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The class was bustling with activity when Amber and Layla entered. Since lunch break had just ended, everyone was once again energized to get on with the rest of the school day. Layla could faintly see Blake's blazer among the crowd of guys surrounding her desk. She seems to be popular with just about anyone, Layla mused to herself. A nudge on her shoulder from Amber reminded the girl that she was just standing there and rushed over to her desk to take her seat right as the bell rang for the start of afternoon classes. The group of guys surrounding Blake began to dwindle down, and she took the time to look around the classroom right before the teacher walked in, finding both Amber and Layla at their seats. Amber noticed Blake looking their way and gave a slight wave while blushing redder than a tomato. Blake gave her a soft smile and waved back, causing Amber to let out a tiny squeak of happiness that caught Layla's attention. After flashing Amber a look of confusion, Layla turned her attention to Blake, who was still smiling their way. Before Layla had a chance to respond, the front door of their classroom opened and their next teacher walked in the begin the next lesson.

The rest of the afternoon went by in the blink of an eye, save for the few times that Layla had to slap Amber awake when the teacher became annoyed at the fact she snored during their classes. Blake kept vigilant despite not really listening to the teachers as well. She was distracted in her thoughts on whether or not Layla was a potential Guardian. It was hard to really say, since Ryne wouldn't give her any other bits of information on what he knew. Maria might add some insight for Blake, considering that she and Ryne took care of Blake out of a whim that Blake was a fellow Knight.It was rare to find a Knight or a Guardian in the world anyway so Maria seemed much more satisfied to do so. Unknowingly, Blake's left hand found its way towards her right arm, right where the bandages were tucked underneath her blazer. Even if she took the blazer off, everyone in the school knew about her iconic bandaged arm. No one really questioned it, however there had been rumors when she started attending Cor Fortium High. Rumors like how she was apart of the underground gangs that roamed the streets at night to how she was nearly killed by attackers for some sort of history that no one really confirmed with her to be true. Either way, it really didn't bother her whether or not she would show it at school.

What would bother her was if everyone noticed that they were now bloodied, after seeing white pristine bandages for so long.

Questions would pour from every direction if they found out that she was bleeding. It had started to bleed ever since last Saturday, and for some reason she was unable to make it stop. She already had to change her bandages in the morning before coming to school, and during the lunch break before meeting Layla and Amber she noticed that she needed to change them again. I wonder why this is happening, Blake wondered, is it because I've had my Calling and haven't made a contract with my Guardian? It would make sense; she recalled Ryne saying that the bleeding tattoos of Knights would stop once a contract is made with a Guardian. The tattoo in question - a runic tattoo that even she couldn't quite understand - had been changed recently to match and confirm Blake's thoughts. It was an arm band that encircled the upper half of her arm, originally inscribed with runes of red ink in black borders to represent her Knight status. Just recently, a sky blue engraving had begun to appear on the center of the tattoo, a clear sign that something was new. Blake understood that it had to be because of the first Calling, but what puzzled her was who caused it. The likely candidate was Layla; with so many signs pointing to her being a Guardian, many would think that she was. Still, Blake was hesitant in asking, in case she really wasn't the Guardian that summoned her.

The final bell rang as students poured out of the school building to head back home. Back inside the classroom, Layla noticed that Blake was still holding onto her right arm, not ever moving an inch. She had Amber head out before her and made her way over to Blake's desk.
"Blake?" Layla called out. No response from the girl. Looking closer, Layla began to notice that Blake's eyes were closed shut and her face was contorting into pain as her left hand began to squeeze her right arm. She began to worry, thinking that Blake may have been suffering for the entire duration of class.
"Blake! Blake, wake up!" Layla's voice rose slightly, trying to get Blake to respond to her. Blake, on the other hand, was too focused on the sudden pain from her tattoo. It had started in the middle of the last class for the day, and she didn't even realize that Layla was trying to get her attention until she felt someone shaking her awake. Blake opened her eyes and finally noticed Layla's concerned expression.
"Layla," Blake's voice sounded pained despite her best efforts to hide it. Layla breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Thank God you finally come to," Layla said quickly, looking over towards Blake's arm, "What's going on? Are you hurt?" Blake tried to reply, but the pain reached a spiking point, causing her to grunt in response instead. Blake's breathing became sporadic and Layla's panic began to increase just as steadily.
"Layla... bandages... bag..., " Blake managed to say to Layla. In an instant Layla began searching through Blake's shoulder bag for a fresh roll of bandages, pulling them out quickly. Blake gave a quick nod of thanks.
"Anyone... else... here?" Blake asked, looking around. Layla shook her head, confused as to why Blake would want total privacy.
"Good," Blake said, slightly relieved. Her expression changed to seriousness as she looked Layla in the eyes, "What you're about to see... Tell no one..." Layla was hesitant at the sudden request. She knew Blake must have her reasons, but she didn't think that something this serious should be kept private. Nonetheless, Layla eventually agreed with a firm nod of her head. Blake gave a small smile in appreciation; she knew that Layla was beyond confused as to what was going on, and the fact that she was willing to save her questions for later was a godsend for her now.

Layla gasped softly as she watched Blake take off her blazer to reveal the bloodied bandages on her right arm. The formerly pristine white bandages were now stained a crimson red, slowly becoming darker as the bandages continued to take on more blood. Blake deftly unwrapped her bandages and revealed the tattoo underneath. There was a pregnant silence between the two girls as Blake swiftly re-wrapped her arm again in fresh bandages and put back her blazer. Blake stood up from her seat and turned to face Layla, who stood in front of her desk with uncertainty.
"I bet you have a lot of questions about this, huh," Blake spoke up. Layla didn't answer; she didn't really know how to phrase what she was feeling at the time. Blake chuckled lightly, noticing the confusion in Layla's amber eyes.
"First off, the blood," Blake began, her left hand holding on to her arm once more, "That started ever since Saturday, as you might remember." How could I forget? Layla mentally stated. It scared her when she walked out of the bedroom to see Blake's arm bleeding heavily as the girl was asleep. Layla meekly nodded, frightened by the memory. Blake gave a soft sigh of empathy.
"It hasn't really stopped since then, but it does hurt now every once in awhile as you may have noticed," Blake continued, "That's why I carry bandages just in case I need to change them. It only bleeds as badly as it does whenever I'm in pain, thankfully, so I don't have to change them every single time."
"Doesn't seem that great to me," Layla muttered under her breath. Blake's ear twitched at the statement and gave a light huff.
"I know, but it's better for me anyway, " Blake said in return, "Second off, the tattoo. Well... that in and of itself is a long story that I can't tell you about right now. Just understand that I don't like others really noticing my tattoo. And from the looks of things, you can kind of see why."
"Not really," Layla contemplated, recalling the appearance of the tattoo, "It looks cool. I just want to know why you would rather hide it under those bandages all the time."
"The reason behind it is something I would rather keep to myself," Blake replied, "All I can say is that there's a weird connection between it and what you saw last night." Layla looked to Blake in sudden confusion and dread. Her brain felt as if it had just short-circuited and failed her as she tried to process Blake's words.
"Blake," Layla began slowly, "What did you mean by that exactly?" Blake looked confused for a second until the realization hit her. She had accidentally mentioned how she had an idea as to what had attacked poor Layla that night. She sighed in frustration. This was the one situation I wanted to avoid and I was the one who caused it to happen, Blake mentally slapped herself, good job, Blake.

"I know what was chasing you last night," Blake answered her carefully, "And the reason why you're alive right now? All because I dealt with it in time."