"Damn it."
Autumn muttered under her breath.
She was deeply worried about Ethan, but she reasoned that - down on the stage - there were hundreds of eyes watching every move of the boys from Let's Dance, the Choreographer, and her two eerie assistants.
Besides, every corner of the Grand Theater was fitted with surveillance cameras. And from what Autumn knew, there were even UV-sensitive lights - designed to detect Vampires - hidden in several strategic spots.
In short, they wouldn't dare do anything too extreme to Ethan or the other Let's Dance members in broad daylight like this. At worst, the boys would be tied up, gagged, and locked behind the stage curtains for a while. If they could endure that humiliation, there was nothing truly life-threatening about it.
And after all, Ethan was fairly strong and agile for a human. Combined with the heightened senses of a Bloodbound, he should be able to escape if things ever turned dangerous.
Meanwhile, Cherry and Amy were far more fragile. They were just ordinary girls - soft, gentle, and utterly unaware of Vampires or the shadowy world that lurked behind Harmony High and the town of Harmony itself.
Autumn pressed her lips together, then slowly sat down in the seat beside Kai.
She couldn't stand the thought of her classmates being hurt or humiliated by Dancing Stars. Nor could she bear to see them dragged into the same Vampire chaos that had swallowed Ethan's life.
Seeing Autumn finally comply, Kai smiled with satisfaction and waved his hand - signaling the Dancing Stars to stop intimidating the two terrified girls from 11D.
"I'm sorry…"
Autumn turned to Cherry and Amy. The two were still trembling, clinging to each other like orphaned koalas after the ordeal they had just endured.
Even though Autumn had agreed to sit, Kai still refused to let Cherry and Amy leave. They were to remain there, like hostages - leverage to keep Autumn in her seat.
"Oh right, hand me your phone. I can't let you call or text Royce for help. Don't worry - once Let's Dance is publicly disbanded in disgrace, I'll give it back to you."
At his demand, Autumn reluctantly handed over her phone, though she thought his paranoia was a bit much.
Of course, Kai had no way of knowing the truth.
On days like this, when Ethan had Let's Dance practice, Autumn's parents wouldn't come to pick them up until around 8 p.m. for dinner. And in the meantime, Royce had already turned off all his communication devices - claiming he needed to focus on something "personal."
Hmph! Royce might look calm and composed, but when it comes to girls, he's surprisingly soft.
Because of certain things in his past, Royce had always shown a deep fear of being touched - whether by human girls or by female Vampires. But for some reason, Camellia - that clumsy, scatterbrained Vampire Hunter - was an exception.
Maybe it was because of her gray eyes, her white hair, and that anime-proportioned figure that fit exactly his type?
Autumn had never once seen Royce and Camellia have a proper, civil conversation. Every time they met, they would argue, claw, and bite at each other like the toxic pairings you'd find between a Vampire and a Hunter. And yet, the moment Camellia sweetly asked for a favor, Royce would help her - no matter how difficult the task.
Like right now. Even with his schedule packed - school during the day, camera duty at night - Royce was still finding time to code new features and fix bugs for The Staker, the Vampire Hunter booking app that Camellia used. All while he'd been dying to play Silent Hill F, the survival horror game he had just bought last week.
Looking at Royce's one-sided affection for Camellia, Autumn wished she would never fall into that thing called love. Love was a nuisance - utterly troublesome! It made people lose their reason and act like brainless fools.
"All right then! Enjoy the Purge, ladies."
Kai slipped Autumn's phone into the inside pocket of his jacket with a smug grin.
Now Autumn could do nothing but turn her gaze back toward the stage. Suddenly, she heard a sound - like leather being ripped apart.
She looked down at her seat. Her claws had shredded the cushion of the chair without her even realizing it.
Immediately, Autumn squeezed her eyes shut to hide the faint glow of her irises in the dark. In her anger, her body had unconsciously shifted into its Awakened state.
She cursed herself for it. Even after all this time, she still couldn't fully control her emotions - or her instincts. Practice in theory was always easier than in reality.
The crowd around her suddenly erupted into cheers, snapping her back from her self-reproach.
Down below, the Choreographer was no longer wearing a mask. Ruby's face that usually looked beautiful, seductive, and sharp now carried a strangely androgynous allure.
But what shocked her most was that Ethan - standing firmly on stage - showed no sign of fear.
He wasn't trembling like she'd imagined. And in his hand was Ruby's mask.
It seemed Autumn had just missed something important!
"Ethan was so cool! I wish you hadn't fallen asleep earlier, Autumn!"
Cherry said excitedly.
"Listen - Ruby and her little assistants were dancing all around the Let's Dance boys, moving all sultry and shameless. But Ethan didn't even look at them! He just kept looking this way - at us! That must've ticked Ruby off, because she suddenly stood right in front of him to block his view and started ranting about something. Then out of nowhere, Ethan's face went all serious - he just ripped off her mask and ended her ridiculous performance on the spot!"
Autumn was astonished at how observant Cherry could be. After what she'd just gone through with the Dancing Stars, it was amazing she'd managed to keep track of anything happening on stage at all.
"Oh! So the choreographer was Ruby? No wonder I didn't recognize her! She looks so… handsome today! Woohoo! Ruby!"
Beside Autumn, Amy was screaming her lungs out with the rest of the crowd, completely enthralled by Ruby's transformed appearance.
"Oh no! Amy, snap out of it! Pull yourself together! Ruby is nothing but a devil!"
Cherry shook her friend's shoulders desperately, but it was no use. Amy had always been a hopeless admirer of beauty - no matter the gender of its owner.
And perhaps, like the rest of Harmony High, she didn't care whether the beautiful flower shining on stage was, in truth, a poisonous one.
Really, even though the students of Harmony could faintly sense something dangerous about Ruby, every single one of them still adored her and the twin sisters, Anya and Yara.
"We love you, Queen!"
"Mwah! Mwah!"
"Ruby forever!"
The cheers and applause from the audience echoed endlessly as Ruby waved gracefully, blowing kisses to the crowd with the poise of a true queen. She clearly had no intention of letting the adoration die down.
Autumn couldn't understand when - or why - Ruby had grown so obsessed with the spotlight: the glow of fame, the attention, the admiration, the love of the masses.
A sudden wave of sadness welled up in Autumn's chest, and her eyes grew wet.
Because once upon a time, Ruby hadn't been like this. She had been kind, gentle - sweet, even, like an older sister to Autumn.
Autumn truly missed the Ruby of days long gone.