William's Study - Nevermore
(Twenty one pilots - Stressed Out)
(♬ My name's Blurryface, and I care what you think ♬)
The sunlight streaming into the room through the large glass windows illuminated the young man with pale white skin, his golden hair seeming to glisten in the golden light.
(♬ Wish we could turn back time to the good old days ♬)
William nodded his head to the rhythm of the music as his hands became stained with a few drops of paint.
On a small wooden table with a white cloth, a few steps away from him, lay all his accessories: his Grimm Beast Rings, Fury and Silver Drake, along with a new one that was similar in style to the previous three. This one represented one of the imposing beasts that Hercules defeated in one of his twelve tasks for King Eurystheus.
William took them off every time he painted or worked on making jewellery, both to avoid staining them with paint and to avoid any hindrance when carving tiny runes.
Just below, on one side, was her bracelet with the main charm of the Dawn Moth and the following medals that William had earned by hunting and killing various beasts throughout a school year.
The Goblin Queen medal, the Blood Centipede, the Dark Centipede, and the Red Hat—each of the medals was small, delicate, and beautiful, gleaming with a special shine. At first glance, they appeared to be high-quality silver, but in reality, they were made of a much more valuable and rare metal.
The counterpart to Mithril, Mitral was perfect for enchantments and blessings. The last row of jewels were the ones William wore on his left hand, the Imp King's Ring and the Fairy Ring.
(♬ When our mama sang us to sleep, but now we're stressed out ♬)
"That smell..."
William could smell it in the air, a sweet perfume coming straight from the hallway and getting closer and closer to him.
(♬ Sometimes a certain smell will take me back to when I was young ♬)
He calmly put down his paint palette, placed his brushes in a container of solvent, and calmly cleaned his hands. Finally, he took off his headphones.
*Knock* *Knock*
Although the person seemed to be in a hurry, they stopped calmly at the door and knocked softly.
"Come in."
A figure dressed in a pink sweatshirt decorated with multicoloured flowers rushed in and ran towards William.
William easily caught Enid, lifted her into the air and spun her around several times. Eni let out a happy laugh as she buried her face in William's neck and hugged him with both arms.
"Hahaha, Will, I'm getting dizzy!"
"What's wrong, my little ball of fluff?"
William put Enid down on the floor, but kept his hands on her waist and held her close to him.
"Why didn't you tell me you won the art competition!"
Enid looked very happy with the news, one of her hands holding the latest edition of a popular youth magazine. Nevermore Academy had a small shop selling magazines, newspapers, and various books.
That same morning, the students were surprised to see William's handsome face on the front page of the magazine. The headline read 'The New Young Promise of Art'.
"Wow, no one told me I'd be on the front page. I wanted it to be a surprise for you."
"It was a surprise. I saw a lot of students buying a copy, so the new painting they're going to reveal in the lobby is yours."
"Oh, I wonder how you know that."
"Cough, maybe I took a peek under the curtain."
Enid looked away. The painting with which William had won the competition had been placed there that morning, covered with a red curtain.
"Weems said during breakfast in the cafeteria that they're going to reveal it this afternoon."
"The headmistress wants to make this into a big event. I think it's too much."
William sat down on the carpet and hugged Enid from behind.
"You spent many hours painting that picture and threw away several of them until you were satisfied. I think you deserve the recognition Weems is giving you." - Enid -
"You should accept it and enjoy being popular." - Enid -
Enid intertwined her fingers with William's.
"I'm not particularly interested in being popular, but do you think I deserve a reward for my efforts?"
"Definitely."
Enid's tone left no room for doubt.
"What if I wanted a reward from Miss Sinclair?"
Enid fell silent and closed her eyes. William drew her face closer to look into her eyes. Her face was as red as a ripe apple.
"Do you want to..." - William -
"Do I want to?" - Enid -
"Come with me to the Shark Tank to see the San José Sharks during the summer holidays."
Enid's face almost steamed with the thought of what William wanted as a reward, and she ended up covering her face with both hands in embarrassment.
