Zodiac University

Taurus wasn’t in his usual spot. He, obviously, didn’t show up for class, but he wasn’t under the bleachers. He wasn’t even lurking in the hallways or the bathrooms, and Virgo made sure to check all of them. But once he’d covered the entire main building and the additional classroom buildings, he knew there was only one place his lover could be. Virgo knew there was a high probability of him being there, but he’d been saving it for last and giving himself and his nerves time to prepare.

But now it was time.

Virgo arrived at Taurus’s residence hall and knocked on the door quickly. There was no response.

He has to be here, Virgo thought, and knocked again. After about a minute, the door finally creaked open and a maid that Virgo didn't recognize appeared in front of him. Her cheeks went pink when she saw Virgo, and Virgo knew why. He smiled apologetically and began to speak.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but is Taurus available?”

The maid lowered her eyes. “He’s…not home, at the moment,” she said hesitantly.

Virgo narrowed his eyes. Not home? He’d checked everywhere else on campus that he could access. Was it possible Taurus was hiding somewhere he couldn’t, like the girls’ dorms?

It was unlikely. Virgo didn’t live on campus, but even someone of his position who did wasn’t allowed in the same spots as him. The girls’ dorms and washrooms and even the all-female meeting spots were areas that guys simply didn’t go to.

This wasn’t a matter of privilege. So then, where was Taurus?

“Do you know if he’s off campus?” Virgo asked patiently. The maid still wouldn’t meet his gaze, and she seemed a bit…nervous? She was fidgeting with the edge of her apron.

“I don’t know,” she eventually responded. This was clearly a lie.

“Look,” Virgo said slowly. “I don’t know what that bast--ahem, Taurus, has done, but I’m trying to find him to clear some things up between us. Hopefully, when that happens, he’ll stop with…whatever he’s doing. I’m under the impression that things haven’t been very peaceful here.” He thought back to Taurus’s reaction in the classroom and how defeated he’d seemed. With his temper, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that residential life hadn’t been sunshine and roses.

The maid finally looked up at him, her eyes filled with confusion, sadness, and some other emotion Virgo couldn’t recognize. Was it hope, perhaps? Maybe relief?

“I…I want to tell you where the young master went, but I…”

“I understand,” Virgo said. “He must’ve scared you into staying quiet. I know I’m putting you in a tight position, and I apologize.”

He took a step closer. “But if you can tell me something, anything…it doesn’t even have to be the full truth…it would help me immensely.” He smiled softly. “I know I don’t look like it, but I’m probably the closest thing Taurus has to a friend right now--or frenemy. If there’s anyone he’d both want and hate to see, it’s me.”

The maid looked away again, and a few seconds of silence passed before she finally spoke. “I can’t…tell you exactly where he went because I don’t know,” she admitted. “But…this morning, he came to breakfast and was acting very strange. He ate his food without uttering a single complaint. It was a…contrast from how he’d been acting yesterday.”

Virgo grimaced. “How was he acting yesterday?”

The maid pressed her hands together and Virgo realized they were shaking. “He was…just very aggressive. More so than usual and, well, I don’t want to talk about it.”

Virgo nodded, getting the gist of things. “I’m so sorry he’s been mistreating you all for so long. When I talk to him, I’ll be putting a stop to that, too.”

The maid suddenly looked very grateful. “After he finished eating, he got up without a word and went into the kitchen. He rarely goes in there--we deliver snacks to his room, after all--so one of the butlers followed him and asked what he was doing.” She clutched her hands tighter. “But he wouldn’t talk. He grabbed one of our knives, took his phone, and started for the door. But as he was about to leave, he turned and looked at us, and said one thing.”

Virgo felt a wave of dread sweep over him. “What was it?”

The maid stopped fidgeting with her apron and looked Virgo dead in the eyes. “He said, ‘I’m going to murder that bitch.’”

*

Virgo sprinted towards East Campus, tearing through the green lawns of Admirant, air rushing wildly through his lungs. His fists were clenched and a mix of fear and anger overloaded his senses. It felt like he was moving in slow motion. Was this really as fast as he could run?

I’m such an idiot, Virgo thought. How did I overlook this?

Taurus was going to harm Gemini. That much was obvious, and Virgo had known something like that would happen. He knew Taurus wasn’t the type to sit back and give up.

