly his?

“But you still have bad intentions! You're still using him, you're hiding things about him from him!” Sage pants heavily as his voice cracks. “I should tell him everything, I should alert him about you!"

River suddenly groaned in frustration making Sage shrink frighteningly. The more he listened to Sage blabbering the more his insanity was slipping. He looked like a different person, and the former frivolous expression and teasing remarks were nowhere to be found now.

"Awww, the big, terrifying Sage, aka Sissy slash River's personal boy toy wanted to help this new kid, who couldn't even help himself. Do you think you became a big deal here just because you were in my shadow? And if you do, let me remind you of your true place," River spat, each word piercing Sage's heart like a needle dipped in venom. "No, not me; ask anyone here about it, and they'll tell you that you're nothing more than a slut whose sole purpose is to warm my bed."

Sage could hear his heart cracking but remained silent as he stared at River, who had gone so far into his rage that he couldn't see anything else.

"Oh, yeah?" Sage's eyes instantly watered but he bites the inside of his cheek to stop those tears. “Then please find yourself a new place to sleep tonight.

You're not welcome in the room, you're free to fuck around what you're best at.”

River rolled his eyes, “Don't forget that it's my room too.”

"Well, either you or I'm leaving," Sage fumed, as his eyes burned and the face in front of him became blurred. "You know what, you can have the room. I'll see if anyone can let me crash in their room. What could they possibly ask in return, to fuck? That's something I can do."

"You bitch! Dare to threaten me!" River grunted loudly and pushed Sage against the wall with a rough push. Sage gasped as he became trapped between a cold wall and a psycho.

"What's going on with you, huh? Why are you acting like a bitch on her

period these days? Or have you become so used to having a dick inside you that you can't live without it? Why are you acting like such a slut?" River laughed bitterly and rubbed his brow. He unconcernedly looked into Sage's watery, burning eyes. "Oh, I forgot you were a slut before coming here, so how could you not?"

Sage didn't push him away or show his weakness because he wanted to see how far River could go with his words and how much damage he could do with his actions. Today, Sage wanted to just see because he had enough.

"So what! At least I didn't ruin my own family by fucking his own Sister's boyfriend. Are you any different from me, a slut?" Sage yelled.

River closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh to control himself. When he

opened them again he met with crying red angry eyes. "What, Want to punch me?"

"Wish I could," Sage whispered, his soft voice barely heard, and this hit River. He flabbergastingly blinked to clear his head as if Sage's tears

whacked his sanity to come back. "Y-You know at first I always used to think that you're so cool, a really big deal, sometimes scary but..could be sweet if you want to at times, b-but after spending a long time with you I realised you're not that great. In fact, you're nothing but a sadist and a heartless

coward with a black heart."

"Wow! I'm really touched," River laughed, and though he wanted to punch himself for constantly being a dick to Sage, his anger got the best of him. ''Care to tell me what you're doing with a black-hearted guy if you hate him

so much, oh almighty Sage? Oh yeah, using him to survive because you can't on your own even though you had a red batch."

Sage could do nothing but stare at him and curse his patheticness. "At least I'm honest and not a fake bastard like you."

“I have been called worse things but from better and respected people than a low esteemed prostitute," River said, but his whole body was paralyzed when he regained consciousness of what he had just said.

The moment he realized his huge mistake he felt sick to his stomach.

However, the damage has been done and there's no turning back, no matter how much you regret it now.

River's face was pushed to the other side, causing his right cheek to sting with fingerprints on it. He ignored the pain after getting a bitch slap and returned his attention to Sage.

"Ziggy, baby I'm sorry-"

"Shut up! And don't call me that ever! You don't have the fucking right to compare my struggles with your fucking self-fucked-up-life. So what I was a prostitute before coming here, and so what that I'm still being used as a slut by a fucking coward. That doesn't give you the fucking right to use my past to win a useless fight," Sage shouted at the top of his lungs, good thing that there weren't many dorms on this floor.

But River had struck his most sensitive part. His past. So, how he could keep himself together.

River gulped as Sage cried profusely.

"And I didn't give anyone the right to mock me! Especially you! Who was probably having the time of his life fucking around everywhere, while I was letting some random alcoholics on the street to ruin me and leave me in pieces so that I could feed those pieces to my family, who hasn't had a decent

meal in days," Sage sobbed, his entire being a wreck. "So, don't fucking use my fucking past when you don't know nothing."

Sage cried harder, clutching his chest.

Nobody said anything for a while. The only noises that could be heard were Sage's sobbing and sniffles. River was in for a ride. He just knew that Sage had it worse before getting here but never knew it was this destructive

because he never cared to ask him.

All he did was have his fun and then left Sage's weak and worn-out body on the bed.

"Sage, please listen to me," River tried again, but Sage rejected all of his

advances and refused to let him get close. "I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have said that, but I wasn't in the right mind. I'm sorry for going so far. I didn't mean to."

"G-Guys, did something happen?"