Tao looked up at the impressive building in front of him with no little awe. It looked like a mansion rather than just a building that acted as the boys’ hostel. The wrought iron gate to the building was magnificent as it stood tall and proud, with the SM High’s emblem engraved in gold in the middle. Tao thought the school itself had been astounding but the students’ hostel was different in its own level.

“Welcome, Alpha.” Tao turned to his right and saw the boy that had been escorting him to the hostel bowed with flourish, both arms expanded like he was going to take flight.

“Al-Alpha?”

The boy righted himself and gave him a lazy smile.

Tao was a bit weary in the first place when he had first been introduced to the older boy and had put a safe distance between them. Well, who wouldn’t when the said boy d everyone that he came in contact. He had said his name was Lay and that he was the dorms leader. Now, Tao was not a judgemental person but if he had one thing to say about Lay, was that he was a bit…wrong in the head.

“We call the students living here that but if you ask me, I prefer Unicorn.”

Right. Tao nodded and he might have inch to the left a bit.

Lay led him through the gate, towards the entrance, “Your bags had been put into your assigned room.”

Tao glanced around as soon as they entered the foyer and it was practically the same with the Sports’. Grand and all.

“Erm, Lay-ge?”

Lay turned to him with the same dazed look that he had on since Tao had first met him, “Hmm?”

“Are we sharing rooms here?” Tao squirmed.

“Yes. Two students per room.”

“I-I see.” Tao gulped.

Lay glanced at the freshman from the corner of his eyes and his lips quirked in an almost smile.

They climbed the spiral stairs situated in the middle of the foyer as Lay continued explaining things to the distraught Tao, “Since you come in the middle of the year, it was a bit difficult to accommodate but luckily we managed. The ground floor is guest rooms and reception area, dining hall and the kitchen are on the first floor, cinema room second floor, west wing, meeting room second floor too, east wing, all floors have bathrooms and toilets, the game room being on the third floor on the west wing and the library is the entire fourth floor but Alphas rarely go there except maybe, the dragon.”

The dragon? Tao gaped at the senior’s back.

“No worries. Yifan’s not actually an actual dragon, just his attitude that is likened to it. He’s quite human as far as I know. Oh, and he’s your roommate.”

That did nothing to soothe Tao, knowing his future roommate is likened to a dragon. Tao wrung his hands together as they arrived on the landing of the second floor and Lay continued to lead him along the vast hallway. Tao let his eyes wandered at the number plaques embedded on each dark wooden door as they passed.

“All Alphas are needed at the dining hall for dinner. It’s mandatory and must be in their respective room by 11. Is that clear?” Lay glanced back over his shoulder at Tao.

“Y-Yes.” Tao quipped.

Lay nodded, satisfied. They stopped in front of room number 029 and Lay turned to him. “Here is your room and here, key,” he brandished a silver key from his pocket and handed it to Tao.

“Settle down and rest. Dinner will be ready soon and good luck.” Lay raised his hand to pat the younger boy on the shoulder but retracted it at the flinch Tao gave involuntarily. Lay raised his eyebrow, dully amused before striding past Tao.

Tao watched the older boy retreating back until it was gone from his sight. He turned back to the wooden door and took a deep breath. He reached out to turned the knob and found it to be locked. Tao shrugged, his roommate was not back yet. He slid in the key to the keyhole and a click was heard. Tao pushed the wooden door and stepped inside the unlit room.

~~*~~

Kris sighed tiredly as he climbed the stairs toward the second floor, all the while battling with his school tie that was suffocating him. His steps however tired he was from all the paperwork, still poised and he did not sway even though he was few seconds away from collapsing. No, Wu Yifan was just too dignified for graceless thing such as swaying.

He stepped onto the landing and made a beeline for his room. Cursed the stupid unicorn for giving him the furthest room, almost at the end of the hall, Kris thought with a thunderous expression as he quickened his strides. Thankfully for his long legs, he arrived there in a matter of minutes. He tried to insert his key when he noticed the light seeping through under the door from the other side. He frowned. Someone was in his room. With this thought, his expression turned murderous as he turned the knob, ready to strangle the bold intruder for trespassing.

