Hell University-Chapter 36 - 35: Confession

Zein’s Point of View

"He is fine. He just needs a bit of rest," Nurse Cha said as she greeted us. Behind her stood Supremo, his gaze fixed directly on me.

While Matt was being treated, Supremo stayed inside as well, making sure that he was truly being taken care of.

"Can we see him?" Jerome asked.

"Ah, yes," Nurse Cha stepped aside, letting everyone in, except for me. Only Nurse Cha, Supremo, and I remained.

"Excuse me," she said before hurriedly leaving. That left only Supremo and me in the room.

"Thank you," I said, expressing my gratitude for what he had done, meeting his questioning gaze.

"Are you okay?" he asked with concern, pulling me closer as he examined every part of my body.

I could not help but smile, so this is how Supremo worries. Overly dramatic.

"Hey! Why are you smiling?! Tell me where it hurts."

I held his hand to calm him down from overreacting. "I’m fine. Matt protected me," I replied.

He turned his back on me, about to leave. "Matt must be very lucky to have you as a friend," he said lifelessly, still not facing me.

Lucky?

"I don’t think so," I answered bitterly.

I failed him. I failed the promise I made to trust him. I broke that promise.

"Yes, he is. Can I also be lucky?"

My brows furrowed, yet he remained with his back turned to me.

"Can I have the chance to be with you? Please. Give me a chance, Zein."

He quickly disappeared into the darkness. My jaw, which had dropped moments ago, was replaced by a gentle, sweet smile.

You don’t need to plead. You already have me.

I went back inside and found Matt still asleep, his arm bandaged and his body covered in bruises. My strength almost gave out at the sight of his condition, a state he would not have been in if only I had trusted him.

"Don’t blame yourself," Dave whispered softly to me.

Only then did I notice that everyone was looking at me. The tightness in my chest eased a little when I saw their smiles. I couldn’t measure how lucky I was to have them.

I sat beside Matt and gently held his bruised cheek. I felt tears stream down my face.

"I–I’m still sorry, Matt. I’m sorry. Can you forgive me? Please."

My hand clenched into a fist and I lowered my head. I still couldn’t help but hate myself. I should have believed him. Damn it, Zein.

I felt Jerome’s hand rest on my shoulder, trying to comfort me. "Stop crying. He’s not dead yet," he joked, earning a smack from Vanessa.

"Do you want me to kill you first?" Vanessa snapped at him.

"Why are you so mad at me?! What did I even do- ow!" she twisted his ear, making us laugh.

Jerome was completely beaten up by Vanessa, yet I couldn’t see even the slightest intention from him to retaliate. He was still smiling, despite being thoroughly roughed up.

"Have faith, Zein," Mia said as she knelt on the floor, her palms pressed together while looking upward.

Dave followed her. "Let us have faith," he said, looking at Mia. "Let us love one another," he added, still gazing at her, prompting Mia to turn toward him.

"H-Huh?"

Dave suddenly averted his eyes and looked upward instead. "Let us have faith," he corrected himself, making me laugh.

Damn. These witches and warlocks really know how to lift the sadness.

We were laughing when Matt suddenly groaned, causing us all to look at him. "What hurts?! Matt! Are you okay?!" I asked worriedly.

"O-Ow, Zein. My arm, you’re sitting on it."

I quickly stood up when I realized I had been sitting on his still-injured arm. "S-Sorry," I said, embarrassed.

"Good thing you finally opened your eyes," Jerome said with a laugh, his hair a mess.

He looked utterly exasperated, while Vanessa tried to stifle her laughter as she watched him.

"Huh?" Mia asked, confused.

"You’ve been awake all this time. You just wanted to be next to Zein, so you weren’t opening your eyes," Dave teased, bursting out laughing.

Matt, blushing, threw a pillow at Dave, who quickly dodged it. "Ahh!" Matt groaned as his arm strained while throwing the pillow.

"Don’t move yet!" I snapped at him before helping him sit up.

His grin at me wouldn’t disappear, and I felt like hitting him with a pillow. What’s so amusing? Psh.

"We’re going outside for a bit," Vanessa said, and I just stared at her. I understood what she meant, so I simply smiled.

"Huh? No! I want to stay he-"

"Don’t be stubborn," Vanessa interrupted, pulling Jerome outside, while Dave and Mia followed them.

A few minutes passed since they left, and Matt and I still hadn’t spoken.

"Sorry," he said, looking at me. "Sorry for hiding things from you... from all of you. Sorry because I had to keep everything secret," he admitted bitterly.

I shook my head and sat down beside him. "No. I should be the one apologizing." I swallowed hard before continuing. "I promised I would trust you, but I broke that promise. I’m sorry for accusing you. I’m sorry because I ruined-" I couldn’t hold back the flood of tears anymore.

I felt the bed shift before Matt’s hand wrapped around mine.