"I'd love to, it's a promise."
William had held back as much as he could and now he had reached his limit, gently pushing Enid down onto the carpet.
"Mmmm...𖹭...mmm.." - Enid -
"You're adorable..." - William -
Enid hugged William's neck and they pressed their lips together.
*Ping*
Several hours later, William's phone screen lit up with a new message from Yoko: 'You two are coming to lunch, most of the seats are taken.'
William had continued with his painting. The main parts were almost finished, and only the details and a few adjustments remained: a huge black bear tearing the spine out of an old man surrounded by thousands of glowing fireflies.
Enid stopped typing. Her latest blog post was about William and how he won the competition, accompanied by several photos of the process. Enid had a whole folder on her phone about the entire process, so the new photos were going to attract a lot of views, including from people outside Nevermore.
Of course, Yoko knew where her best friend had spent the entire afternoon.
"Is it time to eat yet?"
Enid looked at her watch. Every time William went out at night, he had a habit of giving his watch to Enid. It wouldn't be fun to see her mother's expression if she found out that he had broken it while looking for trouble with some beasts.
Main Cafeteria - Nevermore Academy.
[Devastating Explosion: Two dead and zero injured.]
[...Two people die in arson attack, an 18-year-old and his uncle. According to reports, the explosion was caused by an alleged suicide. Michael N., 45, had been dismissed from his job that same morning, his house had been repossessed, and he had large debts... The magnitude of the explosion was due to the fact that both were travelling in the car belonging to the company where Michael worked, which contained several tonnes of propane gas... The mother is claiming compensation for damages...]
(That was the reason the police didn't arrive after I detonated my arrow near the lake. How lucky I am.)
William smiled as he read the news on his phone.
"Wow, if I didn't know you, I'd say you were a vampire like us."
Yoko suddenly put down her knife and fork.
"What do you mean?"
William tilted his head in confusion. He and Enid usually ate with Nevermore's fangs. Enid was not accepted among the Furs, the group of werewolves, because she could not wolfing out.
That included rejection by Enid's brothers, and William was the only Skin Changer in all of Vermont.
William and Enid's relationship with the Scales was not the best, except for Divina. The Stoners were too shy to accept anyone who was not a Gorgon like them. The vampires, on the other hand, were quite open with William; everyone liked his art and style.
"Enid took a photo together, it seems that Will is not aware."
Yoko adjusted her sunglasses, sat down next to William and smiled, showing her four long fangs.
"Will, smile!"
Enid also joined in the fun, she had realised when she met William in the morning.
"OK?"
William was still confused, but he smiled like Yoko. His fangs had grown to the size of Yoko's, and with his black glasses, he looked 100% like a vampire dressed in grey.
(Could this be a side effect of my new ring?)
(In any case, my collection pace must be slower next year. The Grimm was the tutorial, the Goblin Queen was my first encounter with an unusual beast, and with the Silver Drake I had the help of two powerful outcasts and the Selkie with Cayous' help.)
William looked at his fangs in Enid's make-up mirror and, with a little concentration, returned them to their normal size.
"I liked them, you looked wilder."
Enid whispered to William, both of them always sitting very close to each other.
"...I can make them grow back whenever you want."
William whispered back close to Enid's ear and glanced at Enid's plate, a thick steak with some blood dripping from it.
"Isn't it too red, Enid?" - William -
"It's perfectly cooked. Yours is overcooked." - Enid -
"That's how werewolves like it. You'll have to get used to it." - Yoko -
Yoko joined in the conversation. She also thought it was too rare for her taste.
"Try it."
Enid cut a piece from her plate and brought it to William's mouth. He didn't hesitate for long and took a bite.
"What do you think, delicious?"
Enid could already tell what William thought just by looking at his expression, but she wanted to hear him say it out loud.
"Delicious."
"You two are a perfect couple, you both have the same tastes..."
Yoko couldn't bear to watch any longer and turned her attention to her own food.