I was frozen. I didn't know what to do. My body was still numb and tingly, there was no way for me to take off running or anything. I just sat there, my legs pulled up slightly, getting ready to push me back, if it wasn't for the fact that Voltaire was standing behind me, looking down rather amused.

"Well, don't you look cute all wet and naked like that?" He asked with a sly smirk. I snapped out of my daze and glared at him firmly.

"My clothes are gone. Mr. Kazawa came in and probably took them to the lost and found…" I muttered. Voltaire hummed thoughtfully, looked up and down the hallways, then back at me, cocking his head.

"This is all very convenient for me. I'm been wanting to talk to you… Especially about what happened after class." He added and his expression changed a little so that he was frowning. I scowled and looked back down, bringing my legs closer together, trying to hide the heat that was starting to form in my face. Shit, this was embarrassing.

"I don't give a shit what you wanna talk about. I want to go back to my dorm room."

"I'll escort you there."

"I can't walk."

"Who said anything about you walking?"

"What the hell are you- Oh my god, put me down!" I gasped as Voltaire put his arms under me and lifted me up, bridal-style. I grabbed at his suit and tie, almost choking him before I glared at him. He was laughing.

"You're adorable," He snickered, "You do the same thing you did before… You freak out every time." He sounded like he was eighteen again and I just rolled my eyes before looking at my lap. My face was still hot and I felt so humiliated, being carried by this stupid asshole and then I was completely naked. You could see every detail of me and when I looked up, Voltaire seemed to be looking right where I rather him not look.

"So take me to my room." I stated as calmly as I could. Voltaire glanced at me with a faint smirk.

"Why not take you to my room? The teacher's get very nice room's here. They're holding out on us students, and I have a nice, big tub for you to swim around in." He offered. I scowled and squirmed in his arms.

"If you're not going to, put me down and I'll crawl to my room! You're not taking me to your room! And I'm not going to tell you anything about Hannibal or his human, so why are you still on my ass?" I demanded, digging my nails into his hand that was cupped around my shoulder. Voltaire's eyes seemed to glow in the dimly lit hallway, his lips tipping downwards.

"You keep insisting that I want Hannibal or his human. Maybe it's not them I want, maybe it's you."

"And maybe I'm the Queen of England. Now let go of me, Voltaire. I'm too tired to argue with you."

"Then don't argue with me… Kiss me." Voltaire stated. I blinked, then glared at him and growled low in my throat. It seemed like Voltaire was the only one who was talented enough to make me lose my cool, even Hannibal couldn't penetrate me and for god's sake, I loved him.

"I'm not kissing you, now put me down or I'll kill you and don't think I won't." I replied, my voice steadily calm, but icy. Voltaire's eyes studied me. His expression looked thoughtful now and he tightened his grip on me.

"You really love him, don't you?"

"I really don't want to talk about this right now. I'm exhausted and my body hurts."

"You let yourself change after so long, of course it's going to feel weird. It's probably going to stay feeling weird until you're used to it…" Voltaire started to walk down the hallway, still holding me in his arms. I had forgotten what it felt like to lie in his arms.

They were strong and I could feel his muscles through his dress shirt and blazer. His torso felt more muscular too, so he had been working out… I also noticed that he had faint circles under his eyes from lack of sleep. He headed down the hallway toward the dorm rooms, much to my surprise. I swore he was going to take me to his room, which was going to scare the hell outta me. Instead, he went up the stairs and rounded the corner down another long narrow, curled hallway where the dorm rooms were all lined up.

"You're still pretty." Voltaire murmured suddenly. I glanced at him, tiredly now because I just too exhausted to argue and my legs and thighs were all tingly.

"You're still a prick." I responded. Voltaire smirked, but it looked like a bitter smirk and his eyes were tired.

"And you're still mean too."

"You're one to talk."

"Storm, I don't know what I was thinking then-"

"Oh, save it."

"I'm serious, Storm." He stopped walking in the middle of the hallway, looking down at me with glittering midnight blue eyes. I didn't like the look on his face and I glared at him the best I could, despite the fact that I was about to fall asleep right there in his arms.

Which would be bad.

Very bad.

"I don't care if you're serious… Because I'm serious about not liking you, at all. And I'm serious about loving Hannibal and I'm serious when I say that if you mess with him or Dominic that I'll kill you without a second thought… Take me to my room or drop me here. I can crawl the rest of the way."

He didn't put me down. He just stared at me for a while, then sighed and kept walking down the hallway. I was about to point out the room, but he seemed to already know where it was. Unfortunately, he also didn't know that he was supposed to be sneaking me in and not knocking on the door.

"You'll be mine again." Voltaire muttered before he slammed his fist into the door, which was his idea of knocking. I glared at him.

