Zodiac University

“I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS!”

Leo stood, holding his hands up defensively as most of his fellow jocks crowded around him in the hallways. The angry mob was led by his now ex-girlfriend, Elizabeth, who was holding a thick textbook.

“Cheating on me with some slut you met online?!”

“Babe, I can exp—”

“I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT! YOU’VE BEEN SEEING HER FOR MONTHS!!” Elizabeth swung the book back and whacked Leo in the face with it, sending the young man down on his knees. Leo winced and grabbed his wounded forehead, which had a red mark from the book’s corners.

“Easy! That’s my money maker!” Leo barked, all desperation and potential guilt gone.

“Fuck you!” Elizabeth spat and walked off.

Leo made a ‘tch’ sound and got to his feet. He tried walking away but one of his ex-goons grabbed his arm and drew his own arm back. Crack!! The sound of a fist hitting face ricocheted throughout the corridor. Leo gasped and grabbed his wound, blood dripping from his nose. But before he could even complain…BAM!

Leo ended up with a black eye, bruised nose, and swollen lip. He’d gone to the nurse’s office and despite being advised to rest after getting treatment, had claimed that he ‘didn’t give a fuck’ and went off to find his boss. He cursed as he stumbled outside and made his way to the bleachers on the turf. Taurus was already there, blowing smoke rings and scrolling on his phone. He glanced up as Leo entered their smoke spot and chuckled.

“You look awful.”

“Boss, someone leaked my social media messages!” Leo whined. “And I know who.”

“Yeah. Virgo.” Taurus grinned, almost proudly. “He also changed all my grades to Fs. See?” He held up his phone, showing Leo the academic destruction Virgo had caused.

“Can’t I beat him up already?!”

Taurus’s smile dropped clean off his face. “Absolutely not. I told you, this is between me and him.”

“But—”

“Drop it.” Taurus put out his cig and threw it down. “Those wounds will heal.”

My pride won’t, Leo thought, bitterly. He’d be the laughingstock of the school, now that his entourage had stopped following him.

Taurus clicked his tongue. “Relax. I’m not even trying hard yet. This is just to give him confidence. Wreck them psychologically first…and their lowered esteem does the rest. Before long, he’ll be a sobbing mess at our beck and call—a shell of his former self. The only thing he’ll be able to feel is despair.”

Leo just nodded. But he wasn’t satisfied.

*

He had curly light-blue hair and tired, blue eyes. He was tall—at least 6’2—and skinny, but also muscular. And he caught the eye of practically every girl on campus.

But there was only one girl he was looking for. Only one girl was right for him…for Pisces.

“Excuse me,” he said, approaching a group of students who had been watching him. Everyone had been watching him, and Pisces didn’t like it. It had taken all his nerve to go up and ask for directions.

Were they treating him like this because he wasn’t an Admirant student?

Pisces immediately regretted opening his mouth. But before he could say ‘never mind’, one of the girls in the group started giggling and got closer to him, twirling her blonde hair seductively.

“Hi there,” she said with another giggle. “I’m Linda. You are…?”

“Um…hi, I’m Pisces…” Pisces said hesitantly.

“Pisces! What an exotic name!” another girl in the group said. The first girl glared at her and she went quiet. Pisces blinked. He missed Cancer.

I want to hug her, he thought, scanning the campus grounds. He eventually turned back to the group.

“Where’s the library?” That was where he and Cancer had agreed to meet up.

“Just go down the hallway and turn right,” Linda giggled. It took all of Pisces’s strength not to cringe. Her giggle was so annoyingly fake.

“…thanks,” Pisces mustered and waved politely as he started off down the hallway.

“He’s so cute!” he heard Linda whisper to her friends as he left. Pisces just shook his head. He was tired of girls. Of people.

What a messed-up world we live in, for showing kindness to be considered as interest, Pisces thought wearily.

He eventually came to the end of the hall and approached the entrance of the Library. As he approached, Pisces couldn’t help but stare in awe. The giant double doors were lined with bronze and had a border of gold around them. Their handles shone like diamonds.

Admirant was certainly for the upper class. He didn’t see anyone who wasn’t rich or incredibly intelligent making it in.

After pushing open the doors to the library and finding himself a table, Pisces sat down and began bouncing his leg. It was a tic he’d developed before he’d met Cancer, one that always calmed in her presence but was now going crazy in her absence.

A light blush settled on Pisces’s cheeks. He loved Cancer so much. The story of how they’d met was right out of a fairytale. Pisces and Cancer had attended high school at Ment Academy together and had first met each other during the summer before their senior year. Pisces was on a swim team and had been going to the town pool with his buddies weekly to warm up before competitions. Coincidentally, Cancer often went to the same pool to swim for leisure. Their schedules aligned one day and they had bumped into each other after Pisces’s practice. Pisces had accidentally knocked over Cancer’s bottle of water and upon seeing her distraught face, felt a pang of guilt and a desire to make her smile unlike anything he’d ever felt before. This came as a shock to Pisces, being the socializing-averse introvert he was. He rarely felt any attraction or interest in others, so why was it that he was trying so hard to make Cancer like him?