"I understand, Zein. I wasn’t hurt. You know what hurts?"

I looked up, meeting his sorrowful eyes. "It hurts to see the woman I love crying," he added.

For a moment, my mind went blank, as if something had blocked my thoughts. My eyes remained fixed on Matt’s, silently questioning.

"W-What are you saying?" I asked, confused.

I couldn’t understand even the brief words he had spoken. Did I truly not understand, or did I refuse to understand?

"But I know someone has already noticed in your heart. I know who it is." He gently held my cheek to wipe away my tears. "I’m happy for you. Finally." He added almost in a whisper.

I had long sensed that Matt treated me differently, but I had ignored it all, thinking he was just a friend—but—shit.

"I don’t want to act selfishly and fight for you when I know in the end I’d still lose. But promise me one thing: that you’ll never cry again. That will be enough for me."

"Matt."

"Promise me, Zein. I’ll only get more hurt if I see you crying again. Promise me, even if it’s just as your closest friend."

Tears streamed down my face as I nodded, hugging Matt tightly. Sorry, Matt, I can’t repay your love, but I promise that our friendship will never fade.

We are forever friends, Matt. Promise.

Several days passed after that, and nothing else changed. We were still the same, the usual us.

"Where’s Supremo?" I asked Vice Onel.

Supremo’s seat was empty, and it had been like this for several days now.

"The headmistress called him," he replied.

I simply nodded before heading straight to Supremo’s desk, tidying up the scattered papers. That man really was careless. Sometimes I didn’t even know if I was his secretary or personal assistant.

I sensed a presence behind me, so I quickly turned, and Supremo was there, frowning.

"Why are you here? It’s lunchtime," he said, his brow furrowed.

I just pouted, remembering that my friends had gone on their lunch break earlier and had already gone in.

I didn’t want to eat alone; it was hard to swallow by myself. I had grown used to having them with me for everything. I didn’t even realize it, but I had come to rely on them.

"I’m not even hungr-" My stomach growled loudly, almost as if it were dissolving.

One of Supremo’s eyebrows rose before he pulled me out of the SSG room.

"You shouldn’t let yourself go hungry! Eat at the proper time!" His tone was like a father scolding me.

"Well, I’m just not in the mood!" I retorted.

"Shut up."

Once again, I was left speechless. Supremo never gave a proper answer; everything always ended with "shut up."

He seated me at one of the tables and then sat beside me. A waiter approached to take our orders.

"Why is it all pork? Wait! Why are you the one picking the foods?"

"Because I am the President."

"FYI! We live in a democratic countr-"

"Shut up."

Huh! Fuck you! UGH!

Our order arrived, and I almost recoiled at the sight of the steaks. It wasn’t that I disliked this kind of food, but! I’m on a diet.

Supremo placed some on my plate, but I just stared at it. Eh! What if it ruins the shape I’ve worked so hard for?

"Food won’t walk into your mouth by itself."

"But, Supremo! I prefer leafy foods."

"You didn’t say so, otherwise I would’ve just fed you Bermuda grass."

What?!

"Sup-" I started to say, but he interrupted, placing the spoon in front of my mouth.

"You’re so loud." He pulled my chair closer and positioned me in front of him. He took my plate and served me himself.

I turned my gaze away as he brought the spoon close to my mouth.

"Eat it, or else..."

What?

"I’ll eat you."

My eyes widened and my mouth fell open at what he said. He took that chance to put the food into my mouth, and I almost choked in surprise.

"Liked it?" he teased, grinning at me.

"I’ll do it myself!" I snapped, irritated, as I grabbed the plate from him and composed myself.

My face was burning red because of what he did, and what he said.

But why was it like that? It felt as if I wanted to stop eating just so he could continue with that ’else’ he mentioned. Ew, Zein. Disgusting.

After we finished eating, Supremo left, so I went on to my next class.

Third Person Point of View

"Supremo. I didn’t do it-"

"Just make sure of it, Nazzer Lumia."

Nazzer grinned at him, but Supremo remained calm, simply watching him.

"How’s it goingSupremo? One more wrong move, and say goodbye to your position," Nazzer threatened.

Supremo didn’t react at all, keeping his gaze fixed on Nazzer.

"Aren’t you afraid, Supremo? Once you lose your position, you won’t be able to protect her anymore," Nazzer added, letting out a small laugh.

A faint smile appeared on Supremo’s lips. "I’m not afraid," he answered boldly.

"Well, you should start being afraid now. I already know your secret, Supremo."

Supremo’s brow furrowed at his words, which only made Nazzer’s grin widen.

"Don’t you find it strange how quiet Raze has been? I already killed his brother, yet he remains silent."

"Why don’t you ask him instead?"

Supremo turned his back and began to walk away. Nazzer clenched his fist tightly in anger.

"Your downfall is near, Supremo. Go on, get closer to Zein. It only makes everything easier."