"Voltaire, you-" The door was open in an instant and Hannibal was standing there in his snug checkered boxer-briefs, his lovely gold hair all wild from rolling around in bed, but his black eyes the spitting image of disbelief and anger. He seemed to be tongue tied. Voltaire smiled and cocked his head, acting as if he was never serious, as if we never said anything important.

"I brought your servant back." He stated. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how to react. I just kept my expression placid, like the situation wasn't anything important or to be bothered about, which apparently ticked Hannibal off even more.

What caught me off guard was that he immediately took me from Voltaire and he tried to stand me up, but my legs wobbled and I almost lost my balance, but both Voltaire and Hannibal lunged to help me. Hannibal, however, lashed out at Voltaire, who immediately stepped back, still smiling innocently. Hannibal held me like a doll over an arm, holding me against his chest as he glared at Voltaire.

"What the fuck did I tell you? If you lay one finger on him-"

"Oh, please. I did nothing to him. Your little merman here slipped into the pool downstairs and triggered his true form. He's weak from lack of transforming. He needs to go-"

"As if I'm taking advice from you or even believing the bullshit that comes from you," Hannibal seethed, taking the door handle in one door, "Buzz off, Voltaire, or I swear to god…" He didn't finish and Voltaire just smiled before the door slammed shut, without so much as a thank you to Voltaire for dragging my sorry ass up the stairs.

I didn't even get a chance to talk because Hannibal started to drag me into the room, where Dominic was slowly waking up, sitting up and rubbing his eyes sleepily and Aaron was already sitting up, eyes wide as he watched Hannibal come in. Hannibal shoved me down on my bed and kept his eyes off my naked lower half, going to my side of the four-sided dresser. He pawed around, threw a pair of boxers at me, then whipped around, glaring. I sat there with the boxers in my lap for a while, then averted my eyes.

"Voltaire wasn't lying, Hannibal." I stated. Hannibal frowned, leaning on the dresser with his other fist on his hip.

"Oh really?" He asked. He sounded skeptical, which was actually kind of aggravating me, but I didn't show it. I kept my expression calm as I lifted my legs steadily, slipping my boxers on before I pulled the blankets away from my bed.

"Maybe it was the conversation about mer-people in anatomy today, I don't know, it probably got to my head. I wanted to transition again, to feel what it was like. I can't remember the last time I did transition… And Voltaire's right that I need to keep going to the pool, because if I don't, I'll get stuck like I did today. Mr. Kazawa stopped by and grabbed my things, he thought someone left them there. That's why I don't have my clothes on." I explained carefully, leaving out details about why I ran to the pool in the first place, why it took so long, and what Voltaire was talking to me about.

"I don't care," Hannibal snapped, making me glance at him with a cocked brow, "I don't want you near Voltaire at all. Stay away from him."

"Yes, Hannibal, because I asked for him to come find me while I was going to crawl my way up to the dorms." I drawled, sitting back on the bed, about to pull the covers over me, but Hannibal caught my wrist. This surprised me and I looked up, staring him right in the eyes as he glared back at me. Aaron and Dominic were looking a bit jittery now, probably ready to jump in if Hannibal was going to hurt me.

Hurt me… Would Hannibal really hurt me? I hadn't done anything wrong. It's not like I asked Voltaire to come find me! He just did! Why would he hurt me because of something I didn't do?

"Look, Storm, Voltaire's trying to use you again and I know he is. He's trying to cause more problems for us! Don't fall for anything he tells you, he's going to trick you into falling in love with him-"

"Hannibal," I interrupted, raising an eyebrow as I studied those gorgeous black eyes, "You and I both know that Voltaire isn't the one I want. I'm fine how I am, see? I'm okay… I'm just really… Really tired… Let me sleep, alone. Just leave me alone, all right? I'm exhausted."

Hannibal stared at me and he looked a bit hurt for a split second before he let go of my wrist and stepped back. I fell back on the bed and pulled the covers over my head, snuggling down on the bed, but it wasn't soft and comfortable anymore.

I felt weird. I felt like I was losing a grip on my control. It was driving me insane with confusion, curiosity, pain, and loneliness. I haven't felt this fatigued in so long, this weak in so long…

I heard the lights click off and I buried my face against the pillow, grasping a handful of my hair as I tried to fall asleep. It wasn't working. I couldn't sleep. I was exhausted, yea, I wanted to sleep. My eyelids were heavy and I felt drowsy, dizzy, weaker.

What the hell's going on?

Now I was starting to get a little nervous. I rolled over in my bed a couple times and I heard Hannibal growl, probably hearing my restlessness. I wanted to go to the bathroom, but my body still ached and tingled.

I needed help. Help, that's it. I needed help… but who could I get it from? Hannibal was mad at me. I knew he was. Dominic didn't know a thing about mer-people, or was it just psychological? Just my brain telling me that I was restless? Aaron probably didn't know much either.

I was scared. What the heck was going on with me?