Cancer had felt unusual, too. She had never dated before and told herself it was because she was too focused on herself. Between Taurus’s bullying in school and her studies, she rarely had the time to care about others. But she was drawn to Pisces, and as she watched him desperately flap his hands in apology and offer to buy her another bottle, she felt her heart skip a beat.

Before they knew it, Pisces was asking her out on a date—if you could call it asking. The poor student had been stuttering and stammering so badly, you could barely make out what he wanted. But Cancer did, and after a few dates at sushi bars and boba shops, the two kissed…and became official.

Pisces sighed dreamily as he thought of Cancer’s beautiful face. He took a swig of water from his bag and kept bouncing his leg. I wish she’d get here soon, he thought and felt himself getting a bit nervous. When Cancer got accepted at Admirant, Pisces had never felt prouder of his partner. Cancer definitely had the brains to excel at Admirant, and though Pisces didn’t get in and ended up going to another school, they made the long-distance relationship work. They would text, call, and video chat—and after a summer spent apart, they were finally going to be in each other’s arms again.

Pisces found himself yawning again and he closed his eyes. His university was pretty far from Admirant, so he’d had to disrupt his sleep schedule and wake up earlier than usual to catch the bus to campus. He was tired, and all the people around him didn’t help. All he wanted to see was Cancer—

“PISCES!!”

Pisces’s eyes snapped open and he grinned widely at the familiar high-pitched voice and quickly approaching footsteps. Before he could turn his head, Cancer was on top of him, screeching with joy and hugging him tightly. Pisces grabbed her waist and pulled her even closer, nuzzling his head against hers.

“SHHH!!” the librarian hissed from behind a pile of books. Pisces and Cancer ignored her.

“Pisces!! I’ve missed you!” Cancer cried, tears bubbling up in her eyes. Pisces could feel the waterworks starting to flow on his face, too. Both individuals were exceptionally emotional. It explained how they understood each other so well.

“I’ve missed you, too, Cancer!” Pisces leaned forward and planted a kiss on Cancer’s forehead. The latter squealed and blushed as Pisces’s soft lips made contact with her skin.

“SHHH!!” the librarian hissed again. This time, Cancer looked up and waved her hands apologetically. But Pisces wasn’t even acknowledging the angry faculty member. He was staring, mesmerized, at Cancer—her wide, innocent eyes, her luscious lips…he wanted to kiss her, to hold her tighter than possible, to melt into her. He wanted to go somewhere where they were truly alone, where they could embrace each other without interruption. And he wanted it now.

Without a word, he got to his feet and lifted Cancer up, cradling her in his arms like she was an infant. Cancer let out a gasp and her cheeks darkened further. Pisces grinned.

“Let’s go to your dorm and catch up,” he said. “I’ve missed you so much, I thought I was going to die.”

“I thought I was going to go crazy!” Cancer sobbed, letting tears splash against her shirt as they left the library. “I…I was so lonely…and so much happened…I just wanted to be with you.” She sniffed and rubbed her eyes. “Oh! I have to introduce you to my friends!”

Pisces tensed—he was more interested in spending time with Cancer than hanging out with the people she called her friends. What even were friends? An energy drain? But as if Cancer read his mind, she leaned forward and grabbed Pisces around the neck, pulling herself closer to her.

“It’s okay, Pisces. I know meeting new people is hard for you, but they really are sweet and they’ve helped me through some tough times.” Pisces stopped walking and held Cancer so she could prop herself up on his shoulder. Cancer grinned and got ready to whisper in Pisces’s ear. “Don’t worry, though—you’re my number one.”

At these comments, Pisces felt butterflies erupting from the base of his stomach and he grew so giddy he tightened his grip around Cancer. Oh, how he loved Cancer. He could do anything when he was with her.

She was the only person he trusted.

“Alright,” he said, and gently lowered Cancer to the ground. “They sound nice.”

Cancer took this opportunity to start gushing about her new friends and how one, in particular, had rescued her from the depths of despair. Pisces smiled, loving how animated Cancer got when she was excited, and just taking in the voice and sight of his beautiful girlfriend. How’d I get so lucky? he thought with half his brain.

The other half of his brain was making note of the small details in Cancer’s behavior—such as the waver in her voice. Whenever she brought up a certain person, the bubbly atmosphere she kept seemed to fluctuate ever so slightly. So, while he was smiling with part of his being, another part was getting angry on Cancer’s behalf. Who was this monster that had caused Cancer to fall so low she couldn’t pull herself up? Who was wreaking havoc on the peaceful life Cancer wanted so desperately to live?

Pisces figured he would ask about this unnamed individual later since Cancer seemed to be purposefully leaving the identity of her bully out. They were already getting stares as they walked down the hallway to the residential halls, and with his incredible emotional intelligence, Pisces knew that this was a matter Cancer didn’t want to discuss in public.

What he didn’t know, however, was that Cancer was being watched.

And because Pisces was with her, a specific jock, who’d just had his ego crushed, had roped him into his schemes as well.