He pushed the door to his room and stepped in only to blink in surprised. There was a bundle of blankets, panda printed –Kris eyebrows threatened to disappear underneath his fringe- and it seemed there was something under the blankets, wriggling on the bed opposites his that had been empty for the last two years since his first and last roommate fled, asking for a room change. Kris never stopped wandering what had triggered the decision.

Kris lowered his gaze and finally noticed stuffed pandas in different sizes surrounding the bed, like a barricade, a fort. Kris slowly closed the door behind him and the thing underneath all the blankets flinched at the click the door made. The president slowly approached the bed, taking cautious steps one at a time.

“Excuse me?”

The thing under the layers of blankets stopped wiggling and froze. Kris held out a hand and started to tug at the blankets. A whimper was heard as the thing underneath was slowly revealed. A tuft of black hair poked out from the blankets, followed by a pair of panda-like eyes and finally the whole face was shown to Kris’ keen eyes.

“Huang Zitao?”

The said Huang Zitao glanced up in surprise at his name before he gaped openly at the stunned upperclassman, “K-Kris-ge?”

“What are you doing here?” Kris frowned.

Tao scrambled to sit up, twisting to free himself from the thick layers of blankets that he cocooned himself with seconds ago. Kris let out a low chuckled as he watched before deciding to lend a helping hand. Tao huffed when he finally succeeded in defeating the panda-printed blankets.

“I-I was assigned to this room.”

“Here? As in my room?”

Tao blinked. “Your room? I-I thought… Lay-ge said that my roommate is erm…Yifan?”

Kris struggled to keep his face impassive as he felt laughter began to bubble up from his chest. The boy was just too cute for his own good.

He sat down on the bed beside the boy and held out a hand, his lips quirked, “Well then, I’m Wu Yifan but more well known as Kris. Nice to meet you. Again.”

Tao gaped as colour flooded his cheeks. Kris raised an amused brow when the younger boy opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish for a few seconds before his hand was finally grasped in a handshake. “I’m Huang Zitao. T-Tao.”

“T-Tao, huh?”

Kris chuckled as the flush in the latter’s cheeks spread thorough his face. He didn’t know why he was teasing the boy since as far as he knew, he was definitely not the type to tease. He knew himself to be the –like Chen and Kai had nicely put it- splinter in the , a wet blanket but ever since he first laid his eyes on Tao, the latter had managed to bring out the many sides of him that he didn’t know exist within him just in one day, it was hardly surprising anymore.

“So, why are you staying here? I thought with that problem of yours…” Kris trailed off pointedly.

Tao fiddled with his blanket, “Well, my father told me I need to learn how to dispose my fear of boys…”

“By staying with them.” Kris finished. Tao nodded.

Kris hummed thoughtfully before standing up to his full height, “Come on, it’s almost dinner time.”

~~*~~

Tao could hear loud muffled noises slipped through from the other side of the double doors even with the distance. Tao glanced nervously at the taller male beside him. Noticing the glance, Kris ruffled his midnight hair, trying to assure the younger fidgeting boy. They walked in amiable silence towards the double doors that led into the dining hall until the said doors burst open, the loud muffled noises from earlier spilled into the lone hallway without a care. Kris and Tao halted in mid-step as a boy ran out of the dining hall, screaming his head off.

Tao noticed with horror that the boy was lunging straight for them and his quick reflex that had been horned since young kicked in. He sidestepped to the left just in time for the boy to miss him and tumbled into Kris. Kris looked down to the shorter boy that was slumped against him, unfazed as the latter clutched his collars tightly, almost to the point of choking.

“Krrrrrriiiiissss~ D-don’t g-g-g…in th-ther… X-Xiu…min and Ch..en…” the boy slid down from Kris’ front onto the floor and proceeded to go unconscious.

Tao stared in trepidation when he finally saw the red liquid that trickled from the boy’s head and was smearing his face. His clothes too were dirtied with something brownish in many places. Tao looked up at Kris with wide eyes and squeaked, almost at the point of tears, “G-Gege?”

“Not again.” Kris sighed.

He grabbed Tao’s hand and led him to the open double doors, the noises getting louder with each step. Tao steeled himself in case they were about to encounter something horrifying, if the bloodied form of the earlier boy that was left lain unconscious in the middle of the hallway were anything to go by. And anyway, shouldn’t they be calling an ambulance or the police?

They entered the doorway and Tao immediately clutched Kris’ hand tightly at the sight that greeted him.

It was a massacre.