He’d just looked so defeated that Virgo had let his guard down…and now…and now…

Virgo, you fucking idiot, Virgo seethed. You even told Gemini she was in danger. And now you just leave her alone? She may be annoying but…

…but he didn’t want Taurus to hurt her. And Virgo had promised to protect her, didn’t he? It was part of their boyfriend-girlfriend agreement.

I was so caught up in my feelings for Taurus that I completely broke that promise and neglected Gemini, he thought, anger taking the lead inside his heart. Damn it. Damn it all. Since when am I so single minded?

Virgo quickly shook his head, cursing himself again. Now was not the time to be dwelling on his faults. He had to save Gemini.

It could be too late, Virgo thought and immediately hated himself for it. He needed to be optimistic! According to the maid’s story, Taurus had woken up around 8 am, but breakfast hadn’t been served until 8:15. Virgo hadn’t arrived on campus until about 8:30, and Taurus would’ve been finishing up breakfast then.

Let’s see…I went to the main building and met with Gemini, Virgo thought. Which means she was safe with me until I dropped her off at her first class. Then I spent about an hour and a half looking around the school for Taurus before heading to his dorm.

The maid said that right after breakfast, Taurus had grabbed a knife and left his dorm. But if you considered the time, Gemini would’ve still been in class. There wasn’t any opening to openly attack her.

Virgo saw the girls’ dorms looming in the distance and picked up his speed. I know how that bastard--no, I know how psychopaths think, he thought. They wait until they can secure their victim alone. That makes it more likely for their sick plans to succeed.

That meant Taurus was waiting for Gemini to be alone. But Gemini was hardly alone. She was so popular, after all, always surrounded by someone. The only time there was a chance Gemini would be by herself would be during a long break between classes, when she might return to her dorm.

And then a memory popped into Virgo’s head.

A few hours after Taurus’s tantrum in the classroom on Monday, Virgo had absentmindedly hacked into the school website from his phone to see Gemini’s schedule. He’d been doing this to confirm that they didn’t have any of the same classes, but because of his analytical nature, he’d memorized Gemini’s schedule without meaning to.

That meant he knew what Gemini’s free periods were.

Taurus had access to Gemini’s schedule, too.

That meant Taurus also knew what Gemini’s free periods were.

Taurus was unbelievably cunning, but it didn’t take someone of his IQ level to plan when the best time to attack would be. Anyone who stalked Gemini could figure it out.

A chill ran through Virgo’s body and he quickly reached into his pocket, fumbling to unlock his phone. This was a pointless action, however--Gemini’s schedule had already been bored into Virgo’s brain.

She has literature first period, Virgo recited anxiously as he ran, which runs for 50 minutes. After that, she has a 3-hour break until her next class, at 12:15. I don’t know what she did the other day, but that would give anyone 3 hours to get her alone and…

The chances of Gemini being in her dorm was slim--Virgo knew that. Admirant had a huge campus, after all, with so many ways to pass the time. But since the dorms were so close to the main building, it would make sense for a student with a lot of free time to go back there. To take a nap, or catch up on some homework.

Please let me not be too late, Virgo thought. He couldn’t imagine what he’d do if he reached Gemini’s room and saw her getting brutally stabbed by Taurus. He tried to tell himself that Taurus wouldn’t go that far…but who was he kidding? He totally would. The dude was unhinged.

And Virgo liked unhinged.

Virgo’s cheeks heated up at this acknowledgment and he instantly shoved his feelings aside. Confessions would have to wait. If he harms Gemini, I’m sure I won’t feel any more attraction to him, anyway, Virgo thought, but he knew it was unlikely. Taurus had indirectly played a role in Scorpio, Capricorn, and Cancer’s hospitalization, yet he still felt things for him. Just why was Virgo so infatuated with Taurus?

Enough! Virgo thought. My top priority is Gemini.

Virgo finally approached the dorms, walked over to the side entrance, and quickly grasped the handle. But it didn’t budge, and a wave of anxiety washed over him when he remembered he didn’t have an access key. Because I don’t live on campus, they didn’t give me a dorm card, Virgo thought. Shit. Now what?

He would have to wait for someone to let him in. But didn’t Admirant have a policy about letting people in the building? Students weren’t allowed to prop doors or accept anyone without a dorm card. This was to prevent intruders.

What was Virgo to do?